The backs are up against the wall. This is it. A loss and it’s done.

Enter Josh Beckett.

Beckett goes tonight, and if he loses, there’s nowhere else to go.

The man who has owned the playoffs so far has to come up as big as he ever has. If he doesn’t, his team is in for a long offseason with renewed questions about Manny Ramirez, who will play third base, and whether key members of the team past and present will be around for 2007.

Naturally, now would not be the best time to come down with a sore back. But that’s apparently what has befallen Beckett. There are rumors that his prior outing against the Tribe at Fenway, nearly as dominant as his start against the Angels, included back stiffness and a lack of comfort. Terry Francona and the Red Sox brass aren’t answering questions about a potential injury, but they aren’t denying it exists.

Of course all this has been overshadowed by the latest round of Manny Ramirez hysteria and subsequent delusional hyperventilation. And that has overshadowed the fact that the Indians remain below the radar, a win away from the World Series with their two best pitchers headed to the mound. If C.C. Sabathia can come out with a chip on his shoulder, shouldn’t the Sox be particularly worried?

Yes they should. Now we get to find out if that’s justified, and whether the 2007 incarnation of the Olde Towne Team even has a tomorrow to think about.

– Cameron Smith, AP photo