It remains the greatest comeback in postseason history, a turn of events so dramatic that the producers of the film “Fever Pitch” did some mad midnight scrambling to re-write the end of script.

In the original draft, the Red Sox were supposed to be true to their destiny and lose.

But then the 2004 Red Sox, trailing the New York Yankees three games to love in the American League Championship Series, shocked their longtime nemeses from the Bronx by winning four straight games.

Having humiliated the Yankees, the Red Sox then wrapped up the St. Louis Cardinals in a nice four-game bundle of a sweep, securing their first World Series championship in 86 years.

And that's why, as the credits start to roll in “Fever Pitch,” we have Drew Barrymore and Jimmy Fallon making out in the Busch Stadium infield.

What makes the 2004 postseason newsworthy is that it appears the Red Sox are up to their old tricks again. In being handed a 13-4 shellacking by the Tampa Bay Rays in Game 4 of the American League Championship Series last night at Fenway Park, the Sox once again have their . . . backs . . . against . . . the . . . wall.

Yeah, yeah, yeah, it's an old line. But to use another old line to justify the original old line, it fits the Red Sox like a glove. The Sox now trail in this best-of-seven series three games to one, meaning the Rays can shock the world, and maybe even their bandwagon-jumping fan base, and clinch their first-ever trip to the World Series with a victory in Game 5 Thursday night.

Common sense tells us the Rays have it in them: In their three victories against the Red Sox, they have scored 31 runs.

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But stop here for a moment and say it again: In 2004, the Red Sox lost three straight to the Yankees and then won four straight. Last year, facing the Cleveland Indians in the ALCS, they were down three games to one and then roared back with three straight victories.

And while it really has nothing to do with our modern-day discussion, we'll throw this into the mix for no other reason than because if we don't somebody will send in a nasty email: Yeah, yeah, yeah, in 1986 the Red Sox were down three games to one against the California Angels in the ALCS and stormed back with three straight victories. OK?

If history has taught us anything, then, it is that the modern-day Red Sox know how to pick themselves up off the canvas.

Put another way, is there a Dave Roberts on this team? In Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS against the Yankees, Roberts set up a game-tying Boston rally by stealing second with two out in the ninth. Had he been out, Boston's season was over. They'd have been swept by a team with a history of humiliating them.

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But Roberts was safe. He wound up scoring the tying run, and Boston won in extra innings.

Roberts no longer plays for the Red Sox. But when he does return to Boston, he needn't bring his wallet. He is a now and forever guest of grateful Boston baseball fans.

Pressbox wise guys laugh when players say all it takes is one hit, one catch, or, in Roberts' case, one stolen base, to spark a team. Yet it happened. This is the lesson of Dave Roberts. Can it happen again?

Hard to say. But listening to erstwhile Red Sox slugger David Ortiz address the media after Tuesday's game, it was easy to come away wondering if this bunch has any fight left.

Ortiz, using his nickname and speaking in the third person, addressed his lack of hitting. Though he had a triple last night, he's 1-for-14 overall in this series.

“The problem is that everyone is focusing on Papi not hitting, and to tell you the truth, both of these series, Anaheim and now with the Rays, and, you know, Papi doesn't come up with men on base all the time,” he said. “I might come to hit maybe four times the whole series with men on second. I'm not going to change the game when you have a (deficit) of nine, 10 runs, whatever they're scoring now.”

Sounds a bit like Ortiz — you know, Papi — is throwing his teammates under the bus.

Last year, and in 2004, the Red Sox used that bus to ride over their opponents. And Red Sox fans should start to fear that, nope, sorry, there really is no 2008 version of Dave Roberts waiting to make some history in Game 5.

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