01:00 AM EDT on Friday, July 2, 2004

NEW YORK -- The first night -- a blowout -- was like a slap in the face. The second -- a lost lead in the seventh -- was like a kick in the teeth.

But last night? Last night was a low blow to the gut, enough to make you double over, enough to leave you gasping for breath.

How much more can these Red Sox take? How much more can they absorb?

If their manager is a guide, they're capable of plenty. After the Yankees had rebounded from a run down, bases empty and two outs to absolutely pick the Red Sox' pockets for a crippling 5-4 setback, Terry Francona stood at the clubhouse door and welcomed his fallen players.

Slapping each one on the back as they filed quietly into the clubhouse, Francona offered encouragement and what seemed like -- could it be? -- congratulations.

After the last player had passed, Francona followed his charges into the clubhouse and could be heard to say, "Keep (expletive) battling. You guys are (expletive) great."

As motivational speeches go, this one wasn't exactly a stemwinder. George Gipp can rest easy. This was more about damage control.

"This was a very difficult loss," Francona said in a grand bit of understatement. "At the same time, I've never been so proud of people in my life."

Francona knows full well that pride isn't going to help the Red Sox make up any ground on a division leader that is fast becoming a blip on the A.L. East horizon. He knows that the Red Sox get no extra credit for battling and competing for 14 innings.

But he seems to sense that the Sox' season may hang in the balance. If the Sox don't get up off the mat from this series, who knows what could happen? A total free-fall out of contention? The threatened "change for change sake" that GM Theo Epstein alluded to last weekend?

In each of the last two games, the Sox stood poised to -- and this seems almost impossible to believe in hindsight -- win the series. They led in the seventh inning Wednesday night -- and lost. They led in the -- ahem -- top of the 13th last night -- and lost again.

They could have won the final two, taken the series and left for Atlanta last night with eight wins in 10 tries against New York. They could have left the Yankees shaking their heads, wondering what they had to do to win a series from these pesky Red Sox, wondering if their big lead would be enough with three series left with Boston.

Instead, the Sox dropped both games. Forget about the math, about the obstacle they now have to overcome. That's for later.

For now, the Red Sox live only in the present. The Yankees are -- and should be -- an afterthought. Maybe now, the real silliness of the "Evil Empire" talk can become apparent. Never mind the Yankees -- the Red Sox have a season to save.

"We're going through a difficult time, in a difficult place, against a difficult team," Francona said. "The players tried to do everything they could to win that game."

Indeed, the Sox deserve some credit. They rallied from a 3-0 deficit. They got out of a bases-loaded situation in the bottom of the 12th. They went ahead -- for the first time -- in the top of the 13th.

But, of course, they didn't close the deal. They didn't hang on to what undoubtedly would have been the most significant win of the season. Instead, they were left to deal with absolutely their worst loss of the year.

Right in the gut.

Francona was asked if he had any doubts about his team's ability to rebound from the three stinging setbacks, one a little worse, a little tougher to take than the one before.

"No -- not after tonight," Francona said. "When we do good, it will feel that much better."

The manager seems to believe what he says with every fiber of his being. Down? Only temporarily.

He believes. He loves his guys. The last Red Sox manager to speak this positively in the face of evidence to the contrary was Butch Hobson.

It seems to be having the necessary effect. In what should have been a funereal clubhouse, the Red Sox were nearly as defiant as their manager.

"We're not going to quit or back down because we lost three games," said Trot Nixon. "I believe we're capable of great things. It would be easier to pack it in. This ballclub isn't going to do that."

Not if you believe the brave talk last night. Certainly not if you believe their manager.