Indians notebook: Manny was just being Manny

RHP Jensen Lewis said he hasn't given any more thought to Manny Ramirez's extended<span style=""> </span>celebration of his sixth-inning home run off Lewis in Game 4 that pulled the Red Sox within 7-3.

<p class="MsoNormal">"The situation is done," Lewis said. "I made a bad pitch, he took a good swing. We'll leave it at that."

<p class="MsoNormal">RHP Paul Byrd also deferred comment, noting, "It did not make a lot of sense because they were down. Maybe he just got excited in the moment."

<p class="MsoNormal">He ain't Lou

<p class="MsoNormal">RHP Joe Borowski said he can't understand why Indians fans dislike Manager Eric Wedge for not being more animated in the dugout.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Look around the league," Borowski said. "There are guys who throw their hats when something bad happens, guys who walk down the stairs. Eric never shows you up. When you're having a bad day out there, and your manager is in the dugout throwing things, how can you lay out everything you've got for someone like that?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Listen up

<p class="MsoNormal">Byrd dropped a couple cinematic references when asked about Wedge.

<p class="MsoNormal">"He's a great motivational speaker," Byrd said. "It's like 'Braveheart.' When he's done, you're ready to go run through a wall. He's like Hannibal Lecter. He can make you swallow your own tongue if he wants. He's like E.F. Hutton. When he speaks, everybody listens."

<p class="MsoNormal">The ground floor

<p class="MsoNormal">Wedge was Colorado's second-round pick in the 1992 expansion draft that stocked the first-year Rockies team with players, but injuries limited him to only nine games for the Rockies in 1993.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Going out to Colorado that inaugural year, it was crazy," Wedge said. "They were so hungry for a baseball team, and they treated us so well. You talk about walking into the clubhouse and you've got 60 faces from<span style=""> </span>27 different organizations. It was an interesting experience to go through."

<p class="MsoNormal">My aching back<span style=""> </span>

<p class="MsoNormal">Boston Manager Terry Francona danced around a broadcast report that RHP Josh Beckett was suffering from back stiffness after his Game 1 start.

<p class="MsoNormal">"I don't feel the need to always reveal every single nick that somebody has, or doesn't have, or is perceived, but it took its toll on him a little bit," Francona said.

<p class="MsoNormal">History lesson<span style=""> </span>

<p class="MsoNormal">Boston trailed 3 games to 1 in both the 1986 and 2004 ALCS, but came back to win both series.

<p class="MsoNormal">New York eliminated the Red Sox in Game 5 in 1999. Ten of the 13 previous teams to have a 3-1 lead in the ALCS have gone on to win the series.

<p class="MsoNormal">You may be right<span style=""> </span>

<p class="MsoNormal">Bobby Kielty will start in right field for Boston tonight. He was 1-for-2 with a walk against C.C. Sabathia in Game 1 and is a career .323 hitter (10-for-31) against the big left-hander.

<p class="MsoNormal">-- The Repository