You never know who is going to step up in October and be the man. Game two featured opportunities galore, but the likes of Schilling and Gagne weren’t up for the challenge. The slates are wiped clean tonight and barring rain (and locusts), tonight could be the night a new legend is born. A complete game, gyro-ball shutout? Drew hitting the cycle? Coco and Lugo combining for eight stolen bases? Anything is possible.

The Red Sox chances are good to regain the series lead and home-field advantage. The offense is firing on all cylinders, Dice-K is well-rested, and if Gagne can’t escape the locker he is duct-taped into, the bullpen should be solid. Not that it will be an easy feat. Cleveland has shown they are not to be taken lightly. Although Mike McIntyre of The Plain Dealer may be getting carried away…

We can see the World Series down the road again. It’s not far now.

The town is marching in lock step, awakened by the prospect of winning baseball and by the palpable reality that the Indians might fulfill the hopes that the Cavaliers raised this year for a championship – finally, a championship – in Cleveland.

We don’t need handheld GPS devices to guide us. We carry little gear – a television (high-def preferred), an old-fashioned radio, maybe a newfangled cell phone geared for instant updates. For the more fortunate, there are tickets to the games at Jacobs Field, which glows like an oasis in the autumn night.

It is not a mirage.

The town is dressed to kill the Red Sox. Kids and their parents wear T-shirts glorifying the new players, Grady Sizemore and C.C. Sabathia, and the old players, Albert Belle and Dennis Martinez, and, in some cases, both: Kenny Lofton.

He has – we have – been down this road before.

Uh, yeah…right. I’d tone the poetry down just a bit there Mikey. You might want to cancel the parade, too. The series is tied at one game apiece. I think the World Series is a little further than you think. But I’ll be sure to check in tomorrow…