Manny in middle of more controversy

Manny Ramirez has been in rare form this week. Actually, perhaps the Boston slugger's sudden propensity for entertaining a pack of reporters shouldn't seem surprising, considering little of what Ramirez does is ever predictable.

On Thursday night, Ramirez once again found himself smack in the middle of some controversy -- this time during Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against the Indians. Instead of hiding from the spotlight, though, Ramirez sported an amused grin as he lounged on a couch amidst a crowd of cameras following Boston's 7-1 victory.

The issue stemmed from a baseball that Ramirez launched well into the Cleveland night in the third inning. Believing the blast to be a home run, Ramirez trotted leisurely out of the batter's box and headed toward first base. The baseball bounced off the top of the wall and back onto the field, though, and Ramirez wound up with a long single.

Ramirez clearly didn't agree, beginning to argue with the umpires about the decision. After the game, one reporter asked Ramirez what he said to one of the umpires, at which point Boston's David Ortiz stood up from the other end of the couch and started chuckling.

"OK, OK, that's it. The interview's over," said a grinning Ortiz, causing an outburst of laughter in the visitors' clubhouse at Jacobs Field.

Ramirez smiled and remained in his seat, offering a simple explanation for his latest antics.

"I thought it was out," said Ramirez, referring to the would-be home run. "But what can I say?"

On the field, Ramirez said a lot.

With two outs and Ortiz on first base, Ramirez sent the first offering he faced from Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia deep toward right-center field. The baseball came crashing down on top of the wall, appearing to bounce off the yellow line that sits atop the fence, according to television replays.

Ortiz sprinted around the basepaths and scored on the play to put Boston ahead, 2-1, but Ramirez remained at first, confused that he was only being rewarded a long base hit. Ramirez turned to first-base umpire Dana DeMuth and asked for a timeout, and then began pointing toward the wall and walking into the outfield.

"Whatever happens, happens," Ramirez said. "There's no pressure, man. We play hard, we try to leave everything on the field and that's it."

Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell was standing in the on-deck circle at the time, but he said it was difficult to tell where the ball landed.

"I couldn't tell. I had no idea," he said. "I heard there's a little concrete thing beyond the yellow and it looked like it might've hit that. I even saw a replay inside, and I couldn't tell from the replay, either. I'm just glad it didn't affect the outcome of the game. It would've been a shame if it did."

Ramirez then begged for an appeal to right-field umpire Paul Emmel, who jogged in to hear Ramirez's argument, as Boston manager Terry Francona emerged from the visitors' dugout. The ground rules for Jacobs Field indicate that a "fair batted ball that travels over the yellow line on top of the outfield wall" is a home run.

Considering that Ramirez's shot appeared to ricochet off the yellow line, the umpires made the correct call. Still, the men in blue convened and talked the matter over, while Ramirez and Francona stood close by. After a few minutes, the umpires held up the ruling that Ramirez had only achieved an RBI single, resulting in an eruption of cheers from the raucous crowd at The Jake.

Francona remained on the field, arguing with the umpires, but the decision stood.

"The hard thing is there's so much emotion," Francona said. "[The umpires] hustled, they talked about it, and from my understanding, even on replays it's a little bit hard to distinguish. So, seeing it live and happening quick like that, I think there's a point as a manager where you don't care if it's right, you want the run."

Ramirez also stirred up some controversy during Game 4 on Tuesday night, when he belted the third consecutive homer for the Red Sox in the sixth inning. After connecting with the pitch from reliever Jensen Lewis, Ramirez threw both hands in the air and watched the ball sail over the wall for a solo homer -- his record 24th career shot in postseason play.

On Wednesday's off-day, Ramirez engaged in a rare interview with a pack of reporters, who were quick to ask Boston's left fielder about his antics. Ramirez smiled and shrugged off his actions, saying that he wasn't trying to show anyone up by watching his home run.

"Man, I'm just happy to do something special like that," Ramirez said. "I'm not trying to show up anybody out there. I'm just trying to go have fun. If somebody strikes me out and shows me up, that's part of the game. I love it."

Ramirez didn't have a similar reaction to his hit on Thursday, but he still began jogging as if he had collected another homer. That part of the most recent Manny moment forced a grin from Lowell, who shook his head and joked some about the play after the game.

"I just want him to run when he hits the ball 380 feet, so he can get to second," Lowell said with a laugh. "Then my bloop single to right field can score a run. But he does what he wants to do. As long as he keeps hitting, he can do whatever he wants.

"He can stand on his head and talk to you guys for all I care."

No one would be surprised.

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Beckett baffles Cleveland again, sends ALCS back to Boston

He blocked out everything: the screaming crowd, Kenny Lofton's chirping, even his ex-girlfriend singing only a few feet away.

Josh Beckett, standing tall as ever on the mound, rose above it all -- October's biggest star.

Beckett dominated the Cleveland Indians for the second time and Manny Ramirez drove in the go-ahead run with a 390-foot single as the Boston Red Sox stayed alive in the AL Championship Series with a 7-1 win Thursday night in Game 5.

Back to Fenway Park they go. Just the Red Sox being the Red Sox. They have plenty of practice at these postseason comebacks.

"We weren't trying to win three games in one night," Kevin Youkilis said. "We were just going out there and fight and do whatever we had to do to win."

Youkilis set the tone with a first-inning homer off C.C. Sabathia as Boston shipped the best-of-7 series back to the heart of Red Sox Nation to continue a season nearly canned for the cold New England winter.

Clearly, Ramirez & Co. cared "We made it happen," Ramirez said.

