Turn it up Bolstered Yankees or not, Red Sox Nation will continue to dance BY CHIP YOUNG

Opening Day at Fenway Park hasn’t been like this since, well, 1919. And there was no way that that ceremony could have touched this year’s festivities on Yawkey Way.

Boston fans had waited all winter for the pro forma ring ceremonies and the raising of the 2004 World Series banner. But the Red Sox simply blew out the joint by including past BoSox greats, as well as such Boston sports legends as the Bruins’ Number Four, Bobby Orr, and Celtics’ hero Bill Russell, the bearded cackler who began the big man in the middle’s aggressive attitude on defense of "Don’t bring that cheap shit in here." Chants of "Larry, Larry" went up even though Mr. Bird was not in sight. And how wonderful to see Yaz and Johnny Pesky raising that World Series flag together.

As Nigel Tufnel of Spinal Tap would have explained, the Boston Red Sox had the volume cranked up to 11 on April 11.

Tedy Bruschi, the New England Patriots’ crowd-pleasing linebacker with the absurdly perfect football player’s name, spun the dial to peak volume. Bruschi suffered a minor stroke after the Pats won the 2005 Super Bowl, and may have played his last game in the NFL. But there he was throwing out the first pitch, along with Orr, Russ, and his teammate, Richard Seymour, who may also join the Boston pantheon of gods before he is through in Foxboro. Saying that New England fans love their favorite sports stars is like saying Buddy Cianci has a passing interest in politics.

With this column admittedly getting a late start in analyzing the Olde Towne Team so we could enjoy the home opener extravaganza, the Red Sox’ definitive 8-1 thrashing of the Yankees was the icing on the cake. But after the hated Yanks won the season’s opening three-game series, 2-1, over the Sox in the House That Ruth Built, we have to bring in Billy Shakespeare from the bullpen to note that one win over New York in April is merely, "[A] tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury. Signifying nothing." Of course, you can’t convince Red Sox Nation of this, but it deserves the chance to gloat over the archenemies in the wake of last year’s October miracle.

So as we descend to practical thinking, with the inner skeptic feeling his oats, the first thing that the BoSox should do is trade David Wells. Hey, you get shelled in your first two starts? You are outta here, big boy. Just hand your uniform to Derek Lowe while he’s back for the ring ceremony, grab his ticket to fly back to Los Angeles, take a cab to Dodger Stadium, and his locker is all yours.

Okay, that’s reactionary and negative, but so were all of you Boston cap-wearers before Big Papi, David Ortiz, took one out in the 12th against New York in Game Four of the ALCS at Fenway last year. Actually, you have to have faith in Wells because: a) we need him; and b) he’s about as predictable as Robin Williams after five vodka and tonics and a handful of amphetamines. Chances are he’ll come back for his next start and throw a complete game one-hitter.

Getting pitchers back to last year’s levels of success is the key to the Red Sox’ success. Curt Schilling will tiptoe out to the mound on Wednesday, April 13, after this column goes to bed, for his first start of the season, after off-season surgery on his now legendary ankle. How he fares over the course of the season is critical to the team’s fortunes. It’s not even new math: Schilling healthy = Red Sox in playoffs; Schilling hurt = How about those Patriots?

Wade Miller also started the season on the disabled list. They say that when he returns, he will probably take Bronson Arroyo’s place in the rotation. This is a big mistake. Arroyo pitched extremely well for the Red Sox last season and through the playoffs, and he handily won his first start in 2005. Last year, the Sox made what I considered a very stupid move, sending Arroyo to the bullpen right after he had pitched a great game against the Yanks in the Bronx, to give the now blessedly departed Byung-Hyun Kim a start in his place. Talk about pulling the confidence rug out from under a young player. It was made worse, and more insulting, when Kim turned out to be a total bust. Bronson has earned his place in the starting five, and it should be his until he loses it.

Right-hander Matt Clement has looked solid in his two starts, so hopefully he can do some heavy lifting for a full season. And Tim Wakefield, who pitched extremely well in his New York debut (no decision after the Sox rallied for five runs in the ninth against Mariano Rivera), is the old warhorse that responds every year to the smell of gunpowder on the battlefield. Not surprisingly, he won the opener at Fenway with seven terrific innings.

In the bullpen, if the April 11 game can become a blueprint, in which Mike Mantei looked very tough in setting up Keith Foulke for the save (and you can substitute Mike Timlin and Alan Embree for Mantei at various occasions), Terry Francona’s late innings’ chest tightness could be a thing of the past.

At the plate, Boston is still an opposing pitcher’s nightmare. Johnny Damon remains a terrific all-rounder in the leadoff spot, hitting .304 last year with 20 dingers, a lot of wallop for a leadoff man. Plus he can run, and as he showed in the post-season last year, and brings his A Game with the pressure on. Trot Nixon behind him may become a question mark, but he seems to resurrect himself just when they are about to give him last rites. He still can’t hit lefties, so we page another complete player, new boy Jay Payton, for those contests. Then we have Manny "Lost in the Ozone Again" Ramirez and Big Papi, two of last year’s legitimate AL MVP candidates. Ramirez is simply a hitting machine, and is bound to put up good numbers if he stays physically healthy. (Yes, that was indeed meant as opposed to mentally healthy.) All you read about Ortiz, the monster of the ALCS for the Sox, is how he is slowly but surely filling in all the holes in his swing. That is bad news for non-Red Sox hurlers.

Then you do a little dance down the lineup and get 1B Kevin Millar (ferocious in the clutch), catcher-captain Jason Varitek (even scarier when it counts), SS Edgar Renteria (.287 with Cardinals last year), 3B Bill Mueller (a former AL batting champ who also never gives up), and 2B Mark Bellhorn (remember the crucial dinger off the Pesky Pole last year?). This gang will be stepping on someone’s toes while it cha-chas, hard and often.

Defensively, this team can play. Mueller and Renteria make for a great left side of the infield, and Bellhorn and Millar are steady, if unspectacular. Varitek is immense behind the plate in calling a game and the pitchers trust him. He also gives a wonderful facial massage, as A-Hole Rodriguez will attest. Having Doug Mirabelli as Wakefield’s designated catcher gives just the right amount of rest to Tek over the long haul. In the outfield, Manny is a walking, running, stumbling circus, but he can surprise you with his glove and arm at the most critical times (and vice-versa). Who cares if Johnny can’t throw in center? He can track them down. Nixon and Payton in right are no liability, and Trot hasn’t met a wall he doesn’t like.

Finally, the intangibles. "Idiots" pretty much hits the nail on the head, doesn’t it? But with actual adults like Varitek, Renteria, Wakefield, and Schilling in the locker room babysitting Ramirez, Millar, Damon, and Arroyo, it makes for a nice — and successful, please remember — blend of the ridiculous and the sublime. The Farrelly brothers filmed some of their new hit, Fever Pitch, at Fenway, but perhaps they should return for some cameo work by the Idiots when they begin their next movie on the Three Stooges. I can hear Manny already: "I’m ready for my close-up, Mr. Farrelly. Woo-woo-woo!"

Most of the sports media slipped back into conservative Brooks Brothers’ button-down shirts, dark suits, and black wingtips for their preseason picks, tapping the Yankees on the shoulder to win the AL East again this year. It says here the Red Sox will do it, based on their depth and newfound confidence, but a healthy Schilling is a must for this to happen. As we all know, you only need to get to the playoffs, by hook or by overall winning percentage crook, to get that World Series home plate-sized diamond ring.

Once again, the Red Sox Nation will be pumping it up in October. And remember, the Idiots’ amplifier goes to 11.