CHICAGO - First, Jose Contreras spurned the Boston Red Sox for New York. Now he's rubbing it in.
And in the playoffs, no less.
Contreras was the ace the Red Sox thought he'd be when they pursued him three years ago, helping the White Sox to a 14-2 rout in their playoff opener Tuesday.
"I know the run he's been on," Boston manager Terry Francona said. "Today we found out why."
The right-hander stifled Boston's key hitters. Manny Ramirez went 0-for-4 and stranded three runners, and Johnny Damon struck out twice. David Ortiz had a single and a double, but was never a real threat.
Ramirez's 17-game postseason hitting streak was snapped.
"When I was a Yankee, I didn't have a lot of luck against Boston," Contreras said. "In my last three starts against the Red Sox, I've had a lot of success against them. Maybe it's the luck of the uniform."
"He's not the same pitcher he was with the Yankees. I guarantee that," Ortiz said. "He's not just throwing the ball. He's spotting the ball, using all of his stuff."
ANGELS: Los Angeles decided it was better to have no left-handed relievers than a struggling one.
The Angels left Jason Christiansen off the roster for their series against the New York Yankees, meaning they don't have a lefty to bring out of the bullpen to face Jason Giambi, Hideki Matsui or Robinson Cano.
Christiansen appeared in 12 games after he was obtained from the San Francisco Giants on Aug. 30. Lefties were 6-for-13 against him, compared to 26-for-122 (.213) against Brendan Donnelly and 34-for-171 (.199) against Scot Shields, both right-handers.
