I didn't need to hit snooze on this morning. I woke right up when the alarm went off, and of course my first thought was, "This could be the day!" Then I worried about having thought that - afraid to do or say or even think anything that might jinx... you know what. (Is it OK for me to even write it now, several months later? I think it's safe now to say: I knew that we might, we could, no, we would WIN THE WORLD SERIES TODAY!) In the shower, I thought about how I would need to download the song "We Are the Champions," because if it happened I would want it, but I didn't want to get it ahead of time just in case. Brushing my teeth, I found the song going through my head, and that definitely felt like bad luck. I got into the car at 8:19, noting that I had exactly twelve hours to go before the start of the game, and blared "Tessie" over and over on the CD player, singing loudly along for the whole drive to work. It was like a no-hitter where no one's supposed to say the word, or talk about what's going on, and the other players won't sit next to or look at the pitcher betwen innings. I resolved to not say a word about it at work. I'd just go straight to my desk, bury myself in my work, and try not to think about it.

It was a great plan, but it didn't last five minutes. I'm known as the biggest Red Sox fan in the department, so I didn't even make it to my desk without people yelling down the hallway, "Tonight's the night!" and, "You must be so psyched!" I told everyone I didn't want to talk about it, which could have been perceived as pessimism, but the other true diehards in the office understood that it was actually because I was so optimistic. I said I couldn't talk about it, but every time I overheard someone else discussing it I had to join in, ending each conversation with, "but I'm not talking about it!"

Somehow, mercifully, 8:19 finally rolled around.

By 8:20, Johnny Damon was at the plate with a 2-1 count. He lined the fourth pitch of the game into the bullpen, giving the Red Sox a 1-0 lead. The Sox had now scored in the first inning in all four World Series games. The Cardinals had never had the lead in any of the games, and the Sox had won every postseason game in which they had scored first. The St. Louis crowd got very quiet, and I felt strangely calm. Even with the slimmest of leads, even with the whole game left to be played, even with the knowledge very fresh in my mind that a team certainly could come back from an 0-3 series deficit. Manny Ramirez walked later in the inning, but the rest of the Sox hitters went down quickly against Jason Marquis.

Derek Lowe got the ball for the Red Sox in Game 4. He had already been the winning pitcher in the clinching games of the Division Series and ALCS, and would try tonight to become the first player ever to win three series-clinching games in the same year. After allowing a leadoff hit to Tony Womack, a sacrifice and two groundouts ended the threat. Trot Nixon doubled to right-center with one out in the second. Mark Bellhorn walked, and Lowe successfully sacrificed them along. Damon grounded out to end the inning, and Lowe set the Cardinals down in order in the home half.

Manny singled with one out in the third, giving him at least one hit in every postseason game this year, and extending his postseason hitting streak to 17 straight games going back to last year. David Ortiz was next, and Big Papi did what he had done all year long, swatting a double down the right field line. Jason Varitek hit a grounder to first, but Albert Pujols threw home to get Manny out at the plate, leaving runners at the corners with two outs. Bill Mueller walked to load the bases, bringing Nixon to the plate. When the count went 3-0, Trot was given the green light by third base coach Dale Sveum. He looked into the dugout to double-check that, surprised because he didn't usually get the green light on 3-0, but he couldn't catch Terry Francona's eye. He swung away, and almost hit it out of the park. It bounced off the outfield wall in right-center, and two runs came home. Bellhorn was intentionally walked, and Lowe worked the count to 2-2 before striking out to end the inning, but the Sox now led, 3-0.

The Cardinals went down in order in the third, and neither team had a baserunner in the fourth. Ortiz walked in the fifth but was stranded, as Marquis became the first St. Louis starter to last five innings in the series. Edgar Renteria's one-out double in the fifth was only the second hit of the night for the Cardinals and their first baserunner since the first inning. He moved to third on a wild pitch, but Lowe struck out John Mabry and got Yadier Molina to ground out to short. Damon hit a triple with two outs in the sixth but didn't score. When Larry Walker walked in the bottom of the sixth, Pujols had a chance to make the game close again. He had hit 46 home runs in the regular season, but Lowe got him to pop up to second to end the inning.

Danny Haren relieved Marquis in the seventh, and got the Sox in order. Renteria hit a harmless single in the bottom of the inning, only the third of the night off Lowe, but he was stranded. Bill Mueller led off the eighth with a single, then Trot followed with his third double of the game, and Gabe Kapler came in to pinch-run. Jason Isringhausen, the Cardinals closer who had yet to appear in the series, came in and walked Bellhorn, loading the bases with no outs. Pokey Reese ran for Bellhorn, and Kevin Millar pinch-hit in Lowe's spot. But Isringhausen struck out Millar, and Pujols made a good play on a grounder to get Mueller out at home as Damon reached on a fielder's choice. Orlando Cabrera started off 3-0, then fouled off several pitches on a 3-2 count, before finally striking out to end the inning. Bronson Arroyo and Alan Embree combined to retire the Cardinals in the eighth.

There was a full lunar eclipse that night, the first time that one had ever occurred during a World Series, proving that the planets were indeed aligned for something special. In the eighth inning, the Cardinals opened the gates of Busch Stadium to all the Red Sox fans who hadn't been able to get tickets but were waiting outside, a very classy move. Meanwhile, as the game neared its conclusion, I saw my whole baseball life flash before my eyes - courtesy of FOX, which in a very un-classy move played clips of Enos Slaughter in 1946, Bucky Dent in 1978, and Bill Buckner in 1986.

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Keith Foulke came on for the bottom of the ninth, and it seemed like the whole inning unfolded in slow motion. Foulke had allowed only one run in the entire postseason, and had finished all three of the games in the series so far. He got ahead in the count 1-2, but Albert Pujols lined a hit up the middle to start the inning. On a 1-2 count, Scott Rolen hit a fly ball to right, where Kapler caught it for the first out. Jim Edmonds struck out on three pitches. Edgar Renteria took ball one as Pujols moved to second on defensive indifference. And then, at 11:40 pm... I'll let Joe Castiglione take over from here:

Swing and a ground ball, stabbed by Foulke. He has it. He underhands to first. And the Boston Red Sox are the World Champions. For the first time in 86 years, the Red Sox have won baseball's World Championship. Can you believe it?