Speedy Kenny Lofton was stranded at third base before the Red Sox erupted for a romp.

Speedy Kenny Lofton was stranded at third base before the Red Sox erupted for a romp.

GATEHOUSE NEWS SERVICE

BOSTON — A statement articulated this week by baseball’s unofficial philosopher, Manny Ramirez, indicates that there’s always next year.

It’s not like it’s the end of the world.

Try telling that to an Indians fan this morning.

The bow of the Good Ship Wahoo finally slipped into the icy depths Sunday night after having spent four days taking on water.

The Red Sox beat the Indians, 11-2, to finalize its recovery from a three-games-to-one deficit in the American League Championship Series and earn their second trip to the World Series in four seasons.

The Red Sox will see if the upstart Colorado Rockies have cooled a bit during their long layoff.

The Indians, meanwhile, will spend the next four months kicking themselves for having kicked away an opportunity — make that three opportunities — to cement their place in the hearts of Cleveland fans still dreamily recalling the heroes of the 1990s.

“You knew that, whichever team took advantage of opportunities if mistakes were made, it was going to be the difference,” Indians Manager Eric Wedge said. “It probably was.”

It could have been grand. But, in the moments when they were needed most, too many of the Indians were instead climbing into the lifeboats with the women and children.

Travis Hafner had four hits in the entire series and tied an LCS record with 12 strikeouts.

C.C. Sabathia and Fausto Carmona had a 12.67 combined ERA.

Kenny Lofton was thrown out at second on what appeared to be an easy double — a hit that had been preceded by a 1-for-13 slump.

Rafael Betancourt, the team’s most dependable relief pitcher, gave up seven runs (six earned) in the seventh and eighth innings.

Casey Blake killed a promising rally by hitting into an inning-ending double play in the seventh, then made an error in the bottom half of the inning that preceded Dustin Pedroia’s clinching two-run home run.

Joel Skinner, the third-base coach whose work goes unnoticed most nights, earned some unwanted attention when he prevented Lofton from scoring the tying run by throwing up a premature stop sign.

There are others, of course. A collapse as notable as this — the Indians were outscored 30-5 over the last three games of the series — can only be the product of a total team effort.

What will be lost in the forgettable final outcome is that, entering the bottom of the seventh Sunday, the Indians still had a chance.

Boston was clinging to a 3-2 lead as Betancourt took the mound. Jacoby Ellsbury motored into second on Blake’s error, and Pedroia clobbered a home run into the second row of the seats above the Green Monster in left, widening the gap to 5-2.

The Red Sox then broke away with six runs in the eighth. J.D. Drew’s RBI single set the stage for Pedroia’s bases-clearing, two-out double that extended the margin to 9-2.

Betancourt was replaced by Jensen Lewis, who served up a two-run home run to Kevin Youkilis.

He was 14-for-28 (.500) in the series, but pitcher Josh Beckett earned series MVP honors with his 2-0 record and 1.93 ERA.

As the Red Sox celebrated in the middle of the diamond, many of Cleveland’s players lingered on the top steps of the dugout.

They watched and wondered if, maybe someday, they will be the next team to rid their town of a profoundly cursed professional sports legacy.

Wedge was asked if he viewed the ALCS as part of a progression of his team.

“I do, but it’s not something I’m thinking about right now,” Wedge said. “We fell short, but I felt we learned a great deal in this postseason.”

If there is any salve for Indians fans today, it is in the fact that nearly the entire roster will return next summer from a team that won 96 games.

In 2008, they’ll be a little bit older, a little bit wiser. The lights won’t seem so bright. Big Papi won’t seem so big.

Next year comes with no guarantees. Just hope.

CLEVELANDBOSTON

abrhbiabrhbi

Szmore cf3011Pedroia 2b5335

ACbera 2b4010Yukilis 1b5232

Hafner dh4110DOrtiz dh5000

VMrtnz c4000MRmrz lf3011

Garko 1b4011Crisp cf0000

JhPlta ss4010Lowell 3b3121

Lofton lf4010JDrew rf4111

Gutirrz rf4120Varitek c4230

Blake 3b4020Ellsbry cf3210

JLugo ss3010

Totals352102Totals35111510

Cleveland000110000—2

Boston11100026x—11

E—Blake (1), JLugo (1). DP—Cleveland 3, Boston 1. LOB—Cleveland 7, Boston 4. 2B—Hafner (1), Garko (2), Pedroia (3), Youkilis (1), Lowell (2), Varitek 2 (3). HR—Pedroia (1), Youkilis (3). S—JLugo. SF—Sizemore, Lowell.

IPHRERBBSO

Cleveland

Westbrook L,1-1693315

RBetancourt1 2-357611

Lewis1-311101

Boston

Mtszka W,1-1562203

Okajima230000

Papelbon S,1210001

Okajima pitched to 2 batters in the 8th. WP—Matsuzaka.

Umpires—Home, Randy Marsh; First, Kerwin Danley; Second, Brian Gorman; Third, Paul Emmel; Left, Gary Cederstrom; Right, Dana DeMuth. T—3:33. A—37,165.