A baseball postcard from Fenway Park:

It is a holiday weekend, the Yankees are in town, it is 75 degrees, Pedro Martinez is on the mound, Katie Couric is playing a practical joke on her boyfriend, and the left-field scoreboard shows the Red Sox with a lead they will not lose.

Picture 33,884 fans in the ancient park, watching the two best teams in the American League begin a four-game series. It is May now, with three-quarters of the season remaining. But look at all the faces. Look at the players, look at the managers, and look at the fans. They all know that this series is significant because, when September arrives, the Red Sox and Yankees will still be close enough to pick up the other's scent.

We haven't seen a card like this from Fenway in a long time. The Red Sox competitively close to the Yankees? Sox fans may have said that last year and the year before and the year before that, but they didn't mean it. They hoped it more than they believed it.

In the past, the Sox didn't have the pitching nor the defense to seriously challenge the Yankees. They faced them in the 1999 playoffs and failed because they had an incomplete checklist.

A double-play combination? No.

Healthy and reliable pitching? No.

A battery that could either slow down a team's running game or snuff it out altogether? No.

Joyful ownership that actually acknowledged the fans and, in turn, sent a message to all employees that public relations is a major part of baseball? Not a chance.

The Red Sox won last night's game, 3-1. They are now two games ahead of the Yankees in the AL East. Their 31-13 record is the best in baseball, and it is far from a fluke. Martinez sits atop their rotation at 7-0 with a 2.63 ERA, and that's after a season opener where he looked more like Pedro Astacio than Pedro Martinez.

But this success goes beyond Martinez and his numbers. This success is layered. There are some obvious changes on the field, and there are some radical changes that only players and office workers notice. All of it is good.

When is the last time you saw the Sox with an up-the-middle defense like they have now? Second baseman Rey Sanchez may be the most underrated player on the team, Johnny Damon plays a fine center field, and Jason Varitek is not only healthy, he has been liberated behind the plate.

Under Jimy Williams and Joe Kerrigan, Sox catchers often looked silly on the job because pitchers were taught that holding runners on was not the top priority.

''The idea was that the pitcher should concentrate on making a quality pitch,'' Varitek said. ''We didn't use the slide step, but it was more than that. The entire philosophy was based on focusing on the batter. It worked out OK until our philosophy became public. It was on ESPN and in the newspapers, and teams started to expose us.''

Williams used to call Varitek into his office and reassure him that his low percentage of throwing runners out was not his fault. No meetings are necessary this season. Last night in the sixth, Bernie Williams took off for second. Varitek caught Martinez's pitch, he set his back foot (which is his key for a good throw; for Doug Mirabelli the key is turning his hip), and he threw the Yankee out. On Sunday against Seattle, he threw out a pinch runner to end the game. This year, with Derek Lowe pitching, Varitek has thrown out two runners.

''And those are the first two of my career with Derek,'' he said. ''We've still got a lot to work to do there, but we're getting better.''

Is it possible to see evolution on a postcard? Many players rave about the presence of owner John Henry, who regularly shows up in the clubhouse. They instinctively thought something was wrong when they saw John Harrington and Dan Duquette make an appearance. They are happy to be winning and happy to be treated like men again.

No one has been late for work, and the only meeting of the year lasted five minutes.

Before last night's win, Couric wanted to surprise her man, Tom Werner, one of the Sox owners. So she went behind a concession stand, pulled a baseball cap low over her eyes, and made sure that Larry Lucchino directed Werner to her stand.

''Hello, Mr. Werner,'' she said.

He didn't recognize her at first. When he did, he jumped the counter and gave the television host a hug and a kiss. There were laughs all around. As the couple smiled at each other, a 37-year season ticket-holder - Section 17, Row 4, Seat 25 - walked up and said, ''Are the Sox going to win the Series this year?''

This year has been the year for generations now, so the owners smiled but didn't commit to an answer. But all you have to do is look at the picture. This time, truly, 84 years of sadness could be washed away.

By Michael Holley of The Boston Globe Staff

This story ran on page E1 of the Boston Globe on 5/24/2002.

Copyright 2002 Globe Newspaper Company.