In 2004, Boston rallied from an 0-3 deficit to win the 2004 ALCS against the New York Yankees and went on to sweep the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight for its first World Series title since 1918.

The Red Sox forced Game 6 on Saturday night, and will turn to Curt Schilling, 9-3 in 17 career postseason starts, against Fausto Carmona.

Boston still trails 3-2, but if not for Beckett, the calm, cool and cocky 20-game winner, there would be no more baseball until spring.

"Josh is unbelievable," Youkilis said. "This year has been unbelievable for him and we hope he wins the Cy Young. He's shown here in the playoffs why he should."

In the late innings, drummer John Adams, whose tom-tom beat has pulsated through a special season at Jacobs Field, slumped against his instrument as the Red Sox tacked on runs. Meanwhile, in the Boston bullpen, two relievers used water bottles to playfully bang on backup catcher Doug Mirabelli's shinguards.

The 27-year-old Beckett, who beat Cleveland in the opener, once again came through with the stakes at their highest.

The right-hander allowed only a run and three hits in the first, and only five total hits in eight innings. He struck out 11, walked one and was around the plate with almost every one of his 109 pitches.

"He's got something others don't have," third baseman Mike Lowell said. "There is a different feel for us when he takes the mound. Time and time again he comes through."

Beckett, who with each start carves his name deeper among the postseason pitching elite, is no stranger to comebacks.

In 2003, he pitched a two-hitter for Florida in Game 5 of the NLCS as the Marlins rallied from a 3-1 deficit to eliminate the Chicago Cubs. Then, pitching on just three days' rest in Game 6 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium, he allowed five hits in a 2-0 win and was picked as MVP.

If the Red Sox can win two more, he might have another trophy for his mantle.

"We know we have to do now," said Beckett, 3-0 with a 1.17 ERA this October. "This is not where we want to be, but obviously, we're inching closer to where we want to be."

The Indians missed a chance to advance to the World Series for the first time since 1997, and will have to find a way to avoid being the latest Cleveland team to come close but not win it all.

Cleveland, which hasn't won the Series since 1948, had won three straight to seemingly take control. But the Indians, trying to clinch a pennant at home for the first time, could do little against Beckett, who rarely shook off a sign from Jason Varitek and kept hitters guessing with a rocket fastball and knee-buckling curve.

"He's the best," David Ortiz said. "We were confident with him going out there. He was unbelievable. It was one of the best pitching performances I've seen."

The Indians fell apart at the seams.

Even their rock-solid bullpen cracked for the first time. Boston added three runs in the eighth on three walks, a throwing error by reliever Rafael Perez, a passed ball and a sacrifice fly.

"Beating Boston four in a row is tough to do," Indians manager Eric Wedge said.

With so much on the line, both teams were on edge and tempers flared briefly in the fifth when Beckett and Lofton screamed at each other.

Cleveland's outfielder had flipped his bat to the ground after what he thought was ball four, and when Beckett retired him on a fly, the pair exchanged words and both benches and bullpens emptied.

The two got into a similar argument two years ago, when Lofton was with Philadelphia and Beckett with Florida.

"It goes back a way," Beckett said. "Those things have a way of working themselves out."

No punches were thrown, and if Lofton was trying to rattle Beckett, he didn't.

"He doesn't like it when I take my bat and flip it," Lofton said. "He's the only pitcher who's had a problem with it. He was saying stuff I didn't like, and I said something back."

Beckett then struck out Franklin Gutierrez looking before Casey Blake singled and went to third when Grady Sizemore's single. But Beckett fanned Asdrubal Cabrera on three pitches, and the rookie smacked his bat on the plate in disgust.

For Sabathia, the Indians' ace and leader, it was more disappointment. He allowed four runs and 10 hits in six-plus innings, his third straight sub-par performance this month.

Sabathia was angry with himself following Game 1 for not being more aggressive with Boston's hitters, and when he couldn't put Ortiz away with two outs in the third, Ramirez made him pay.

A day after he rankled Red Sox fans by saying "Who cares?" if Boston were to lose, the enigmatic slugger struck back.

Ramirez sent Sabathia's first pitch to center, where Sizemore went back to the wall. But as he reached up, Ramirez's shot caromed back onto the field.

Ortiz scored easily, but Ramirez, thinking his shot was long gone, was only rounding first when the Indians retrieved the ball. Boston manager Terry Francona argued it should have been a two-run homer, but after a brief meeting, the umpires kept Ramirez at first.

Slow-motion TV replays were inconclusive, and the ground rules at Jacobs Field state that a ball must completely clear the yellow line at the top of the wall for it to be a homer.

Whatever the outcome, it was Manny being Manny -- again.

The funky, fun-loving outfielder irritated some of the Indians when he posed to admire a homer in Game 4, even though his 451-foot shot had only brought Boston within 7-3.

The Indians insisted it wasn't intentional, but the club invited country singer Danielle Peck, an ex-girlfriend of Beckett's, to sing the national anthem and God Bless America on the night her former beau took the mound.

Peck was a fill-in for another singer, but her appearance didn't seem to break Beckett's concentration.

"I don't get paid to make those (expletive) decisions," Beckett barked. "She's a friend of mine, that doesn't bother me at all. Thanks for flying one of my friends to the game so she could watch it for free."

The Red Sox went up 4-1 and chased Sabathia in the seventh. After handing the ball to Wedge, the big lefty walked dejectedly to the dugout knowing he had missed a chance to get the Indians back to the Series.

"I don't think we're going into Boston on a downer," he said. "I can live with this. I thought I made some good pitches."

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