Nobody knew at that time -- not the Sox general manager, not the manager, and certainly not the crowd slowly exiting Fenway Park. They'd arrived to hear a starting lineup announced with Ramirez playing left field and batting fourth. And yet, when the Sox took to the field shortly after 7, Kevin Millar was assuming a spot in the Monster's shadow and John Olerud -- as the fans would learn in the bottom of that inning -- was batting cleanup.
Olerud delivered, knocking in three runs in a 6-2 win on a night full of uncertainty in the Back Bay.
''We go out and play, whatever our lineup is," said captain Jason Varitek. ''Nobody is going to take that away from us. Period. I'll tell you that right now."
Terry Francona met with Ramirez at about 6:20 last night, immediately after the media had cleared the clubhouse. The manager sensed Ramirez needed a day off -- and another today -- to rest his mind. He was booed Friday, a reaction to his recent request to be traded, and he was close to being dealt to the Mets yesterday.
''I feel like he took a breath and feels good," Francona said.
And, the Sox, as a team, felt good, too, about the effort displayed by the men who were on the field.
Olerud enjoyed prime run-producing situations his first three at-bats. In the first inning, he came to the plate with Edgar Renteria (single) and David Ortiz (walk) aboard and singled to center, plating Renteria for a 1-0 lead.
Ortiz would walk four times, three times with first base open, once intentionally. Welcome to life -- whether for a day or forever -- without Ramirez .
In the second inning, Olerud's turn came with the bases loaded. Renteria had already knocked in a run with a bloop single down the first-base line over the head of Justin Morneau. But Olerud grounded into a fielder's choice.
Then, in the sixth, Olerud again came to bat with the bases full. Twins reliever Terry Mulholland fell behind Olerud, 3 and 0, got one called strike, then delivered a pitch that Olerud stung into center field for a two-run single, upping the lead to 5-0. Millar then singled to center, again loading the bases, this time for Varitek, who singled in another run for a 6-0 advantage.
