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October 22, 2007
By KEVIN McNAMARA
Journal Sports Writer
BOSTON – Tim Wakefield actually felt that having old friend/cheerleader Kevin Millar at Fenway Park Sunday night helped spur the Red Sox to the World Series.
Millar was an emotional leader in 2004 when the Sox won the world championship and he was invited back to town Sunday to throw out the first pitch of Game Seven of the ALCS. After the Red Sox pulled away for a convincing 11-2 win over the Indians, Wakefield made sure to give a shout out to his former teammate when asked about the feeling around this team and the `04 club.
''It’s very similar, very similar,” said Wakefield. ''We don’t have Millar here to keep everything loose but to be honest I think we learned a lot from him about being loose. It helped once we got down 3-1 in this series.”
Wakefield was the controversial starter in Game Four of this series. He threw the ball very well for four innings bit got knocked around and chased from the game in the fifth. He says he never worried once the Sox fell down 3-1 in the series because Josh Beckett was the scheduled starter in Game Five.
''We had the right guy on the mound in Game Five. That was big,” he said. ''As long as we won a Game Five to get it back to Boston I felt good. I knew we’d be all right.”
With two World Series appearances in four seasons, the Red Sox are now clearly the model franchise in the American League. Wakefield said the team’s ownership and front office should see plenty of credit for the achievement.
''Ever since Mr. (John) Henry took over, they’ve just done tings right,” he said. ''The right manager, the right way to treat people and the right players. Just doing all the right things. The chemistry is huge and I think they understood that. It’s a big philosophy in the front office. From the coaching staff to the manager to the players, it’s a perfect fit. You can’t say anything negative about the whole situation.”
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