As always, he's on his own schedule

Sox officials had been saying they expected Ramírez to arrive Thursday and they had given him permission to report late because his mother was ill.

Manny's itinerary made headlines when it was revealed that promoters of a classic car auction in Atlantic City said they were expecting him to appear at their event last Saturday. There were radio advertisements in the Philadelphia area touting the slugger's participation in the show, and Tony Averso, who was handling the Ramírez car that was up for auction, told the Globe's Gordon Edes last Wednesday that he had been talking with Manny daily about his appearance, and was expecting him until he received late word of his mother's medical condition.

Reporting late to camp because of a seriously ill mother is one thing. But cruising in a few days tardy because you wanted to see how much your customized '67 Lincoln Continental convertible sold for is another matter entirely. So which applies to Ramírez? Both? Neither? Only Manny knows, and he's not talking.

Ramírez ultimately did not attend the auction. In a series of uncomfortable exchanges with reporters yesterday, his agents both claimed they had no knowledge of the event.

"I have no idea what the deal was with the auto show," said agent Greg Genske. "I do know Manny never had any intention of being there."

"I don't know anything about it," echoed Manny's other representative, Gene Matos.

Manny declined to shed any light on his comings and goings, since he did not address reporters except when he first arrived at his locker and said, "Can you give me some space, please?"

While his teammates publicly support their talented comrade, they have moments when they privately grow weary of his antics. Yet once Manny arrives, and greets them with his usual good nature, all seems forgiven. Even so, general manager Theo Epstein issued a public challenge to his left fielder last week to be "accountable" to his team.