AL Wild Card Race: Boston Red Sox Sound Like a Team That Is Already Beaten

It's official: The Boston Red Sox are in huge trouble as they find themselves dead even with the Tampa Bay Rays in the AL Wild Card race. Despite tons of veteran leadership for the Red Sox, they don't really look or sound like a team that thinks they can still make the playoffs.
 
David Ortiz was a vital part of the 2004 World Series Champion Red Sox roster—a team that found themselves down 3-0 against the Yankees in the ALCS. It was only after the Sox completed the greatest comeback in playoff sports history that they got their World Series victory.
 
That being said, no matter how bad things may get, in the eyes of David Ortiz, nothing should be a big deal. 
 
This just isn't the case in 2011. Maybe he has forgotten that he was a part of that championship team in 2004.
 
I say that because it was Ortiz who told the media and Red Sox fans that it was time to panic when speaking of a possible Red Sox collapse. Those just aren't the words of a guy who has been a part of the greatest comeback of all-time. They're especially not the words of a leader—something Ortiz has proven to be in the past.
 
Enter Dustin Pedroia, considered by many to be a leader on this team as well. After another disappointing loss to Baltimore last night, Pedroia made a surprising comment as well to reporters in a postgame interview.
 
While I'm paraphrasing here, Pedroia basically said that no matter what happens, he will be proud of how hard the Sox have played and will hold his head up high. Did he forget that his team has collapsed?
 
Again, not exactly the words of a leader.
 
These guys' thoughts echo the sentiment of the entire team: The Sox are a team that already seems beaten, with little faith of any other outcome—a sentiment that can't look good from the eyes on a Red Sox fan.
 
Battered and bruised, the Red Sox don't sound like a baseball team that believes they can still make the playoffs. When two of your best players are doubting your chances, it doesn't look good for your team.
 
In a perfect world, David Ortiz would have had a more calm reaction to this downslide. He would talk about the 2004 ALCS as a reference point for staying calm in a tough spot.
 
Pedroia would have said that he and his team didn't plan on letting up an inch and, as a result, would be a participant in the 2011 playoffs.
 
Instead, both Pedroia and Ortiz's words have left little room for faith and a ton of room for panic.