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If the other 18 games the Sox and Yankees play against each other are as exciting as last night’s matchup, its going to be one hell of a ride.

Fans expect a show when they sit down to watch these rivals square off, and last night did not disappoint. The headline for the event, outside of the actual game, was the return of Johnny Damon to Fenway … in Yankee pinstripes. NESN did a good job of broadcasting from the stadium during pre-game to capture the reaction of the fans. And it was pretty much as expected.

Every time Damon stuck his head out of the dugout, he was showered with a rousing round of Boos from the Fenway Faithful. But as he made his way to the plate to lead off the game after being announced, a few cheers could be heard amongst the jeers from jilted fans. The cheers grew enough that Damon stepped out of the box before the first pitch, and turned to the crowd.

In a show of class, Damon tipped his cap to Fenway. Tucking away the Grin of the Idiot he usually wears, Johnny wore a look of sincerity as he acknowledged the fans that cheered him for the hard work he gave and World Series Trophy he helped bring to Boston.

Continuing the gesture of good will, he turned to the Red Sox dugout, throwing props to his former coach Tito Francona, and teammates he once shared uniforms with just a year ago. As the boos became more and more scarce throughout the hallowed walls of Fenway, Damon paid one last piece of respect to the city and team, giving Wakefield a little point-out on the mound before taking his stance in the batter’s box.

Damon was expecting the boos, and handled them with grace. Though many fans will hold onto the grudge of his signing with the Yankees, many more of us will remember the 2004 season and everything Damon meant to the city. Damon’s actions before his first at-bat yesterday let everyone know that he will remember the very same thing.

The sappy moment aside, Sox fans moved on to the more good-natured and relentless razzing normally given to enemies of Fenway. When Damon took his place in centerfield in the bottom of the inning, fans showered him with dollar bills in effigy of his off-season contract with the Yankees. Throughout the game, chants of “Da-mon! Da-mon!” rained down from the stands, coaxing that idiot grin from number 18.

As big a story as Damon’s return to Fenway was for last night’s game, Mirabelli practically stole the show before the first pitch was even thrown. Dougie was on the first flight out of San Diego yesterday, hoping to make it to Fenway on time for the game. When he emerged from the Police Escort he received from the airport to the stadium, Mirabelli was already decked out in his Boston whites, having changed along the way.

Where Damon’s ears rang with boos, Mirabelli’s received a deafening cheer when he stepped out of the dugout and headed towards home plate, taking his rightful spot as Tim Wakefield’s catcher.

The game itself was amazing. Even from just watching it on TV, I could feel the electricity emanating from the crowd, giving the game a playoff atmosphere. There was no doubt why this rivalry is one of the greatest in professional sports.

Youkilis lead off the game with a walk, and don’t think there was a single fan in Fenway that didn’t notice our new leadoff guy reached while our old leadoff guy on the Yankees didn’t touch a single base all night. That point was driven home two batters later when Ortiz drove a single to the outfield, scoring Youkilis and giving the Sox an early 1-0 advantage.

Mirabelli stepped up in the third inning when he threw out the stealing Bubba Crosby, killing a scoring opportunity with the top of the Yankee order on deck. Johnny Damon promptly grounded out to Wakefield on the very next pitch, ending the top half of the inning.

With the game tied at 3 heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Yankees’ pitching strategy was unfurled. After reliever Tanyon Sturze gave up an RBI single to the struggling Mark Loretta to give the Sox a 4-3 edge, Torre went to the bullpen again.

With Ortiz striding to the plate, the Yankees brought in former Sox reliever Mike Myers, a pitcher Steinbrenner picked up in the offseason. Myers is a lefty killer, and is viewed as the answer to Big Papi.

All night long, a strong wind blowing straight in from centerfield, knocking down any ball lofted into the air long before reaching the stands, including a Wily Mo blast that would have been a key grand slam in the game. But Mother Nature proved to be no match for Ortiz. With two on, one out, and facing a full count from the sidearming Myers, Ortiz crushed a pitch to deep right-center field that found its way into the Boston bullpen for a three-run shot, giving the Sox a 7-3 advantage.

Its only fitting that Ortiz’s home run to the bullpen was caught by Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon. Ortiz gave the Sox a nice cushion late in the game with the blast, and now it was up to Papelbon to slam the door on the Yanks.

And slam it he did. Alex Rodriguez was retired on three straight heaters from Papelbon, and after Hideki Matsui popped out to third, Jorge Posada ended the game waving at strike three. Papelbon needed only 13 pitches to retire the 4-5-6 hitters in the Yankee lineup.

Round 1 has gone to the Red Sox after a game that featured the return of old heroes and new enemies, beloved figures, monster shots and spectacular finishes. I’m exhausted just thinking about the game, much less the 18 other ones yet to take place. Though the rivalry isn’t quite what it used to be pre-2004, it’s still the best in baseball.

And I can’t wait for Round 2.

As I mentioned before, last night marked the triumphant return of Doug Mirabelli to Boston. Dougie not only serves as Wakefield’s personal catcher, he’s also a great clubhouse presence and fan favorite on the Red Sox.

But another reason on my personal list of why I’m happy to see Mirabelli back in Boston: no more hockey-style catcher’s masks for the Red Sox! Josh Bard wore one of those ridiculous pieces of headgear in his short time here, and I cringed at the very sight of it (almost as much as I cringed when he let another Wakefield knuckler bounce to the backstop). Mirabelli and Varitek both don the traditional (and completely functional) helmet-and-mask combination that should be worn by MLB catchers. They need to outlaw the hockey-style ones just as much as those new CoolFlo batting helmets.

And if that wasn’t enough reason to love Mirabelli, rumor has it that in the mad rush to get to Fenway in time for the game, Dougie actually caught the first inning without wearing a cup.

Granted, his jewels probably weren’t in too much danger of getting crushed considering Wake’s money pitch flutters in at 60 mph, any guy can attest that it doesn’t take much to put a hurtin’ on the boys. And with that knuckleball jumping all over the place like it does, Mirabelli gets both StudBoy and CrazyMan points for not sporting a shell, even if only for an inning.

And today’s closing thought, just because I find it damn hilarious that they don’t even realize they’re ripping their own kind …