Martinez, Clemens square off in Game 7

The bitter rivals play for a World Series berth at Yankee Stadium.
NEW YORK (AP) -- Somehow, you knew it would come down to this.
Pedro vs. the Rocket, Game 7.
Zimmer vs. Martinez, Round 2.
Does baseball get any better?
"This is as big as it gets," Yankees captain Derek Jeter said. "It's going to be fun."
A winner-take-all matchup between bitter rivals -- and two of the best pitchers of this generation.
Call it the Game of the Century.
"I don't think there's a person in the United States that doesn't know Red Sox-Yankees, Game 7, Pedro-Clemens," Boston's Kevin Millar said.
Martinez in enemy territory
And as if a World Series berth wasn't enough, there's even more at stake.
The Yankees get another shot at Martinez, who threw behind Karim Garcia's head in Game 3 and then tossed 72-year-old coach Don Zimmer to the ground at Fenway Park.
Clemens tries to extend his storied career. After 310 wins and 4,099 strikeouts, the future Hall of Famer plans to call it quits following this, his 20th season. If the Yankees lose, it will be his last time on a major league mound.
The Red Sox have a chance to turn the tables -- for once -- in this one-sided rivalry by beating the Yankees in their own backyard.
How sweet it would be to do it against Clemens, who spent 13 stellar seasons in a Boston uniform before leaving town as a free agent.
He pitched the Red Sox into their last World Series, beating the California Angels in Game 7 of the 1986 ALCS. That was 17 years ago Wednesday.
Respect for Rocket
"I have a lot of respect for that man," said Boston backup infielder Lou Merloni, who grew up about 20 minutes from Fenway Park.
"He's a boyhood hero. He's the guy I wanted to have the ball in this situation. But we also have a guy like that, and I wouldn't want anybody else to have the ball in this situation than him."
Always focused on the task ahead, Clemens left the clubhouse before reporters were allowed in.
Martinez maintained he wasn't nervous about the biggest game of his career -- not yet at least.
"I've got to wait for the game tomorrow. Maybe I'll be nervous then," he said.
But he's plenty pumped up.
"If I was a fan I'd feel the same way," Martinez said.
Cy Young Award collectors
The Rocket owns a record six Cy Young Awards -- Martinez has three.
"The gods of baseball wanted to see this happen," Millar said.
Now Clemens is a Yankee, and few things are as despised in Boston. He might as well be Benedict Arnold to most Red Sox fans.
A pennant-clinching victory over Clemens would surely convince Red Sox fans that The Curse could at last be broken this season.
If they can beat Clemens in the biggest game of the year, they must be destined to win the World Series for the first time since 1918 -- two years before they sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.
Long time, 85 years. Especially when the Yankees have won 26 championships since.
"I just know what it means to the guys in here, and for our franchise," Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said.
Clemens beat Martinez 4-3 last Saturday in a fight-filled game at Fenway. The Rocket kept his cool throughout, allowing two runs and five hits in six innings. He struck out seven.
Boston's ace wasn't nearly as good, getting into trouble early and showing his frustration by firing a fastball at Garcia.
When Manny Ramirez took exception to a high pitch from Clemens the next half-inning, the benches cleared and Zimmer lunged at Martinez, who grabbed the coach by the head and tossed him to the ground.