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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, October 29, 2007

Red Sox sweep past Colorado

By Bill Shaikin
Los Angeles Times

Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Boston's Mike Lowell, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the World Series, celebrates after the Red Sox's 4-3 victory in Game 4 of the Series.

JACK DEMPSEY | Associated Press

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Hawaii news photo - The Honolulu Advertiser

Boston Red Sox reliever Jonathan Papelbon leaps in the air after the final out in Game 4 at Coors Field. Papelbon recorded the final five outs for his third save of the World Series.

ERIC GAY | Associated Press

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DENVER — They paraded rather brazenly around Coors Field yesterday, scores of fans dressed in Boston Red Sox jerseys, waving brooms atop their heads. Red Sox Nation came out in full force, and in broad daylight, and the weary fans of Colorado offered no resistance to the brooms.

Neither did the Colorado Rockies.

The Boston Red Sox staked their claim as the dominant franchise of the decade in this World Series, wrapping their sweep of the overmatched Rockies with a 4-3 victory last night. The combined score in the four games was all too painful to behold in this football town: Red Sox 29, Rockies 10.

"I'm on Cloud Nine," Boston third baseman and World Series MVP Mike Lowell said.

There is no fluke in this championship. The Red Sox beat the New York Yankees to win the American League East, beat the champions of the AL West and AL Central in the playoffs, and beat one of the hottest teams in baseball history to win the World Series.

The Rockies won 21 of 22 games, roaring back from fourth place in the National League West and into the World Series. The Miracle on Blake Street, the locals called it. The Red Sox won on sheer talent, not miracles.

"They've been the best team in baseball from day one," Colorado general manager Dan O'Dowd said.

This is a Boston team that blends superstars and rookies, free agents and draft picks. This is not a band of Yankee mercenaries but a team built to replenish itself, the model franchise so far in this new century.

Jon Lester, the winning pitcher, all of 23 years old, stood in the clubhouse, the victory trophy in one hand, a can of beer wedged between his neck and the back of his shirt, not at all surprised at the result.

"Hopefully, we'll be doing this a lot more," Lester said.

For so long, they had been insufferably winless. The Red Sox and their fans turned defeat into a cottage industry.

But the Red Sox won in 2004, for the first time in 86 years, and now they have won again. No other team has won more than once in this decade — and the Red Sox swept the World Series both times.

"In 2004, that was for our parents and grandparents and those people who suffered through eight decades before a world championship," Red Sox chairman Tom Werner said. "This is for us and for our children and for everybody in Red Sox Nation, that we can do it again."

Boston general manager Theo Epstein, the architect of philosophy that applies almost incomparable resources to scouting and player development as well as the majors, suggested the second championship validated the first.

"Perhaps it wasn't an accident," Epstein said.

This series was no accident, starting with the most lopsided Game 1 in World Series history. And the Red Sox led start to finish in the final game, taking the lead after five pitches.

On the second pitch, Jacoby Ellsbury doubled. On the fourth pitch, Dustin Pedroia grounded out, with Ellsbury taking third. On the next pitch, David Ortiz singled home the run.

Lester pitched beautifully from there. This time last year, Lester was battling lymphoma. He did not start in the playoffs until yesterday, and then only because of an injury to Tim Wakefield.

But he worked five full innings and got two outs in the sixth, all without giving up a run, and his teammates took it from there.

Lowell doubled and scored in the fifth inning, then homered in the seventh. Bobby Kielty, in his only at-bat of the series, homered in the eighth. After hitting one home run in the first 33 innings of the series, the Red Sox clinched victory with two in two innings.

The Rockies stirred late, with a solo home run from Brad Hawpe in the seventh inning and a two-run blast from Garrett Atkins in the eighth. That brought the Rockies within 4-3, but that also brought closer Jonathan Papelbon out of the Red Sox bullpen.

Papelbon got five outs, for his third save of the series. As Seth Smith struck out, for the final out, Papelbon flung his glove at the sky. Then he rushed into the arms of catcher Jason Varitek and disappeared into a sea of teammates.

Inside the Boston clubhouse, wearing a pair of goggles to protect his eyes from flying champagne, outfielder J.D. Drew leaned against a locker and smiled. He was at the center of controversy this time last year, when he opted out of his contract with the Los Angeles Dodgers to try free agency, and now he will wear a ring.

"I was looking for a team I knew had a chance to compete," Drew said. "Looks like I chose the right one."

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