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NEW YORK - The Boston outfielder went to New York, taking his powerful bat with him. Once he arrived at Yankee Stadium, his hitting got even better.

Babe Ruth? Only if you believe in "The Curse of the Bambino."

In this case, the slugger is Manny Ramirez - who spends half the season at Fenway Park - and he's not only beating New York but threatening to outdo the legend himself in the House that Ruth Built.

That's where Ramirez led Boston's resurgent offense by going 4-for-5 Wednesday night as the Red Sox beat the Yankees 5-2 in the opener of the best-of-seven AL championship series.

He hit one of Boston's three homers, giving him 15 in the postseason for his career. One more and he'll pass the Babe himself.

"I don't care if I don't get any hits," Ramirez said, "as long as we win and go all the way."

If they do, the Red Sox will have their first championship since 1918, two years before they sold Ruth to the Yankees, the event that gave rise to The Curse.

FINDING HIS COMFORT ZONE: In baseball, some players thrive in East Coast cities such as Boston, New York and Philadelphia - places where expectations are high and fans are tough.

They love the attention. They thrive under the pressure.

Others could do without it.

Florida Marlins pitcher Chad Fox knows this too well. He signed with Boston in the offseason and lasted half a season before the Red Sox released him July 31. He went 1-2 with a 4.50 ERA in Boston before he signed a minor-league contract with the Marlins Aug. 8. After his call-up Aug. 12, he went 2-1 with a 2.13 ERA in 21 appearances.

In Game 1 of the National League Championship Series on Tuesday at Wrigley Field, Fox pitched 1 2/3 scoreless innings in a 9-8 victory in 11 innings.

The difference between Boston and South Florida?

"It's night and day," Fox said. "And I don't mean that in a bad way. Boston is just - until you live and play and experience it, I can't sit here and tell you. It seemed like over there, every pitch I threw was under the microscope. ... And you come over to the Marlins, where it's so laid-back. There's no added pressure."

DOING BUSINESS: Vinny Milano did a brisk business selling T-shirts across the street from Yankee Stadium before Game 1. None sold faster than the ones with "1918" emblazoned in bold red on the front.

That was the last year the Red Sox won the World Series, a fact that Yankees fans love to point out.

"It amazes me the amount of anti-Boston merchandise I sell," said Milano, a 28-year-old New Yorker. "They sell even when the Red Sox aren't in town."

A CURSE OF THEIR OWN: The Yankees have won 26 World Series titles. The Red Sox have Connor Narron, their answer to all this Curse of the Bambino nonsense.

Narron is the son of former Rangers manager Jerry Narron, who is now the Red Sox's dugout coach. Connor is also the Red Sox's bat boy on occasion, though he still lives in North Carolina most of the year.

Connor was the bat boy July 4-5 in the first two games of a four-game series at Yankee Stadium. The Red Sox won both games. He went back to North Carolina and the Red Sox lost the next two.

He came back to New York on Sept. 5-6 and the Red Sox won two more against the Yankees. Again, he missed Sunday's game to go back to North Carolina and the Red Sox lost.

"He's 4-0 in New York this year," Jerry Narron said before Game 1.

"He was also there for the two games in Boston against Oakland," Narron said. "(Manager) Grady Little wanted to take him out to Oakland but I couldn't let him miss two weeks of school."