Pedroia snapped out of it at key time

If there was anyone left who didn't believe Dustin Pedroia would somehow, some way break out of his postseason slump, that person clearly hasn't been paying enough attention to the Red Sox second baseman. On the heels of his 213-hit, MVP-caliber regular season, Pedroia started the postseason 0 for 15. But he had to break out of it. And in Game 4 of the American League Division Series, he did.

In the fifth inning of Monday's game, with the first run in for the Sox, Pedroia stepped to the plate with Jason Varitek on second base. On the third pitch, he laced a ball off the Wall for a double, scoring Varitek.

That came a day after Pedroia excoriated himself for not contributing offensively to the Sox' postseason run, despite his stellar defense.

"It's my job to score runs and get on base," he said Monday night, explaining his frustration at himself the night before. "I take that personal. We're not scoring a lot of runs, and I'm not doing anything. It's my fault. It's nobody else's fault but mine. I want to do great, and I want this team to do great. That's a big part of it."

He said his approach in Game 4 was that he "relaxed and settled in."

Manager Terry Francona pointed out that, given Pedroia's regular season, pitchers had begun to work him differently. There weren't quite the same opportunities, nor was he seeing the same pitches he had seen in the season. Pedroia agreed with his manager, to a degree. Not that he thinks it should stop him.

"A little bit," Pedroia said. "I'm walking a little bit more. I'm making my adjustment. I'll find a way to get it done. I don't really care what I hit in the postseason, as long as we win. That's the biggest thing."

Tropic topic

Jason Bay might be a big fan of the catwalks at Tropicana Field, where he placed a home run earlier this season, but Francona hasn't been their biggest booster. Perhaps the Sox are hoping they won't factor into the postseason at all.

Catwalks or no catwalks, Tropicana Field hasn't exactly been the home-away-from-home this season that it's been in the past for the Sox. While Rays fans have multiplied, leaving fewer seats for transplanted Bostonians, the play on the field hasn't had quite the same results, either.

"We haven't played well there this year," Pedroia said. "We've got to find a way to win games."

The Sox lost the season series, 10-8, but more important might be that they won just one game of the nine they played in St. Petersburg.

The Sox and Rays each swept the first two series played in their home parks against each other, but things changed in September. Tampa Bay came to Fenway Park and took two of three. That was followed by the Sox' only win of the season at Tropicana in a series in which the Rays came back to take the final two contests.

"We've got a long road ahead of us still," Jonathan Papelbon said. "It's going to be another hard-fought battle. At this time of year, nobody's going to lay down for you. That's for sure."

Tact was lacking

John Lackey might not be very welcome in Boston in the coming years after the comments he made after the Angels lost the ALDS Monday. He began by saying to the Los Angeles Times, "We lost to a team that was not as good as we are."

But Lackey wasn't done. While the Sox might have been happy about that double by Pedroia off the Wall, Lackey didn't share their joy.

"[Sunday] night, they scored three runs on a pop fly that was called a hit, which was a joke," Lackey said of the popup by Jacoby Ellsbury that fell between center fielder Torii Hunter and second baseman Howie Kendrick. "[Monday] night, they scored on a broken-bat ground ball and a fly ball that anywhere else in America is an out, and [Pedroia is] fist-pumping on second base like he did something great."

Lackey finished his ode to the wonders of Boston baseball by saying he felt "like I want to throw somebody through a wall."

No comparison

The comparisons between Manny Ramírez and Bay might never stop, especially now that both have helped lead their teams to the Championship Series, but the only comparison Bay is interested in right now is between Boston and Pittsburgh. "I think I have a little different perspective than some of the guys," Bay said. "A lot of the guys have been in my position, but especially just this year and what I've gone through for five years, and all of a sudden to have that turn around. I have nothing bad to say about Pittsburgh - I had a great time there - this is just a lot different." In his first trip to the playoffs, Bay batted .412 (7 for 17) in the ALDS with four extra-base hits and five RBIs . . . How's this for a bizarre factoid? The last time the Sox won a postseason series in which they were up, two games to one, was in 1918, when they beat the Cubs in the World Series.