Last night in St. Louis, the Red Sox made possible a moment that many Sox fans thought would never arrive. The holy grail of baseball is finally in the hands of Boston's favorite team after an arduous 86 year quest. Just three outs away from a humiliating sweep at the hands of the Yankees eleven days ago, the Red Sox stormed back with the most improbable and amazing comeback in baseball history. It is often said that baseball is a game of inches and that was never truer than in the ninth inning of Game 4 against the Yankees. Had Dave Roberts been thrown out at second base attempting to steal (and he nearly was), none of this would have happened. During the remainder of Game 4 and in the following two days, the Red Sox would survive several more close shaves. Since winning Game 6 in New York, the Red Sox have been dominant. The Cardinals nearly stole Game 1 of the World Series thanks to Boston's horrific defense. Still, this was one of the most dominant World Series performances in recent memory. Here are the most interesting numbers:

• Boston batters swung in missed only 17 times against St. Louis starters in the four World Series games.
• The Red Sox never trailed in the World Series and were ahead in 34 of 36 innings in the series.
• Game 2, 3 and 4 starters Curt Schilling, Pedro Martinez, and Derek Lowe combined for 20 innings pitched, 10 hits and 0 earned runs during the World Series.
• Scott Rolen and Jim Edmonds were a combined 1 for 30 in the World Series.
• Manny Ramirez had a hit in every single game in the playoffs.
• Keith Foulke gave up just one run in 14 innings in the postseason.

The real beauty of the past eleven days lies in the fact that the Red Sox were able to exorcise both of their demons in one season - beating the Yankees and winning the World Series. Accomplishing one of those two things would have been spectacular, but accomplishing both exactly one week apart is baseball utopia. In some ways, beating the Yankees was more important. I never take it well when the Red Sox lose, but losing to the Yankees in the postseason is a special kind of misery. It's not so much that the Yankees have beaten the Sox but that they never really earn it. In 1978, it was "Lucky" Dent's homer that made the difference. In 1999, it was bad umpiring and what must have been a series record for cheap hits by the Yankees. In 2003, it was of course the idiocy of Grady Little. There is also the fact the Yankees have finished first with the Sox second in the AL East in each of the past seven seasons. The Sox finished within six games of first place in four of those years and likely would have won the division three or four times if their payroll was anywhere close to New York's. When Curt Schilling came out in Game 1 throwing 87 mile per hour batting practice fastballs because of his bad ankle, it looked like the Yankees would win another series that they didn't deserve. By the third inning of Game 1, I was a bundle of rage. This time, the baseball gods didn't let the Yankees off the hook. Four years without a title doesn't seem like a long time, but for George Steinbrenner it is.

Before the season started, many thought that this would be Boston's year specifically because they finally had the pitching to win it all. Fans pinned their hopes on a terrific top three in the rotation combined with a top notch closer. During the season, Curt Schilling was brilliant but his injured ankle seemed to be catching up to him late in the season. Pedro Martinez struggled in September and Derek Lowe struggled all season. Keith Foulke also had bad stretches. In the end, it was the pitching - mainly those four guys - that was the key for the Red Sox. Over the final eight games, Lowe, Martinez and Schilling gave the Sox seven starts that ranged from solid to spectacular. Foulke shut the door in most of those wins.

Part of the reason that the Red Sox have failed in the World Series is the competition. In 1967, the Sox lost three times to Bob Gibson, the most dominant pitcher of his time. In 1975, the Sox lost to the Big Red Machine, the decade's best club. In 1986, it was the 108-win Mets that squeezed by the Sox. On the rare occasions that the Red Sox made it to the Series, they faced off against a juggernaut, never a team like the '84 Padres or the '97 Marlins. This year, it seemed to be more of the same with the 105-win Cardinals. This year's foe, the Cardinals certainly had the offense, defense and bullpen to match with the '67 Cards, the '75 Reds and the '86 Mets, but the starting pitching didn't quite compare. It may not have mattered though. As well as the Sox were playing they may have defeated any team from the past 40 years.

I have to give the American League umpires a lot of credit for getting together and reversing the two bad calls in Game 6 against the Yankees. It is shocking that the left field umpire failed to see Bellhorn's homer clear the fence. It was understandable that the first base umpire did not see A-Rod's karate chop on Arroyo later in the game. In the past, umpires would never reverse the original call even if the other five umpires knew that the original call was incorrect. Horrendous calls have been a major part of Yankee playoff success over the past 25 years, from Reggie Jackson purposely getting in the way of a thrown ball against the Dodgers in the '78 World Series to Jeffrey Maier's quick glove work that gave the Yankees the '96 pennant to the string of god-awful calls that handed the '99 ALCS to New York. Had the umpires of today retained the stubbornness of umpires of the past, Bellhorn's hit would have been a double, Alex Rodriguez's karate chop on Arroyo would have been rewarded and the Yankees might be on their way to yet another title that they didn't earn.

