And that would be unfortunate, the agent said, because despite whatever people may believe at this stage, Ramirez is glad to be coming back to the Red Sox this season.
As evidence, Mato cites the date, Dec. 6, when he and Ramirez placed a phone call to Red Sox owner John W. Henry, in the midst of the trade talks that would have sent Ramirez to the Texas Rangers for shortstop Alex Rodriguez.
"He called John Henry and told him he didn't want to be traded," Mato said. "John's been great with Manny. Manny likes him a lot. Manny doesn't blame John for anything.
"The best thing that happened to this team is the trade didn't go down. Why break up a team that was one game away from the World Series and has added Curt Schilling? Yes, Alex Rodriguez is a great player, but he's already proved he can't do it alone. Why break up the great chemistry that team had?
"Manny seems to be real excited about this year. He started working out about three days after the Red Sox lost to the Yankees, and he's probably in better shape right now than he was at any time last year.
"Get ready. Get ready for this year. He is going in angry."
This is the same Ramirez, to be sure, who told teammates, most notably David Ortiz, that he wanted to be traded last season, and whose agent, Jeff Moorad, acknowledged that the Sox placed Ramirez on irrevocable waivers after the postseason in part to satisfy Ramirez's desire to play for the Yankees.
Mato does not dispute that, nor does he dispute the fact that the Sox were incensed at Ramirez for his failure to show up at Fenway Park for a doctor's appointment during a late-summer series against the Yankees, a series Ramirez sat out after being diagnosed with pharyngitis.
Mato said Ramirez would not consent to an interview at this time, though he urged the player to do so just the day before. "If he says something," Mato said, "he feels it will be taken out of context. People misinterpret him, so he says let people think whatever they want."
But Mato, evidently with Ramirez's knowledge, offered an explanation for Ramirez's conduct.
