ALCS GM4: Sox are one step closer to elimination

Cleveland 7, Sox 3
WP: Byrd (2-0)
LP: Wakefield (0-1)
HRs: BOS-Youk (1), Papi (3), Manny (3)

RECAP
It's too late in the season and too late in the evening for my usual post, so I am going to forsake my formula for a sour recap of how the magical season of the 2007 Sox is about to abruptly end with another bitter postseason failure.

Tim Wakefield returned to action after sitting out 16 days due to a nagging shoulder/back injury, and the 40-something knuckleballer pitched his ass off for four plus innings, shutting the Indians out while making stud sluggers like Travis Hafner look like Preston Wilson.

Unfortunately fellow fastball-challenged geezer Paul Byrd was dealing just as well, baffling the Boston hitters with an assortment of actual strikes and balls perceived to be strikes by the home plate umpire, picking up where fellow afterthought starter Jake Westbrook left off last night.

And then came the fifth.

The inning was one of the sort that makes a fandom and yes even a team sit back and think "hmmm, maybe this isn't our year after all."

The Indians were at bat for 35 minutes in the fifth, and most of that time was devoted to actual hitting. When the Indians weren't slugging and blooping the ball all over the Jake, weird, freaky shit was happening to the Sox in the field.

Here's a brief summary of the bad karma carnage that took place in the fateful fifth:

-Youk bobbled and dropped a foul pop up that would have been the critical 2nd out of the inning.

-Wake deflected a potential double-play ground ball into a run-scoring, head-scratching hit.

-Former Red Sox prospect catcher Kelly Shoppach was hit by a pitch that wasn't strong enough to break a pane of glass.

-Casey Blake led off the frame with a monster homer, then aadded a bloop RBI single thant plated the final run of the inning

-Chubby Jhonny Peralta slammed his second 3-run homer in three games off beleagured reliever Manny Delcarmen, who gagged again in crunch time when the team needed him most.

By the time the dust settled the Tribe had sent 11 men to the plate, compiled seven runs on seven hits, a walk, a hit by pitch, and effectively put this series on life support for the staggered Sox.

Just as millions of disgusted Nation members were about to turn the gaame off and nearly as quickly as we reminded ourselves of Game 4, 2004, Boston's bats came alive in the top of the sixth with an unprecedented barrage of longballs that brought back pleasant memories of pounding the Stanks back in April.

Youk, Papi and Manny hit back-to-back-back home runs to become the first set of teammates to ever accomplish the feat in League Championship series play, and the sudden surge of runs gave hope that the slumbering Sox attack had received a much-needed jump start.

But it was merely a case of too little, too late.

After surrendering the historic homers Cleveland bounced back and set the Boston batters down meekly over the last four frames, and as the ninth inning approached I was overcome with the feeling that for this the first time all year we have have to face the fact that this talented, erratic, and gutsy group of guys just might not make it back to the game's biggest stage.

Not to go all Suzyn Waldman on you.

So its up to Josh Beckett (who else?) to salvage the season (of course) on Thursday night and in the meantime I think all of us will be pulling out the DVD of the 2004 ALCS and hoping for a reapeat performance.

Any chance of acquiring Dave Roberts for that game?