Pedro Martinez will be saved for a possible Game 5 in Oakland. Grady: "He would have been available for Game 4, but in the position we're in now, we have to win three games. He can't pitch all the games." ... The last game in which Pedro threw at least 130 pitches was May 1, 2001 (136 in a 2-0 win over Seattle); in the past four seasons, he has had 4 games of 130+ pitches (3 in 2000 and 1 in 2001).

The State of the Nation is hopeful. ... Ed Cossette: "Maybe I've totally lost it or maybe I'm just in deep denial, but I find it impossible to accept that the Red Sox will not bounce back, win the next two at Fenway and even this series out. I'm being totally serious. Is it facile to cling to hope? No, it's really the only rational choice." ... Doc Holliday keeps it short and simple: "We don't need to get bogged down in talk of winning 3 in a row. We need to win Saturday, that is it." ... Jeff at Dewey's House: "This series isn't over, no matter what some "fan" sites and curly haired Boston Globe columnists tell you. Sox just need to play like they did to get here." ... Paul Testa sounds off against the CHB (who writes back). ... PSF is also sick of the naysayers. ... Gregg Rosenthal: "Cowboy Up is a fun, goofy phrase ... To me - it means shut the fuck up, dig a bit deeper, and have a little faith in the 2003 Red Sox."

Millar: "I feel big-time confident because the toughest game to win is that third game. They're going to be antsy to get that third game. But we're going back to our house. We're going back to our fans. Just be out there and be loud. Get all the red you can and wear it because it's going to be Red Sox Nation. It's going to be live and electric. ... This series is far from being over. You've got to win three games, not two. Our heads are above water right now." ... Nomar: "They may be jumping off bridges, but I guarantee they'll get out of the water and they'll be out there supporting us on Saturday." ... Mirabelli: "I expect to be back here on Monday. And I think 25 guys in this room feel the same way." ... Damon: "It's time for some guys to wake up. There's no time to feel sorry for ourselves. We've won three in a row many times this year."

The Red Sox are the 39th team to fall behind 0-2 in a best-of-five series. Of the previous 38, 15 forced a Game 4, 9 forced a Game 5, and 6 won the series. Those 6 teams are:

1981 Dodgers (NLDS over Astros)
1982 Brewers (ALCS over Angels)
1984 Padres (NLCS over Cubs)
1995 Mariners (ALDS over Yankees)
1999 Red Sox (ALDS over Indians)
2001 Yankees (ALDS over Athletics)

Red Sox on Road: .263/.328/.456
Red Sox at Home: .316/.392/.527

Kevin Paul Dupont acknowledges that Grady may have made some bad moves in Game 1. His penultimate sentence reads: "Strategically, there were a number of instances in Game 1 when he could be duly second-guessed from Oakland here on the Bay to Oak Bluffs back on the Vineyard." Dupont doesn't mention what any of those moves might be, but he adds his two cents (along with other Globers) here. Gordon Edes gets into some of the situations, but not as much as Hench, who unloads on Gump (scroll down).

Little said Lowe was going to pitch an inning or two in Game 1 no matter what -- "to increase his sharpness ... that way, there wouldn't be nine days between the times he pitched." (Lowe's last start was September 25.) If that's correct, and Kim came out to close the game in the 9th, when was Lowe going to pitch? ... Tim Hudson said his back wasn't bothering him, it was his thumb.

Jim Donaldson, the King of the One-Sentence Paragraphs, on Manny: "In two games, Manny has made the last out in seven innings. Seven. Is that a big deal? In two games, 10 trips to the plate over 21 innings, he has just one hit -- a leadoff single in the sixth yesterday -- and two walks. Is that a big deal?" ... My answer to the first question is No. The "last outs" bit is trivia and a coincidence. Donaldson's description makes Ramirez's 0-5 in Game 1 sound extra lame, but would Manny have been more productive by making the second out in a couple of those innings? Manny is not the only spaghetti bat wearing red socks. Ortiz is 0-9, Kapler 0-5, Mueller 2-9, Millar 2-10 and Ramirez has been on base more often than any of those guys. ... Donaldson also scolds Manny for missing a bus, although he admits in his very first sentence "nobody on the Red Sox seemed to think it was a big deal." I guess that's just Donaldson being Donaldson.