The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash., John McGrath Column: Attention to Details Sends Red Sox West Holdin

Oct 26, 05:42 AM

Current Headlines: By John McGrath, The News Tribune, Tacoma, Wash.

Oct. 26--BOSTON -- Jonathan Papelbon on Thursday was faced with a tough act to follow in Game 2 of the World Series.

Curt Schilling had reprised his gutsy-veteran-operating-on-heart-and-guile act from the 2004 playoffs -- all that was missing from the Boston starter's repertoire was the bloody sock -- and reliever Hideki Okajima followed Schilling's effort with a tour-de-force performance of pinpoint precision.

Yeah, a tough act to follow.

But when you've got an arm blessed with electricity and a brain that makes waves of an unconventional frequency, when your happy feet and bullpen hijinks have become two major character traits of a Red Sox team that's more businesslike than Boston's 2004 world-champion "Idiots," you're up to the task of following anybody's act.

There were two out and nobody on in the eighth inning when Papelbon, the eccentric Red Sox closer, was summoned to replace Okajima, the Japanese veteran finishing his first season in the U.S. big leagues.

Papelbon wasted no time creating fireworks. His pitch to the hot-hitting Matt Holliday was returned to the mound with such force, the closer took a cartwheel tumble, while Dustin Pedroia, in a futile attempt to retrieve the ball behind Papelbon, went for a spill himself.

Two players down, one runner on. When the crowd was able to exhale after learning Papelbon and Pedroia were OK, the threat was self-evident:

Despite dominating nearly every phase of the first two games of the Series, the Red Sox were possibly one mistake pitch to Todd Helton away from traveling to Colorado tied at 1 in the best-of-seven series.

Helton dug his feet into the batter's box, Papelbon glared at catcher Jason Varitek for the sign, and then the complexion of the series took a dramatic turn.

Instead of throwing home, Papelbon went to first, where Holliday was tagged a foot off the bag.

The Rockies still would get their last at-bats in the top of the ninth, of course, but another marathon -- the pitchers' duel took 3 hours and 39 minutes, 9 minutes longer than Boston's laugher in Game 1 -- was decided in the split-second it took Papelbon to surprise Holliday.

"Probably will go down," Papelbon said, "as one of the biggest outs in my career so far."

It also will go down as the why the Rockies will be hard-pressed to return the Series to Boston. The Red Sox beat Colorado in Game 1 with a relentless succession of wall-banging hits and superior starting pitching.

In Game 2, the Red Sox revealed a deeper bullpen and better execution running the bases.

"We haven't helped ourselves when we've been able to," Rockies manager Clint Hurdle said. "We've made mistakes that have cost us a little bit."

Actually, the Rockies made only one glaring mistake.

After the 2-1 decision was secured on Papelbon's perfect ninth, the closer asked if he was surprised the throw to first base beat Holliday with such ease,

"No, honestly, I wasn't," Papelbon said. "I was kind of peeking over there just to keep him at first base and not let him get a walking lead -- and it actually did kind of surprise me, to be honest with you."

In a few weeks, when Papelbon returns to Earth after his giddy ride through October, he might have a better idea on whether he was surprised Thursday.

One observer who wasn't stunned was Schilling, who watched the pick-off from the dugout and intuitively understand its genesis.

"We absolutely don't throw to first base on our own, for the most part, ever," he said. "It's always a sign from the bench. I would guess given the type of player that Matt is, he was going right there, because he's a guy who, like a lot of other guys that maybe aren't born burners, they'll take advantage when they get forgotten about.

"And given the lead he took and the way he came back, I think he was going there. Our advance scouts pick stuff up like that, and I'm sure he got the sign to throw over and caught them off-guard."

Contrast the pick-off that erased Holliday with a more subtle baserunning play, the decision of Boston's Mike Lowell to advance from first to third on a fourth-inning single. Lowell's not a born burner, either, but his aggressiveness caught the Rockies off-guard -- and put Lowell in position to score the opening run.

Give the Red Sox this much: For a franchise that's become as synonymous with major-market extravagance as the New York Yankees, Boston pays attention to every last detail

"In a billion-dollar organization," Schilling said, "sometimes it comes down to the little things."

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