Today is Kevin Millar's 40th birthday. What a perfect time for Terry Francona to invoke the Lead Idiot's spirit to light a fire under this lackluster Red Sox team.Who can forget Millar's pre-game rant exhibiting counter-intuitive optimism from the team's 0-3 hole in the 2004 ALCS? Who can forget the Great Jack Daniels Episode? And, of course, the Lead Off Walk of all time—against Mariano Rivera in the 9th inning of Game 4. (All of this is the reason FenwayNation sponsors Millar's Baseball Reference Page.)
Arguably, Millar's kind of "duende" does not exist in large enough proportions on the 2011 squad to propel them into the post-season. Maybe just playing that Game 4 pre-game video would be enough to re-ignite this team's drive.