On brink of elimination, Red Sox have history of comebacks  By Paul White, USA TODAY  grabbed a drink out of the clubhouse cooler and headed for the exit after the lopsided loss that left the Boston Red Sox one game from elimination in the American League Championship Series — again.  "Hey, it's not the end of the world, guys," he yelled — then smiled. "That worked last year."  Last year is when then-teammate Manny Ramirez said, with the Red Sox trailing the Cleveland Indians 3-1 in the ALCS, "It's not the end of the world or something."  The Red Sox don't have Manny, nor his approach that sometimes came across as too cavalier for their rabid New England fans, but they have hope. They've done this before — in some remarkably similar circumstances.  The most famous is the 2004 ALCS, when the Red Sox became the only major league team to win a seven-game series after losing the first three. Their 19-8 Game 3 loss to the Yankees was even worse than Tuesday's 13-4 thrashing by Tampa Bay at Fenway Park.  And they did it last year, never losing again after Ramirez's comments and making these unlikely marches to the World Series title begin to look like a habit.  "If we can draw on anything from that, good," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said. "Anything that's happened in your past, you try to turn into an advantage for you. We'll use anything we can."  But Francona and his players are stressing that this a different year with a different opponent.  "The fact this team has done it before gives you confidence it can happen," said Red Sox pitcher Paul Byrd. "That doesn't mean you assume anything."  Byrd knows first-hand. He was the winning pitcher in Game 4 of last year's ALCS, then sat and watched as his Indians were outscored 30-5 by Boston over the next three games.  Several factors fueled that turnaround but, Byrd said, he feels that the Game 5 pitching performance by Boston's Josh Beckett was the most important. Beckett easily outpitched CC Sabathia, striking out 11 while allowing one run and five hits in eight innings of a 7-1 victory.  "Beckett pitched a great game," Byrd said. "Somebody needed to come in and change the momentum. That's what you need. The same thing has to happen this year."  That puts Daisuke Matsuzaka squarely in the spotlight. He's Boston's starting pitcher in Thursday's Game 5 and has the only Red Sox victory in this series, with seven shutout innings in Game 1.  "I'm not Beckett," Matsuzaka said through a translator. "But if I can pitch like he did last year and hand the ball off to the guys behind me, that would be great."  If a momentum shift is what the Red Sox are looking for, the Rays might be providing it.  Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon announced Wednesday that Scott Kazmir would start Game 5 instead of James Shields, who moves to Game 6.  Maddon admitted that having off-days before and after Game 5 was a factor because that would allow him more liberal use of his bullpen should Kazmir struggle.  Kazmir did just that in Game 2, giving up five runs, six hits and three walks in 4⅓ innings. Since Aug. 1 and including his two postseason appearances, Kazmir has a 4.84 ERA and 40 walks in 67 innings. Before Aug. 1, he had a 2.84 ERA and 35 walks in 95 innings.  If Kazmir turns out to be an antidote to a suddenly anemic Boston offense, another Red Sox wish would be granted. Boston has a .232 average in this series. Ortiz finally got his first hit of the series in Game 4 with a seventh-inning triple but then struck out for the fourth time in 14 at-bats the next inning. Jacoby Ellsbury and Jason Varitek still are hitless.  "The hitting problems can change in a hurry," Francona said. "Hitting can get very contagious. Somebody gets a hit, you get them (pitching) out of the stretch, and all of a sudden you get a real hot team. That's what we need to do. That's what Tampa has done.  "We need to eliminate some of that confidence and get something going on our side."  That's where Wednesday's open date could make a difference. The Rays didn't hit, didn't even come to the ballpark for a workout, choosing rest after the 170th game of their season over whatever help another day of batting practice might be for the momentum.  "We wanted our guys to take today off," Maddon said Wednesday. "I think our guys will be fresh and ready to go."  Byrd remembers the Cleveland offense losing momentum but places the blame for that on Beckett rather than a similar off day after Game 4.  "Our offense was hot," Byrd said.  Cleveland had 27 runs in the first four games.  But Boston's offense at this point a year ago, if not hot, was at least warmer than the current group. Boston had 21 runs, 37 hits and six home runs in the first four games against Cleveland.  That's why Varitek was seeking positives from Tuesday's loss.  "Some good things came from that game," he said. "David had a nice triple. Jed (Lowrie) had a nice hit. We scored some runs."  They'll need more, combined with slowing Tampa Bay's quick starts. Since Matsuzaka held them hitless into the seventh inning of Game 1, the Rays have scored at least four runs in the first three innings of every game.  "We have to find a way to play better baseball," said Boston second baseman Dustin Pedroia. "We haven't done that the last three games."  And just because the Red Sox have come back before, Pedroia says, they shouldn't feel comfortable now.  "What do we have to be loose about?" Pedroia said. "Hit the panic button. We've got to play better. That's it. We play better, we go on."  Thoughts of hope worked before  In 2004 and 2007 the Boston Red Sox faced elimination before coming back to advance to the World Series. How they fell into the hole and got out of it:  •2004 ALCS vs. New York Yankees  •2007 ALCS vs. Cleveland Indians  •2008 ALCS vs. Tampa Bay Rays  You share in the USA TODAY community, so please keep your comments smart and civil. Don't attack other readers personally, and keep your language decent. Use the "Report Abuse" button to make a difference.
The Red Sox may not have Manny Ramirez anymore, but despite being down 3-1 to the Tampa Bay Rays they still have hope. All they have to do is point to last year or 2004.