Ramírez, Red Sox stay the course

July 25, 2006|Gordon Edes, Globe Staff

OAKLAND, Calif. -- One must always allow for the prospect, even after last night's 7-3 Red Sox win over the Oakland Athletics, that Manny Ramírez may awaken today to an entirely new world of possibilities. Perhaps he has dreams of relocating to his wife's native Brazil to become a gaucho, riding tall in the saddle. Maybe he'd like to return to his old neighborhood on the far side of Manhattan, strutting through the streets with a boom box on his shoulder the same way he did in the Sox clubhouse the other day, saying, ``This is how we do it in Washington Heights."

Or maybe he'll choose to spend the rest of his days playing Wiffle ball on the beach with little Manolito and siblings present and future.

But happily for the Red Sox and their aspirations for October, Ramírez seems no more inclined to want any of these scenarios to materialize this week as he is to ask to be traded. By most any measure, that represents spectacular progress from this time a year ago, when a change of address was foremost on Manny's wish list.

A night after Ramírez had arguably his roughest game of the season Sunday in Seattle, misplaying a couple of balls in left field, he rebounded in splendid fashion, hitting a three-run home run off Oakland's All-Star lefthander, Barry Zito. That was the biggest blow on a night that Alex Gonzalez and David Ortiz also went deep in support of Josh Beckett, who went six strong innings (5 hits, 3 earned runs) to become the majors' first 13-game winner.

No one had defended Ramírez more ardently in Seattle than manager Terry Francona.

``This kid's been solid with me all year, I'm not kidding you," Francona said after the Sox maintained their 2 1/2-game lead over the Yankees (6-2 winners against Texas). ``I felt [Sunday] night like I needed to protect him. He's busting his butt. He had a tough day, and it hurt us. But you know what? That's my responsibility. I've got no problem with that responsibility. He deserves it."

In the days leading up to the trading deadline last July, the Red Sox were roiled by controversy, when Ramírez, inflamed by the belief that Francona unfairly maligned him for insisting on taking a day off the night after the Sox lost fellow outfielder Trot Nixon to injury, demanded to be traded. The Sox came close to accommodating him, engaging the Mets in serious talks before Ramírez withdrew his request, leading to a tumultuous celebration at Fenway Park when the deadline passed and Ramírez came out of the dugout to deliver a game-winning pinch hit.