The Associated Press

NEW YORK - John McNamara took his ace out too soon. Grady Little left his in too long.

Bucky Dent popped a Mike Torrez fastball over the Green Monster. Aaron Boone hit Tim Wakefield's knuckler into the Yankee Stadium seats.

Johnny Pesky and Kevin Millar held the ball. Bill Buckner missed it.

The names change as the years go by, but the result is all-too familiar for the Red Sox and their fans: Another year without a World Series title, another celebration for the New York Yankees.

"The fans in Boston have to be sad, like we are, heartbroken, like we are," Pedro Martinez said Thursday night after the Yankees won the AL pennant with a 6-5 victory over the Red Sox. "But they have to be proud of us."

With the World Series logo already painted on the grass at Fenway Park, just in case, and fans camping outside for Series tickets, the Yankees rallied from a 5-2 deficit to send the game into extra innings and win it on Boone's solo homer off Wakefield in the 11th.

"I'm disappointed, and it hurts," Wakefield said. "It wasn't supposed to end like this."

In another stadium on the other side of the city, 17 years ago, the Red Sox lost another chance at a championship when McNamara took Roger Clemens out after seven innings in Game 6 of the World Series.

The Boston bullpen imploded, the New York Mets won the championship and Buckner's black hightops became a part of baseball history. The Red Sox haven't been back since.

This time, a Boston manager left his ace in too long.

Martinez cruised through the first six innings before giving up Jason Giambi's solo homer with two outs in the seventh. He gave up two more singles - one of them when Millar chose not to toss the ball to Martinez covering first base - but then struck out Alfonso Soriano to end the inning.

David Ortiz hit a solo homer in the eighth to give Boston a 5-2 lead.

With Boston five outs away from finally beating the Yankees, Derek Jeter doubled and scored on Bernie Williams' single. Little came out to talk to Martinez, and it seemed as if the three-time Cy Young Award winner had done his job for the day.

But Martinez said he wanted the ball, and Little gave it to him.

"Pedro Martinez has been our man all year long, and in situations like that, he's the one we want on the mound over anybody we can bring in from that bullpen," Little said. "Pedro wanted to stay in there. He wanted to get the job done just as he has many times for us all season long."

But Hideki Matsui hit a line drive down the right-field line for a ground-rule double that put the runners at second and third. Jorge Posada's looper landed in front of center fielder Johnny Damon as the runners came around to tie the game and Yankee Stadium erupted in cheers.

"There's no reason to blame Grady. Grady doesn't play the game, I do," Martinez said. "If you want to judge me or criticize me or curse me or whatever, I will swallow that, because I am responsible."

No one will curse at Martinez. The only curse they're worried about in Boston is the one that allegedly, absurdly haunts the franchise ever since Babe Ruth was sold to the Yankees in 1920.

New York has won 26 titles since then, and thanks to Boone's 11th-inning homer off Wakefield the Yankees still have a chance this year at another. The Red Sox have not won it all since 1918.

They came close in '46 before Enos Slaughter's "Mad Dash" scored the game-winning run ahead of Pesky's relay home. They came close in '75 before losing the Series in seven games, and again in '78 when Dent won an AL East playoff game with his homer that settled into the screen above Fenway's famous left-field wall.

They came closest in '86 - one strike away - before Buckner, Calvin Schiraldi and Bob Stanley couldn't close out the Mets.

They came close again this year, losing not because of a curse or an error or a manager's decision to trust his ace in the biggest game of the year.

"This was a great year for the organization," Millar said. "We've been resilient all year. We just didn't win the game. This was an unbelievable game, an unbelievable season. The sad thing is we lost."