October 24, 2004 [LINK]
Johnny Damon sparked the Red Sox into taking an early lead last night, but the Cardinals clawed their way back into the game in the latter innings. Two errors by Manny Ramirez almost blew the game wide open, but Mark Bellhorn's home run in the bottom of the eighth saved the day. The way I figure it, Manny owes him a BIG favor; a loss in Game 1 would have been a crushing blow to the Red Sox. The idea of a World Series in Boston is still almost too unreal to absorb; the Red Sox have made it to the October Classic about once every two decades since the 1940s. It's interesting that their recent success coincides with the transfer of ownership from the Yawkey family, the owners since 1933, to John Henry, the former owner of the Marlins.