Byline: HOWARD ULMAN - Associated Press
BOSTON - Manny Ramirez had just struck out to end the game when the Fenway Park sound system began playing,'Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?'
The answer from Boston's demanding fans would have to wait one more day. The Red Sox were off Thursday, preparing for a weekend series against the Angels and pondering their diminished lead in the AL East.
At the ballpark and on the radio call-in shows, the Red Sox - and the hard-charging New York Yankees - were prime topics.
'If you listen to sports talk, the tone of the city changes daily. I'm pretty confident,' Dan Donahue said in a standing-room section at Fenway on Wednesday.
Ramirez fanned with two runners on base for the final out, ending Boston's 6-5 loss to Tampa Bay.
But with Boston's season-high, 14(-game lead over the Yankees on May 29 down to 5( games, there was some squirming among the faithful.
'The nervousness is familiar. I'm comfortable with the nervousness,' said Donahue's friend, Athena Lentini. 'I wasn't used to being up 14( games.'
Until the Red Sox ended an 86-year championship drought by winning the 2004 World Series, their fans were fatalistic - something was bound to go wrong no matter how promising the prospects seemed.
This season, everything seemed so right. The Red Sox have an outstanding rotation and an exceptional bullpen. Their hitting has been pretty good despite subpar power seasons from Ramirez and David Ortiz. And they have been in sole possession of first place since April 18.
But four months later, the Yankees are closing in.
'I don't think our attitude has changed,' Red Sox third baseman Mike Lowell said. 'I think we're focusing on each series. If you win the first two games of the series, you definitely want to sweep, but if we keep winning two out of three, we're going to be just fine.'
The Red Sox did that against Tampa Bay and are a respectable 19-14 since the All-Star break.
But the Yankees are 25-11 in that stretch thanks to a powerful offense.
Has that surge put pressure on the Red Sox?
'I don't really know,' Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte said. 'It depends on how much attention they're paying to us.'
