CLEVELAND -- How is Manny Ramirez holding up amid the pressure of his
Red Sox trailing, 3-1, to the Indians in the American League
Championship Series?

So well that Ramirez held a rare briefing with the media in which he
let his guard down and gave reporters a sense of the carefree
personality that his teammates are privy to on a daily basis.

It was a vintage seven minutes of Manny being Manny. It was almost as
if Ramirez was saying, "Pressure? What pressure?"

"We're confident every day," said Ramirez. "It doesn't matter how
things go for you. We're not going to give up. We're just going to go
and play the game, like I've said, and move on. If it doesn't happen,
so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like the end of the
world or something. Why should we panic?"

What does Ramirez think about being the all-time leader in postseason
home runs with 24?

"It's good, but if I would have known that I was going to be in the
World Series and not have those records, I'd trade them in a
heartbeat," Ramirez said. "Who cares about the records, man? We just
want to go out, have fun and win."

There was a lot of talk about Ramirez raising his arms in triumph
after his solo homer in Game 4, which was the third in succession by
the Red Sox. The problem is that his team still trailed 7-3 at the time.

"Man, I'm just happy to do something special like that," Ramirez said.
"I'm not trying to show up anybody out there. I'm just trying to go
have fun. If somebody strikes me out and shows me up, that's part of
the game. I love it. I like that. I like to compete. And when people
strike me out or whatever and they show me up, it's all good. There's
no hard feelings. I'm not trying to show anybody up."

Though Ramirez is having a monster ALCS -- .462 average, two homers,
seven RBIs -- the Red Sox are struggling to hit as a team.

"It's going to happen. It's going to happen," vowed Ramirez. "We've
got a lot of confidence in our teammates. They've been good all year
round. Now, because we're down, three games to one ... that's what we
have to do. We have to keep grinding it out and see what's going to
happen."

Ramirez will save the deep dissection of what has transpired in this
series thus far to the "experts." He prefers to look at things at face
value.

"We've got a great team over here and the other side is playing
great," Ramirez said. "They're pitching the way they should and
they're coming through with big hits. What can you do? You just think
about Thursday and you just try to come and play hard and have fun.
It's not over yet."

Ramirez was with the lovable "Idiots" of 2004 who came back from a 3-0
deficit against the Yankees.

"We've been in this situation before," Ramirez said. "We don't have
nothing to lose. Everybody's playing great. We just have to go out and
play the game and see what happens."

Do they miss Kevin Millar's "Cowboy Up" pep in these dire
circumstances? Ramirez couldn't resist a jab at his good friend.

"That was a clown. He's a clown," said Ramirez.

Then there is Ramirez, who just hits.

Does Ramirez still enjoy hitting at Jacobs Field, the place where his
legend was built in the first place?

"I like hitting everywhere," he said.

Now, Red Sox Nation can only hope Ramirez has not taken his last
Fenway Park swing of 2007.

"We have a great team," Ramirez said. "If it doesn't happen, we'll
come back next year and try to do it again."

Source: Ian Browne / MLB.com