Boston won 42 of their final 60 and Anaheim seven of eight over West rivals to reach the playoffs.
By Associated Press
Published October 5, 2004
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Five outs; five measly outs. That's how close the Red Sox came to going to the World Series last year and, perhaps, ending an 85-year championship drought.
But Pedro Martinez kept pitching, the Yankees started hitting and Aaron Boone's homer in the 11th broke Boston's heart.
The quest begins again today, with Curt Schilling and the Red Sox facing the 2002 champion Angels. Schilling is one of several new faces for the Red Sox.
"When all this happened last winter, the reasons behind it were for what happens (today)," Schilling said Monday, referring to his offseason trade from Arizona. "Anything short of the World Series this year means we've fallen short of where we should go."
The Red Sox are again trying to win their first World Series since 1918. It appeared they would have to wait another year until the trade deadline.
Out went shortstop Nomar Garciaparra, in came shortstop Orlando Cabrera along with reserves Dave Roberts and Doug Mientkiewicz. The Red Sox then won 42 of their final 60.
"We spun our wheels a little more than we wanted to for a while," said manager Terry Francona, who replaced the fired Grady Little. "We were a drastically different team after the All-Star break."
The Angels, meanwhile, won seven of eight over Oakland and Texas, capped by Saturday's 5-4 win over Oakland, to win the West.
Vladimir Guerrero went 14-of-30 with six homers and 11 RBIs in the last six games of the season, giving him a .337 batting average, 39 homers and 126 RBIs. Guerrero, previously with the Expos, is in the postseason for the first time.
"Cool, I like it," he said with a smile. "I'm on a good team now."
The Angels won their first World Series two years ago as a wild card, just as Boston is now.
The last time the Angels won the West, in 1986, they played the Red Sox in the ALCS, one of the most memorable playoff series.
The Angels won three of the first four games and led 5-2 entering the ninth in Game 5. But the Red Sox rallied to win 7-6 in 11. Boston also won the next two before losing to the Mets in Game 7 of the World Series.
Scioscia said he doesn't know if his roster is as deep as it was two years ago. Second baseman Adam Kennedy and designated hitter Tim Salmon are hurt. And outfielder Jose Guillen, who had 27 homers and 104 RBIs, is not on the playoff roster after being suspended for insubordination.
But Anaheim's pitching will be key. Boston led the majors with 949 runs and 2,694 total bases.
"I think our pitching is better," Scioscia said. "We're not going to win this series unless we pitch."
