Topic struck a chord when question was posed

CLEVELAND - Manny Ramírez didn't score many style points with the Indians when he struck a pose following his solo homer in the sixth inning of Cleveland's 7-3 victory in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series Tuesday night. While Ramírez's exuberance may have stemmed from the fact his dinger was the Red Sox' third in a row, several Indians didn't square with the left fielder posing at the plate.

"If it's a situation where they tied or went ahead, maybe it's a different story," said Jensen Lewis, the reliever who gave up the homer. "He did what he did, but you just go on from there. If he's going to celebrate like that after one run that's up to him."

Third baseman Casey Blake, who ignited Cleveland's seven-run fifth with a leadoff homer (on which he toured the bases with minimal styling), voiced his objection to Ramírez's antics yesterday in the Indians clubhouse.

"People say it's Manny being Manny," Blake said. "But it's so opposite of how I am that it's hard for me to deal with. To me it was a little excessive. Maybe if he had won the game with it, but it got them to within four . . . Good job."

All downhill from here?

After he struggled to throw strikes in Game 1, walking five batters (11 overall this postseason) and allowing eight runs on seven hits in a 4 1/3-inning start, Cleveland's big lefthander C.C. Sabathia said he hoped to be more his flamethrowing self tonight opposite Josh Beckett.

"You know, I was disappointed in the first game in Boston that I wasn't able to keep us in the game," he said. "That's something that I've been able to do all year.

"I just didn't make pitches. I just didn't execute them when I needed to. I got into some tough situations and didn't deliver."

So what did he do to remedy the situation? "I just went into the bullpen and worked on trying to stay taller and throw the ball downhill, something that I hadn't done in Boston, and I had a pretty good bullpen. It was command on both sides of the plate, opposite sides felt good. So I'm looking forward to being my normal self."

Not looking back

Trot Nixon, who was part of the Red Sox team that overcame an 0-3 deficit in the 2004 ALCS to defeat the Yankees, offered his advice on how the young'uns in the Indians clubhouse should approach tonight's series-clinching opportunity. "We just have to go out there, have fun, and continue to do the things we've been doing," he said. "All that stuff was memories that I have, stuff that was in the past, but it's a new year and I'm excited about where this team is right now, especially as young as we are . . . It's been quite a learning experience for a lot of these guys." . . . The Indians have scored first in all four games in the ALCS; when scoring first Cleveland is 29-12 all-time in postseason play . . . Blake tied a pair of LCS records Tuesday night with his two hits in the fifth inning (solo homer, single). It was the 11th time in postseason history and first since Florida's Juan Pierre in Game 6 of the 2003 NLCS a player had two hits in the same inning. Blake's five total bases in the fifth marked just the third time in ALCS history a player has recorded that many in one inning.