12:04 PM EDT on Wednesday, October 27, 2004

ST. LOUIS -- One win away.

That's much, much, much more than merely one, lone, single, solitary strike away from winning the World Series, as the Red Sox were in '86.

But it's still so close that you can taste it.

Taste the incredibly sweet, ultimately gratifying, quintessentially satisfying, long-desired victory -- a triumph that would dwarf everything else in New England sports history.

Super Bowl wins, NBA championships, Stanley Cups -- they all pale in comparison to a victory by the Red Sox in the World Series.

It's all you'll think about today. All you've thought about since watching Pedro Martinez dazzle the Cardinals through seven innings of three-hit, shutout ball last night. All of you've been thinking about, if you're a Red Sox fan, your whole life.

Is it possible for an entire region to hold its collective breath until 8:37 tonight, when the first pitch in Game 4 is thrown? Or, given the Red Sox's tragic history, until four hours or so after that, or whenever the final pitch goes by the last Cardinal to come to the plate?

No meals will be eaten today in New England. Who could keep anything down?

No work will be done. How could anyone concentrate on anything but baseball?

There probably wasn't a whole lot of sleeping last night. No one can rest easy until this is over.

But, while some tossing and turning was to be expected, there should have been no nightmares. No tormented visions of Pesky holding the ball, nor of a tired Lonny being bested by Bob Gibson, nor of the Big Red Machine grinding up the Sox in '75, and especially not of a ball rolling through the legs of Bill Buckner.

As for Bucky Dent and Aaron Boone, those detested names and bad memories should be all but forgotten after last week, when the Red Sox staged an unforgettable comeback from a three-game deficit to stun the Yankees and shock the baseball world in the American League Championship Series.

Having been the first team in postseason history to win a seven-game series after being down, 0-3, the Red Sox couldn't now become the second team to blow a 3-0 lead.

Could they?

The old Red Sox might have. Not this team. This team is different.

The old Red Sox are history. The 2004 Red Sox are making history.

With help from some incredibly bad base-running last night by the Cardinals, the Red Sox are poised to run the table tonight.

Speaking of poise -- and talent, and intelligence, and competitiveness, and, you'd better believe it, sheer guts, too -- how about what Martinez did last night?

He was the masterful Pedro of old, rather than the rapidly aging Pedro of recent weeks.

He didn't exactly overpower the Cardinals, but he certainly outsmarted them.

Pedro survived a shaky first -- when he gave free passes to the only two batters he would walk all night -- thanks to Manny Ramirez, who threw out Larry Walker, running from third on a one-out fly to left by Jim Edmonds, by a comfortable margin at home plate.

The only other time Martinez was in any trouble was in the third, when he allowed his opposite number, Jeff Suppan, to reach first on a dribbler down the third-base line, leading off the inning.

Suppan looked as if he'd never been on base before, however, when, after moving to third on a double by Edgar Renteria, he was doubled-up on a ground ball to second.

With the infield back, Suppan should have been running on contact. Instead, he hesitated, only heading toward the plate when Mark Bellhorn threw to David Ortiz at first. Suppan, still barely halfway down the line when Ortiz turned to look at him, decided to try to scramble back to third, but was nailed by a crisp throw across the diamond from Ortiz, who doesn't usually play the field.

The score was still only 1-0 at that point, but Boston added a run in the fourth, then two more in the fifth, and that was far more than Pedro needed.

As disappointing as he was against the Yankees, Martinez was that impressive, and more, in throttling the Cardinals. He retired the last 14 batters he faced, the final two on strikeouts, ending the seventh.

Now the Red Sox have four games to get just one win.

The one win that will make history.

The victory that will forever etch the names of every player on the roster in the minds of not just every Red Sox fan who cares so deeply about this team, but also every baseball fan who cares anything about the game.

One win away.

Let's hope, after a wait of 86 years, it comes tonight.