Scalpers’ Dream

Four box seats for today’s American League championship series game between the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees in Fenway Park reportedly were sold for $12,100 on eBay this week.

The Game 3 duel between Red Sox aces present and past--Pedro Martinez and Roger Clemens--amid the backdrop of baseball’s most heated rivalry has thrown the city into such a frenzy that even Boston Manager Jimy Williams, who is usually as bland as watered-down chowder, came up with a bizarre mix of metaphors to describe the charged-up atmosphere.

“As far as [today’s] game, I think the circuit breaker for that electric company, for the great pad in the sky, they might be challenged,” Williams said.

Ohhh-kay.

For a more coherent assessment of today’s proceedings, we turn to Yankee Manager Joe Torre, who has witnessed his share of playoff pitching showdowns in the last four years and can’t wait for this one to unfold.

“There is no question this is a special time,” Torre said. “It would be a special time if it happened during the season, but for it to happen in Game 3 of the championship series in Fenway, where both pitchers have won Cy Young awards--well, Pedro is on his way to one--is pretty damn incredible.

“I just hope it lives up to that hype. I have a sense it will. . . . I think that’s what the goose bumps are going to be about.”

Adding to the intrigue is that the game will begin a little after 4 p.m. (EDT), with Fenway expected to be bathed in the shadows of a late-afternoon sun.

If Martinez, considered the best pitcher in the game today, is throwing anything like he did on Sept. 10, when he struck out 17 in a one-hitter against the Yankees in Yankee Stadium, how dominant could he be in difficult lighting?

And if Clemens, one of baseball’s best pitchers since 1984 but now in the twilight of his career, is throwing as well as he did in Game 3 of the division series against the Texas Rangers, when he gave up three hits in seven scoreless innings, will the Red Sox be able to touch him in the shadows?

A more pressing question: Will Martinez and Clemens be able to pitch to their own lofty expectations?

Martinez, sidelined because of a back strain in Game 1 of the division series against the Cleveland Indians, returned to throw six hitless relief innings in a Game 5 victory over the Indians on Monday night, but his fastball, usually in the devastating 96-mph range, topped out at a more hittable 91.

“Well, I’m not 100% yet,” he admitted Friday. “But after pitching in Cleveland, having seen the result, I don’t think I need my full strength to beat another team.”

Clemens, who infuriated Boston fans when he left to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays in 1996, had what was a subpar year by his standards--14-10, 4.60 earned-run average--and was downright average in the second half, when he was 6-7 with a 4.52 ERA.

He will have an added degree of difficulty, pitching in front of what is expected to be an extremely hostile Fenway crowd.

“People say, ‘Look at what he did for the city,’ but the fans feel like Roger abandoned them,” Red Sox utility player Lou Merloni said. “You hardly ever see a player return here and get treated well. They even booed Wade Boggs.”

Somewhat lost in the hype surrounding Pedro versus Rocket is that the Red Sox, trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, must win today to have any chance of reaching the World Series.

They were in the same position against the Indians, trailing 2-0, and won the next three games. But this Yankee pitching staff is much deeper and more talented than Cleveland’s, so the Red Sox, despite their abundance of resiliency, have a difficult task ahead.

“We have a unique set of guys who can put what happened yesterday behind them, and focus on today,” Boston catcher Jason Varitek said. “People say we had no chance against the Indians, and they say we have no chance against the Yankees, but we don’t worry about those things.”

A Boston victory could change the complexion of the series drastically, giving a team that suffered two heartbreaking, one-run defeats in Yankee Stadium the momentum swing they need.

“No doubt, this series can turn around in a hurry,” Yankee pitcher David Cone said. “We have three games here, they played us tough in New York and could have won the first two games. We felt we had to win twice in New York. That’s how much respect we have for them here.”