1967 hero Lonborg pitches in.

Byline: Bill Ballou

COLUMN: RED SOX NOTES

BOSTON - Jim Lonborg, who along with Carl Yastrzemski co-authored the Impossible Dream season for the 1967 Red Sox, threw out the ceremonial first pitch last night, delivering what looked like a sinker, but one that didn't bounce on the way to home plate.

"I had a lot of bets on that pitch, whether or not I'd bring home a scuffed ball," Lonborg said afterward. "It's a clean ball - see?"

Forty years after the Impossible Dream, Lonborg still enjoys talking about the season.

"It's such a major part of my life," he said, "all the good things that happened that summer. It's overwhelming ... the incredible outpouring of emotion."

In winning 22 games that year, Lonborg made 39 starts, something that would never happen today. He usually worked on three days' rest, and in those days pitchers usually threw a day of batting practice between starts. While Lonborg suffered a knee injury from skiing, he never had arm surgery in his long career and still can throw 30 minutes of batting practice if the occasion arises.

"I never had surgery," he said. "A sore arm - all the time. The concept then was different than it is now. The idea was to throw as much as you could. That meant you didn't always have great stuff, but I think your feel for the ball was better."

Dick Williams managed the '67 team and that has gone down in history as one of the great managerial jobs by any man with any team, but Lonborg is not as harsh on Billy Herman, Williams' predecessor, as history has been in general.

"We had the second-best record in the league after the All-Star break in '66," Lonborg said, "but in deference to Billy, I think that Dick came to the ballclub at a really good time. We had some young ballplayers that really needed a firm hand, and not that Billy couldn't do that, but Dick had a fresh approach."

And a pitcher named Lonborg and a left fielder named Yastrzemski, too.

No Beckett in Game 4

Though Josh Beckett threw just 80 pitches in Friday night's win, he is not being lined up to pitch on three days' rest in Game 4 at Cleveland, manager Terry Francona said.

"That had nothing to do with it," the manager said of his decision to lift Beckett after six innings. "We'd had some long innings, pitching changes, it was cold."

It wasn't about giving the bullpen some work, either, Francona said, adding: "That was secondary. If (the weather was) OK, we would have let him go one more inning."

Farrell's impact praised

The pitching coach is probably the most important coach on a manager's staff, and Francona is quick to credit John Farrell with being a key ingredient in this year's so-far successful Red Sox season.

"He's exactly what I expected, which is why I wanted him here so badly," the Boston manager said yesterday. "(Previous pitching coach) Dave Wallace became one of my best friends on the team, and it was not fun telling him he was not going to be the pitching coach here."

Farrell never had been a major league coach before the Sox hired him. He had experience coaching in college baseball and in the Indians' front office as director of player development, but he hadn't worn a big league uniform since his playing days ended.

That lack of experience did not bother Francona when it came time to make the move.

"I knew he could do this job," the manager said. And with the postseason five games old, the move seems to have paid off.

Schilling causes `good feeling'

Last night's Red Sox starter, Curt Schilling, has earned a reputation as one of the best postseason pitchers ever, and his record in the playoffs prompted some pregame questions about the Hall of Fame.

"I haven't spent a lot of time looking at the numbers," Francona said. "I guess from being very biased, I hope so. I've been around him a long time. I do know that when you need to win a game, putting the ball in his hands is a good feeling."

The Schilling who pitched last night is much different than the one who helped both the Diamondbacks and Red Sox win World Series. Francona describes the change from power pitcher to finesse pitcher as an evolution, and was asked if perhaps Schilling's different style is a direct result of the ankle injury he suffered - then almost bionically recovered from - during the 2004 postseason.

"It didn't help. We all knew when that happened," Francona said, "that there would be a price to be paid down the road. It was worth it. When you look at what he did, it was historic."

Man at the top is key

The Indians are not a one-man offense, but the scouting report says that if a team can shut down leadoff man Grady Sizemore, Cleveland will have trouble scoring.

"I wouldn't say it's black and white," Tribe manager Eric Wedge said before the game, "but Grady definitely provides a tremendous amount of energy for us at the top of the lineup. I think he's one of the most exciting players in the game.

"As a manager, there's nothing more you like than to know what you're going to get from your players day-in and day-out, or different areas of your club. And with Grady, you know exactly what you're going to get. He's tough, he's very talented, very athletic. He's a winner."

NAME: BOSTON RED SOX 

ART: PHOTOS

CUTLINE; (1) Top, former Sox pitcher Jim Lonborg throws out last night's first pitch. (2) Bottom, Cleveland's Victor Martinez watches his first-inning double.

PHOTOG: ASSOCIATED PRESS