Think back to 2004 when the “self proclaimed idiots” were in the Red Sox clubhouse. You had Kevin Millar and Johnny Damon livening things up, mostly Millar. Well even though Millar is wearing an Orioles uniform, he was still up to some of his old tricks on Sunday as his O’s faced the Red Sox.

“Hey, Tito,” Millar shouted prior to the Sox’ 2-1 win, “Schilling ate your second baseman. That’s unbelievable. When I saw that picture, I couldn’t find Dustin (Pedroia). I said, ‘Let him out.’ ”

One minute, he had Kevin Youkilis in stitches by the batting cage, poking fun at the first baseman’s goatee (or “big old thing of hair,” as he called it);

This “idiot” factor is what made the 2003, 2004 and 2005 editions of the Boston Red Sox unique. If something was going wrong, they could always count on Millar to liven things up. Who could ever forget “Cowboy Up.” Millar is still upset that GM Theo Epstein broke apart the 2004 team that won the World Series.

“I don’t know, but I know whatever they did in ’06 didn’t work,” Millar said. “They watched the playoffs with us. So whatever they tried to do . . . whether it was injuries or whatever, it’s just part of baseball. The group they had for those three years worked. We were in the playoffs three years, we were five outs away from the World Series in ’03, a championship in ’04 . . . but whatever happened, happened. That’s the business side of it and we can’t control it as players. You go with the flow.”

It was always fun to watch the Red Sox play with Millar on the team. He always had that knack to keep the team loose. Playing in a market like Boston, loose is good. With all the pressure from the media and the fans, the more relaxed as a player you are, the odds are you will play better.