MVP Ortiz shouldered the load

NEW YORK -- Pucker up, New Englanders. Soaked in champagne and grateful for one player as much as any other, Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino said of David Ortiz after the club clinched its 11th American League pennant, "He has such big shoulders and he carries this team on the field and off the field. We're extraordinarily fortunate, and Theo Epstein deserves a big kiss for [acquiring] David Ortiz."

Ortiz, who signed as a free agent after the Twins cast him off after the 2002 season in a financial move, was named MVP of the American League Championship Series after he helped carry the club back from a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series for the first time in baseball history.

Ortiz said he and the Sox were motivated by the sadness they witnessed after they lost the first three games of the series.

"We saw a lot of fans crying and feeling hurt," he said. "Myself and all my teammates were worried about it and kept that for ourselves. That's one of the big reasons we came to the field and represented the way we did the last four games."

Ortiz hit .387 in the series with three homers and 11 RBIs. He hit his third homer last night, a two-run shot in the first inning to give the Sox a 2-0 lead.

"Last year, I remember we had a bad memory," Ortiz said of the Game 7 loss to the Yankees in the Bronx. "A lot of my teammates were just destroyed because we played a pretty good game and lost and it was a big-time opportunity to step up to the World Series. We know how long this team and the fans here have been waiting for this ball club to go to the World Series."

No more, thanks in great measure to Ortiz, who helped rally the team off the field as well as on it.

"He brings a great spirit and sense of humor and a big, bear-like personality to the park," Lucchino said. "He leads the league in hugs."

He also led the Sox in the series in big hits. He ended both Games 4 and 5 in extra innings with walkoff hits, hitting a two-run homer off Paul Quantrill in the 12th inning to win Game 4 and capping a 10-pitch at-bat by singling home Johnny Damon in the bottom of the 14th to win Game 5. His 11 RBIs established an LCS record as he passed Don Baylor of the '82 Angels and Ivan Rodriguez of the '03 Marlins.

Wakefield will open
Tim Wakefield, Curt Schilling, and Pedro Martinez will pitch the first three games of the World Series, the Sox announced. Games 1 and 2, Saturday and Sunday, are at Fenway Park. Wakefield, who was originally scheduled to start Game 4 of the ALCS but was scratched after pitching in relief in Game 3, missed another potential start when Francona decided to go with Derek Lowe last night . . . Five of the players on the Sox' 25-man roster last night were not with the team on Opening Day: Orlando Cabrera, Curtis Leskanic, Doug Mientkiewicz, Mike Myers, and Dave Roberts . . . Last night's game was the 201st for the Red Sox counting spring training, regular season, and playoffs . . . The Sox opted against taking batting practice . . . Fox pushed back the first pitch from 8:19 p.m. to 8:30 because of the length of the game between the Astros and Cardinals.

Police squad
When a swarm of New York's finest hustled onto the field in the eighth inning of Game 6 as fans began to get unruly after a call went against the Yankees, it may have looked a little scary to some. Francona, however, wasn't worried about it going into last night's game. "I had to tell one policeman, `Can you relay the hit-and-run to the third base coach because you're in my way.' They were everywhere," he said. "It was a different moment. The game is so important and it's such a crucial game and we have policemen with the hard hats and stuff." . . . That crowd unrest came after Alex Rodriguez was called out for interference when he slapped the ball out of Bronson Arroyo's glove as both ran toward first. Several Sox players lashed out at Rodriguez after Tuesday's game, calling him "unprofessional." Schilling echoed their sentiments yesterday on ESPN radio. "That was junior high baseball at its best," Schilling said. "First of all, Bronson wasn't in the baseline to begin with. He could have easily broken his arm. Come on, that was tired." Schilling then asked the interviewer, Dan Patrick, "Does [Derek] Jeter do that?" Patrick said, "Probably not." To which Schilling replied, "You know for a fact he doesn't because Derek Jeter is a class act and a professional, that's why." Martinez didn't see it as Schilling did. "I didn't think he was doing it on purpose," Martinez said. "He just reacted."

Jackie MacMullan and Reid Laymance of the Globe staff contributed to this report.