Along with countryman David Ortiz, Ramírez wrecked the Anemic Angels of Anaheim in the first round of the playoffs. Manny hit .375 with two homers, four RBIs, five walks, and an on-base percentage of .615 in the three-game sweep. He won Game 2 at Fenway with an after-midnight walkoff that may not yet have landed, then crushed a ball into the Magic Kingdom in Game 3. He punctuated both blasts with home plate preening worthy of Mick Jagger.
After launching the Back Bay missile, Manny submitted to a full-blown postgame interview session, his first sitdown with the Fourth Estate since spring training 2006. It was a rare window into Mannyworld.
"I haven't been right all year round," he admitted. "But I guess, you know, when you don't feel good and you still get hits, that's when you know you are a bad man . . . Just my timing all year round hasn't been right."
Manny hit .296 with 20 homers and 88 RBIs in 133 games in 2007. Good numbers, but not Mannyesque.
"I think this whole year he was a little uncomfortable and never could find his swing," teammate Kevin Youkilis said before yesterday's workout at Fenway.
"Manny hasn't been locked in all year, but pitchers still aren't thrilled about facing him," added manager Terry Francona.
Ramírez missed 24 games in August and September because of a strained oblique muscle, and the Sox went 12-12 during his absence. Toward the end of his long stay on the shelf, there was some suspicion about his desire to return. We'd seen it before, as recently as 2006, when Ramírez curiously closed shop in the final month. The official injury was patellar tendinitis, but not many were buying as the season imploded.
Manny returned this year on Sept. 25 and in his first at-bat lined a single to right field after not seeing live pitching for a month. The next night, he went 3 for 3. Now he's scalding the ball, running the bases with authority (he told Peter Gammons he studied scouting reports on Angels outfielders before the American League Division Series), and appears somewhat engaged in the outfield.
