WORLD SERIES NOTEBOOK: Return of Dave Roberts

Dogers manager is Red Sox hero of 2004 American League Championship Series.

BOSTON -- Dave Roberts made his 90-foot dash into immortality 14 years ago this October.

Whether or not he was destined to return to Fenway Park as a manager was up for debate Monday afternoon. Red Sox manager Alex Cora joked his former Dodgers’ teammate and counterpart in this World Series could spend the rest of his days at his San Diego home, emerge occasionally to sign autographs for adoring Red Sox fans and return to the comfortable life afforded a past postseason hero.

“He came here, he stole that base against the Yankees and the rest is history,” Cora said. “And now he comes here and he makes a lot of money signing autographs. I know he puts ‘the greatest stolen base in the history of the game.’

“He makes a lot of money in an hour. He’s probably making money right now.”

Cora’s remarks were tongue in cheek when it comes to finances, but they were very much on point when it comes to the sporting impact Roberts had on the city. His trade from Los Angeles to Boston brought an extra outfielder and pinch runner tailor-made for Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series against New York. Kevin Millar drew a leadoff walk in the ninth inning, Roberts bounced out of the dugout and Bill Mueller singled home Roberts with the tying run to start one of the great comebacks in the history of professional sports.

“It is great coming back to this great city,” Roberts said. “I’ve got nothing but great memories. Even flying into Logan (Airport) and just this time of year with the leaves changing – and then you drive up to Fenway Park and it all just kind of comes back to you.”

The Red Sox broke their 86-year championship drought shortly after finishing off New York, 4-3, in a best-of-7 series they trailed 3-0. Boston has won two more championships since that fateful season and will be attempting to add a fourth this century by disappointing Roberts and the Dodgers.

“This is a dream job for me and I know, speaking for (Cora), this is his dream job,” Roberts said. “So for us to play for a world championship, West Coast-East Coast, Dodgers-Red Sox, I just can’t see it getting any better.”

A villain?: First it was Aaron Judge and his musical choice. Then it was Alex Bregman and his ill-timed Instagram post.

Those were somewhat manufactured controversies by Red Sox players and staff members. Any edge Boston could gain against the Yankees or Astros in its previous two series was welcome. Both 100-win foes crawled under Red Sox skin to varying degrees, with Bregman likely drawing more ire while attempting to troll Boston pitcher Nathan Eovaldi on social media.

Manny Machado evokes a more visceral reaction. His spiking of second baseman Dustin Pedroia in an April 2017 game led to consequences, as Matt Barnes and Chris Sale eventually threw pitches in Machado’s direction. The Dodgers infielder prompted another flashpoint in the NL Championship Series when he spiked Brewers first baseman Jesus Aguilar while running through the bag on a ground ball.

“How do I characterize my feelings to him? I mean, I know how I hurt my knee and I know what happened,” Pedroia said. “That’s it. We all know.”

The slide over the bag by Machado and subsequent contact with Pedroia’s left leg is believed to have started the deterioration of his knee. Pedroia had cartilage restoration surgery in the offseason, another cleanup procedure in July and played in just three games in 2018.

“We have bigger things to worry about now on both sides – on their side and on our side,” Sale said. “We’re dedicated to winning this World Series and bringing a championship to our city. We’re not worried about any individual player.”

Pen can be mighty: The Red Sox bullpen knows that the spotlight, and their doubters’ concerns, is focused firmly their way. That’s just the way they like it.

The bullpen has carried a heavy load in series wins over the heavy-hitting Yankees and Astros and lived to crow about it. From Joe Kelly to Craig Kimbrel to starters Sale and Nathan Eovaldi, a host of Red Sox have stepped up in critical relief situations. They say this is not a surprise.

“We have a talented group down there that has performed statistically well the last few seasons,” Kelly said. “It’s going to be a major part of the team, especially in the playoffs. We all knew that coming in and it’s something we haven’t shied away from.”

Kelly noted that the Sox bullpen was second in the majors behind Oakland in Wins Above Replacement. In the playoffs both Kelly (0.75) and Matt Barnes (0.95) own a sparkling WHIP and Kimbrel has saved five of the team’s seven wins despite some rocky outings.

“You’re in the most high-leverage situations in the game,” said Barnes. “You have to control what you’re doing but the crowd is going to be hostile, especially in October. You throw one ball and all of a sudden it feels like they scored two runs. The ability to control yourself and your energy and effort level is definitely huge.”

Cora has set Sale and David Price as his starters in the first two games of the World Series but after that his pitching plans are in flux. Don’t be surprised to see Eovaldi or Rick Porcello once again pitch a critical eighth inning if needed. Kelly notes that the team’s pitching hasn’t unfolded according to plan. If it does, watch out.

“We haven’t even played well yet,” Kelly said of the current playoff run. “It’s kind of satisfying knowing we won 108 games and we haven’t even performed as well as we should have. It’s kind of like a crutch – ‘Guys, we’ve stunk so far and we’ve made it this far. It can’t get any worse.’”