Eckstein May Be Bound for Boston

As the Angels advanced through the playoffs last year and to the World Series championship, Boston fans rued the day the Red Sox exposed minor league infielder David Eckstein to waivers. The Angels claimed him, and the popular shortstop emerged as their offensive catalyst.

The Red Sox could get Eckstein back this winter, depending on how successful the Angels’ shopping spree is. If the Angels sign one of two free-agent shortstops -- Miguel Tejada or Kazuo Matsui -- they could make Eckstein available in trade.

Eckstein played second base in the Boston organization. The Red Sox are believed to be interested in replacing second baseman Todd Walker, a poor defender. A Boston official said Wednesday he believed the Sox would consider Eckstein if he were available, citing a team emphasis on on-base percentage.

Eckstein hit .293 with a .363 on-base percentage last year but slipped to .252 and .325 this year, hampered by injury. Walker hit .283 with a .333 on-base percentage.

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The Red Sox dropped closer Byung-Hyun Kim from their playoff roster, a decision the team insisted resulted from his sore right shoulder and not from his poor playoff history against the Yankees or his dismal week in this year’s division series.

Kim, then with the Arizona Diamondbacks, blew saves in consecutive games at Yankee Stadium in the 2001 World Series. He also blew the save for Boston in Game 1 against the Oakland A’s last week. He did not pitch again in the series and made an obscene gesture when fans booed him during introductions at Fenway Park before Game 3.

The Red Sox kept an extra pitcher for this round, dropping Kim and outfielder Adrian Brown in favor of Todd Jones and Jeff Suppan. The Yankees dropped reliever Chris Hammond and added Erick Almonte, preferring an extra infielder because Enrique Wilson is expected to start against Pedro Martinez in Game 3. Wilson is 10 for 20 against the Boston ace.

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Boston General Manager Theo Epstein stood on a step of the Red Sox dugout, leaning against the railing in front of him about two hours before Game 1. Less than 11 months earlier, on Nov. 25, he was promoted from assistant general manager to general manager, at age 28. At that time, he didn’t think much about where his first season might take him.

“You just think about building the best possible team,” Epstein said. “There’s so much chance in this game and so many things beyond your control, you focus and obsess over that which is under your control.”

He couldn’t do much Monday night but watch nervously from the clubhouse in Oakland as the Athletics loaded the bases, trailing, 4-3, in the bottom of the ninth of the decisive game of the first round. He was joined by pitching coach Tony Cloninger, who is coming back from cancer therapy, and traveling secretary Jack McCormick.

“I wasn’t throwing up like, apparently, a lot of fans were,” Epstein said. “We’re just doing our best to win it. We just jumped up and all hugged each other when we got that final out.”

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Associated Press contributed to this report.