“It was the worst feeling ever,’’ Dustin Pedroia said of being down, 3-1, against Cleveland in ’07. “You have that kind of same feeling now, obviously. You have that terrible feeling in your stomach that you don’t want the season to end.
“We know we have a great team. We just haven’t played well the first two games. So we just have to go out there and [take] kind of baby steps. You have to try to win every inning, win every pitch, and hopefully that leads to games.’’
Under manager Terry Francona, the Sox have been among the best at coming back from seemingly insurmountable deficits. They have played 11 elimination games, going 9-2, under Francona, losing only in Game 7 of the ALCS against the Rays last season and in Game 3 of the ALDS against the White Sox in 2005, when they were swept.
Not to mention that the 2004 team remains the only one in major league history to survive after being down, 0-3, in a seven-game series, and the fact that of the four 0-2 comebacks in the Division Series since 1995, two have been by Sox teams.
“Everyone is obviously upset,’’ Pedroia said. “We got a lot of guys - everyone on our team cares so much. I think that could have hurt us the first couple of games. Guys trying too hard, wanting to do well and wanting to win.
“We know we have a great team and sometimes that backfires on you, especially in the playoffs. Your heartbeat gets jumping a little bit. But we need to settle down and play our game.’’
It echoed the philosophy Francona has preached since the Sox faced their first elimination game during his tenure. It has gotten the Sox to two World Series so far. They don’t need to win three games today, just one.
“It’s not a situation that we want to put ourselves in, but it’s a situation that doesn’t necessarily let panic set in, by any means,’’ Jonathan Papelbon said after the Sox lost Game 2. “A lot of guys in this clubhouse have been in these type of situations before, where one game and you go home.