I have gone back and forth this season on whether or not I was happy that A-Rod did not become a member of the Red Sox. After watching the ALCS, I no longer have any doubts. First of all, Rodriguez's girlish karate chop to Arroyo's glove was one of the most cowardly plays that I have ever seen on a baseball diamond. Even worse was A-Rod's reaction when he was called out. He threw his arms in the air as if he couldn't believe the umpires had the nerve to call him out. I can only guess that A-Rod is filled with such overwhelming arrogance that in his mind, he should have been allowed to chop the ball out of an opponent's glove and get away with it. He showed his true colors on that play and I couldn't be happier that he is not a member of the Red Sox. Secondly, he simply didn't perform in the clutch in the playoffs. Sure, A-Rod was great when the Yankees were up by ten runs in Game 3, but when New York needed big hits this season, it was usually Sheffield, not Rodriguez, that came through.

It's impossible to argue that the Wild Card is not a good thing if you are a Red Sox fan. Thanks to the Wild Card, fans have been treated to scintillating Red Sox-Yankees seven-game playoff series' in back to back seasons. It's also fortunate because without the Wild Card, 2004 would have been Boston's ninth consecutive year without a playoff appearance.

Not only will this year's championship put an end to the Curse of the Bambino talk, but it should put an end to Yankee fan gloating (the key word is should). Losing a series after being ahead three games to none and having a lead in the ninth inning of Game 4 is a far bigger "choke" than surrendering the 14 game lead in the standings in 1978, losing the two run lead in the 1986 Series or giving up the three run lead in Game 7 of last year's ALCS. The Red Sox were the better team, but the Yankees did in fact choke. Furthermore, having a $200 million payroll and not winning the World Series should be more humiliating than anything the Red Sox have ever done. I have been saying for the past two years that the Yankees are an inferior organization to the Red Sox and now there is indisputable evidence that I am right.

With the Red Sox victory over the Cardinals, Boston-area teams have now defeated St. Louis teams in the finals in each of the four major pro sports. The Patriots beat the Rams for their first Superbowl title in 2002, Bobby Orr's legendary goal completed the Bruins sweep of the Blues in 1970, and the Celtics won their first of 16 championships in 1957 when they defeated the St. Louis Hawks.

Speaking of cities, Boston (I'm counting the Patriots as Boston) became the first city since Pittsburgh to win the Superbowl and World Series in the same calendar year. The Steelers and Pirates each won titles in 1979.

Since 1999, the Red Sox are 11-2 in games in which they could have been elimimated from the playoffs. Facing elimination, they won the final three games in both the 1999 (Cleveland) and 2003 (Oakland) AL Division Series. They lost Game 5 to the Yankees in 1999 and were eliminated. They won Game 6 against the Yankees last year before losing Game 7. They of course won all four games with their backs to the wall in this year's ALCS. The Sox are now 5-1 since '99 in Games in which they could clinch a series. They only loss came in Game 7 of last year's ALCS. Not bad for a team that supposedly chokes in the clutch.

The death of the young girl in Kenmore Square following Game 7 against the Yankees put a damper on the greatest victory in Sox history. I watched the celebration/riot on TV just hoping that no one would be seriously injured. The vast majority of the people in Kenmore Square celebrated peacefully and did nothing wrong. Unfortunately, the behavior of many others was sickening. The dastardly acts included lighting fires, breaking windows, throwing trash cans, jumping on moving cars and throwing bricks at police. It looked more like Fallujah than Boston. I was furious when the media described the rioters as "fans" of the Red Sox. These people were not Red Sox fans. No true Red Sox fan would celebrate the franchise's biggest win by commiting acts of such anger. Obviously, alcohol also played a large role. I am quite sure that no true Red Sox fan would be drunk during the team's biggest game in two decades. Anyone who was drunk during Game 7 can, under no circumstances, be described as a true Red Sox fan. The real fans wanted to remember this game for the rest of their lives. The drunks probably woke up the next day wondering who won. I also hope that the Boston Police are not held responsible for the girl's tragic death. The scumbags that were tossing trash cans, lighting fires and throwing objects at police are responsible. I hope that some of these lowlifes were caught on tape. I hope that the courts are willing to send them to jail. The college students who rioted should be expelled. A young girl is dead because of their actions and I hope they remember that for the rest of their miserable lives.