Theo Epstein appointed Epstein to replace interim general manager (GM) Mike Port. Epstein is credited with initiating the trade of Nomar Garciaparra and making key contract acquisitions including those of Kevin Millar and Curt Schilling during his first tenure as Red Sox GM. The new players were regarded as instrumental in breaking the so-called "Curse of the Bambino" when the Red Sox defeated the St. Louis Cardinals in the 2004 World Series. It was the Red Sox' first World Series championship since 1918, ending what remains the third longest championship drought in the history of any Major League team, after the Chicago
Santo Bambino of Aracoeli the bedside of a sick person. Today, the chapel is filled with letters from all over the world, some of them addressed only to "Il Bambino, Rome". To make room for new letters, several weeks' worth of old ones are removed and burned with some incense. These are left unopened because, as a Franciscan custodian of the image puts it, "What is in the letters, is a matter between the Bambino and the letter writer and does not concern us." At Christmas, the Bambino is customarily placed in the crèche at the Basilica. Another custom is, in the period between