ANAHEIM, Calif. - Two years ago, he never got a start in the Red Sox’ cameo playoff appearance, when the postseason was over almost before it began.

Last year? Injuries torpedoed the Red Sox in August and the steam staggered to the finish line, reduced to spectators when October began.

But today, for the first time since his fabled start in Game Two of the 2004 World Series, Curt Schilling gets to make a postseason start. Yesterday, his anticipation was palpable.

For Schilling, who owns a career 8-2 record in the postseason, starts such as today’s are what it’s all about. The 162-game regular season and all the work that goes into it are just so much preparation.

“It seems,” said Schilling yesterday, “that it’s been a long time since I’ve been able to take the ball in games like this. It’s exciting — very nervous, but exciting. It’s what you play for. I think what every player that aspires to do something in the game plays for is this October stuff. Because in October, you can make one play, one pitch — you can do one thing that people will never forget.”

Schilling, of course, already has several of those moments. In 2001, he was the co-MVP of the World Series for the Arizona Diamondbacks. But that was a mere warmup for what he did in 2004, when, with his surgically repaired ankle, he helped the Sox win their first title in 86 years.

That buzz, that thrill that comes from performing on baseball’s biggest stage, has been missing the last two years. Today, it returns.

“There’s nothing like it from an adrenaline standpoint,” Schilling said. “And when you’re someone that carves a niche for doing well in the postseason, I take pride in that…. It was disappointing (in 2005) because I didn’t get the chance. I feel like, in that scenario and that stage at this time of year, that I’m better than anybody else.”

With the possible exception of John Smoltz — 15-4 lifetime in the postseason — Schilling is entitled to that claim.

But at 41, having missed seven weeks because of shoulder weakness this summer, and having averaged fewer than 11 wins over the last three season, Schilling is, by his own admission, not the same pitcher he was in 2004 — never mind 2001.

He has transitioned this season from pure power pitcher to someone who must rely more on command and precision. And that change has left him with some uncertainty. Never before has he had to approach a postseason start without the benefit of a mid-90s fastball.

“Part of the nerves on my end are (because) I am a different guy,” he said. “I do have to pitch differently. But I feel like I’ve done everything (to get ready). I’ve had 12 days to prepare for this team. I really started to put together a game plan to the point where I feel like I’m where I was in ’01, ’02 and ’04 — from a game-planning standpoint.

“I’ve taken care of everything but the execution part of it. And that’s really what, in my mind, it comes down to.”

In his prime, Schilling would have been the automatic choice to start Game One and set the tone for the first postseason series. Now the torch — and the honor — has been passed to Josh Beckett — with spectacular results. Schilling is far closer to the end of his career than his prime and accepts the transition.

“The game starts and you have what you have,” Schilling said. “It’s like Josh goes through a lineup with a bazooka and Daisuke (Matsuzaka) is like a machine gun, and I’ve turned into a guy who has use the sniper rifle — pick my spots and pick my targets and execute perfectly.”

Extending the artillery metaphor further, there is a theory that one of the reasons that Schilling was assigned to Game Three — instead of Games Two and Five, which went to Matsuzaka — is that there is only so much ammunition left in the pitcher’s aging and creaky shoulder. Schilling, it’s been suggested, can’t maintain his velocity and arm strength twice within five days, so the Sox are cherry-picking his appearances to maximize efficiency.

Less powerful than before, the veteran gunslinger nevertheless welcomes — relishes — the opportunity. Who knows how many more chances are left for him?

“One of the challenges of October that I love is [that] this is about literally being perfect,” he said. “I’ve got to be perfect (today). I know what I want to do. I know how I want to do it. I know when I want to do it and I know who I want to do it to, and I’m going to do it. And that’s fun.

“It’s a huge change from ‘I’m not feeling sharp today, but I’m throwing 97 mph, so I’ll get away with some stuff.’ ”

Now the safety net has been removed. The stuff isn’t what it was. It’s up to Schilling to make do with guts and guile.

“And I like that,” he said.

Especially after two years of watching October baseball instead of winning.