His dirty work helps them clean up
You forget about Mark Bellhorn. He lulls you to sleep with those droopy eyes and that droopy hair and his insistence on examining every pitch as though it is a rare piece of art. He'll drive you crazy, this second baseman, who takes and takes and takes pitches until he either walks or strikes out. Or hits incredible clutch home runs to win it.
While the St. Louis Cardinals were occupied with fretting about the lethal power of Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, Boston's Pigpen second baseman, who was struggling so badly at the plate as recently as a week ago that Red Sox Nation was calling for his removal from the lineup, was quietly sizing up reliever Julian Tavarez in the bottom of the eighth.
The score recently had been tied on a pair of outfield errors by Ramirez, and this was a demoralizing thing, because the Sox had blown leads of 4-0, 7-2, and 9-7.
Even the Fenway Faithful couldn't help but look ahead to the top of the order for the kind of instant help that would be required to pull out this win. Maybe it was a rejuvenated Johnny Damon that could do it, or perhaps Manny, or the magical bat of David Ortiz. Bellhorn? It should have occurred to them, but it didn't.
Bellhorn, meanwhile, quietly stepped into the box in the eighth, and quickly fell behind on the count, 1-2. Then, just like that, he swung the bat and lofted a shot to right field that clanged off Pesky's Pole for a two-run homer and an 11-9 lead that did hold this time.
For those of you scoring at home, the unassuming infielder now has hit home runs for the Red Sox in three consecutive postseason games. There was the critical -- and unexpected -- three-run blast off Jon Lieber in Game 6 of the ALCS against the Yankees that left disgruntled New Yorkers streaming for the exits muttering, "Mark `Bleeping' Bellhorn." There was an insurance home run in Game 7 to clinch this World Series appearance.
And then there was the biggest hit of his life, a clanger off the pole that will join the annals of historic Red Sox home runs.
"I'm telling you something right now," said Kevin Millar. "That guy has been the unsung MVP for this team. The guy has been so awesome for this team. And he doesn't change his demeanor, no matter what's going on.
"We have never lost confidence in him. When all the TV people and the papers and the radio shows were on him, he was getting nothing but positive feedback from us here behind closed doors."
Bellhorn was getting more than that in the batting cages with hitting coach Ron Jackson. Papa Jack studied film of Bellhorn's swing during his horrendous 2-for-25 (.080) postseason start, which included 0 homers and 0 RBIs and enough strikeouts to wallpaper your kid's room.
"What we saw was his body was going around," Jackson reported. "You've got to keep your hands back, and stay on top of the baseball. He wasn't doing anything with his hands during that time. We spent a lot of time trying to make the adjustment.
"I'm so proud of him that he turned it around. And I give him a lot of credit. He and Johnny Damon were in that cage every day trying to work out their problems.
"The name of the game in the playoffs is making adjustments. You do that, and you're going to succeed."
As Damon and Bellhorn took extra swings, they talked about their futility, and the pressure to reverse their fortunes. Although Damon was struggling too, no one was calling for him to be yanked from the lineup. That was Bellhorn's lone cross to bear.
"He's a tough kid," Damon said. "He's never had anything given to him. Sometimes you don't get a very good game from him, but guess what? He's always going to be prepared mentally and physically.
"I'm just so happy for him. He's a guy you just got to root for."
Sox manager Terry Francona was roundly criticized as Bellhorn continued to swing and miss, and his manager continued to pencil him into the lineup. His loyalty to his second baseman has been rewarded in the most crucial moments.
"If you watched him all year, you know he's a good player," said the manager. "He has a tendency to swing and miss. That's part of his game. He strikes out. But he's also hit a number of game-winning hits. I know myself, the coaching staff, and the other players feel real good about him. We feel like he's going to help us."
It will be accurate to say at this juncture that Bellhorn will not be sneaking up on the Cardinals for the rest of this series, not after submitting his winning blast, a second-inning single, and two walks. He is in his own kind of zone now, and Papa Jack says he can tell that his student is approaching pitchers with renewed aggressiveness.
"It's just confidence," Bellhorn explained. "I think we forget the mind is a powerful thing and sometimes we lose our confidence. You know, these games, you want to win them so bad that sometimes you put too much pressure on yourself and you start to struggle."
The struggles appear to be over. The hands are back, the average is up, and the hits just keep on coming. Yet Mark Bellhorn does not take this for granted. He has no illusions about replacing David Ortiz as the money man, or the home run king. For one night, the fantasy has come to life. If he has to go back to being a faceless, contributing second baseman, that's fine with him.
"Every little boy thinks of playing in the World Series and winning Game 7," Bellhorn said. "I know I did, I guess, but I'm not here trying to be a hero. I'm just trying to win four games."
One down, three to go.
Jackie MacMullan's e-mail address is macmullan@globe.com.
