They're armed and ready

By Kevin Paul Dupont, Globe Staff, 10/5/2003

Looking for a little luck, the Red Sox took out the hair clippers upon arriving back at the Fens, hoping that buzz cuts and shaved heads might bring a reversal of fortune against the A's. With some coaxing, they thought they might even be able to get 53-year-old skipper Grady Little to put his pate on the line, too.

Over in the other dugout, A's manager Ken Macha's gray locks remained trim and intact prior to Game 3 at soggy Fenway Park.

"I did shave my head," said Macha, thinking back to earlier in the season when the A's were struggling to get by the Mariners in the AL West. "I told them to win five in a row, and they did. We went through that. It changed my hairstyle -- I think I'll keep it short for a while."

The A's, who arrived in town only one win shy of advancing to the American League Championship Series, were in no need of shaking anything up. They gave the Sox a thorough shaking in Games 1 and 2, bolting to a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five series. But for everything that went Oakland's way in Games 1 and 2 did not last night in Game 3, resulting in Boston's 3-1 win in 11 innings. Four errors. Base-running miscues. Bullpen deficiencies. The residue of luck from Ramon Hernandez's winning RBI bunt in Game 1 may have finally worn off.

"That [Game 1] was huge," said A's ace Tim Hudson, who hopes to duplicate his success from the series opener today, when the teams clash in Game 4. "I think you could see it on both sides. The whole game, you could look at their dugout, and our dugout -- we put so much emotionally and mentally into that game. We knew whoever walked away with that game was not necessarily going to be in the driver's seat, but their job was going to be a lot easier." The 28-year-old Hudson, 16-7 in the regular season, will be pitching on only three days' rest when he takes the hill today in the Back Bay. The same would be true of southpaw Barry Zito if the Sox force a Game 5 in Oakland tomorrow. His club with a sterling chance to chase away its postseason blues and bugaboos, Macha figured it was best to keep rolling out his best arms. Damn the torpedoes, go with the aces.

"My feeling is, I would like to have our best guys out there," said Macha. "That's how we're going to go."

Later, Macha added, "I've talked to several guys that have managed in the major leagues, asked for some advice. They say go with your best guys -- and that's what we're going to do."

Asked to provide some of those managers' names, Macha politely declined. "I'm not giving away all my secrets," he said.

Roll out the best arms, whatever the demands. Play tight defense. Run the bases with intelligence. If ever there was a prescription for success, the A's entered the series with it slipped in their back pocket and had followed it until last night.

On top of all that, the A's also have Keith Foulke, the AL's most effective closer this season. "I don't think we'd be in the position we are now without him," said Hudson. "He's been the backbone of our bullpen the whole year. Closers go out there and try to throw 100 miles an hour by guys, and they're walking guys and continually getting in trouble. He's going to go out there and make guys swing the bat. He knows how to pitch -- we definitely wouldn't be where we're at without him."