The Sox await the winner of the Indians-Yankees series.
"That surprises me a little," Lucchino said, "because in the past I've always felt you had to go through Yankee Stadium to validate your quest. I don't feel that way this year.
"Maybe it's a function of us being tested the way we've been the last few years - we've had a lot of intense experiences with them - but the train doesn't have to drive through the Bronx in order for us to get to the promised land."
The Sox remained on the fast track to hardball heaven behind Schilling, who enhanced an already spectacular October résumé with seven scoreless innings, back-to-back fourth-inning home runs by David Ortiz and Ramirez off loser Jered Weaver, and a seven-run uprising in the eighth inning that drained whatever air was left in Anaheim.
"We didn't come out of spring training to win the first round," said Lowell, who doubled and scored in the eighth, when the Sox sent 10 men to the plate against three relievers while matching the most runs they've scored in a postseason inning. "We want to win the world championship.
"I think we have to be extremely satisfied with the way we went about this series. We got great pitching, we swung the bats well, and I think we played a complete game of baseball."
The Sox outscored the Angels, 19-4, outhomered them, 5-0, and exposed the weaknesses of a team that could not afford to be missing two starting outfielders, Gary Matthews Jr. (patella tendinitis), Garret Anderson (conjunctivitis, which forced him to leave yesterday's game after two innings), and starting first baseman Casey Kotchman, who spent yesterday in the hospital because of a viral condition.
