Jacobs Field provides rare occurrence: Ramirez talks

CLEVELAND -- Some strange stuff going on in Jacobs Field, and it has nothing to do with bugs swarming the American League Championship Series.

Tuesday night in Game 4, Boston Red Sox first baseman Kevin Youkilis, who hadn’t made an error all season, missed Jon Lester’s routine pick-off throw and was charged with an error.

Then Wednesday, before an off-day workout, Boston slugger Manny Ramirez, normally as reclusive as the Dalai Lama, walked into the clubhouse, sat down at his locker and began speaking to reporters, as if this was something he did every day.

Within moments, the often-goofy, always-aloof Ramirez was surrounded by dozens of reporters, television cameras and microphones, providing a rare glimpse into Manny’s world.

Some highlights:

On whether overcoming a 3-0 ALCS deficit against the New York Yankees in 2004 will help the Red Sox overcome a 3-1 deficit to the Cleveland Indians: “We’re not thinking about 2004, we’re just thinking about [today]. Anything is possible. We’ve been in this situation before. We’ve got nothing to lose. . . . And if it doesn’t happen? Who cares? There’s always next year. It’s not the end of the world.”

On his reaction to Tuesday night’s 451-foot home run, when he thrust both arms into the air and took seven steps out of the box before starting his trot, even though the solo shot in the sixth inning trimmed Cleveland’s lead to 7-3 at the time:

“Man, I’m just happy to do something special like that. I’m not trying to show up anybody out there. I’m 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 to compete, and when people strike me out and show me up, it’s all good. There’s no hard feelings.”

On setting a major league record with 24 postseason home runs: “It’s good, but if I would have known I was going to be in the World Series and not have those records, I’d trade them in a heartbeat. Who cares about the records, man? We just want to go out, have fun.”

On whether he likes hitting in Jacobs Field, his home park for the first eight years of his career: “I like hitting everywhere. . . . Now where’s my shoes?”

Game 5 tonight will feature a rematch of Game 1 starters and Cy Young Award candidates, Red Sox right-hander Josh Beckett and Indians left-hander C.C. Sabathia. Beckett gave up two runs and four hits in six innings of Boston’s Game 1 victory, and Sabathia gave up eight runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

Cleveland can close out the series with a win; the Red Sox just want to get the series back to Fenway Park, where they believe anything can happen.

“If we get our best baseball going, and it starts [tonight], it would be huge to go home and have that excitement,” Youkilis said

Dustin Pedroia hit .317 with a .380 on-base percentage this season, but Boston’s rookie leadoff batter is struggling in the postseason, with a .172 average and .226 on-base percentage in seven games.

It didn’t help that Cleveland third baseman Casey Blake robbed Pedroia of a hit with a back-hand diving stop in the first inning Tuesday night, and second baseman Asdrubal Cabrera made a superb leaping catch of Pedroia’s seventh-inning liner.

“This time of year, when something falls in for you, you gain confidence,” Red Sox hitting coach Dave Magadan said. “When guys are making good plays on you, you start trying to get two hits in an at-bat, and things snowball.”

mike.digiovanna@latimes.com