When Youkilis is temporarily challenged by a 100-pound dumbbell, Ramírez stands over him and starts a "Youk" chant that would make a Fenway bleacherite proud. The football players training for the upcoming NFL Combine think he's crazy.
"Manny being Manny - I know what that means now," says Punto. "He's an intense workout partner. I think people perceive him the wrong way sometimes because this guy really loves the game. He loves everything that goes along with it. He's working out hard and he's going to be ready to play this season, for sure."
Things are good in Manny World. Since declaring himself a "bad man" at the World Series, Ramírez, 34, has announced his plans to report to spring training on time and to play for several more years. Ramírez allowed the Globe to follow his 2-hour-15-minute workout routine but politely declined to be interviewed.
"Take care of yourself," is his advice.
Darryl Eto, the performance specialist who is working five days a week with Ramírez, says hard work is the slugger's mantra. He even has Ramírez pulling a weighted sled, a throwback to the days when, as a teenager, he used to get up at 4:30 to run the steepest hills of New York City's Washington Heights pulling a car tire roped to his waist.
"The routine is some movement flexibility work, mobility work, stability work, general warm-ups, and then we go out on the field and do plyometric training and some jumps and then some running," Eto says. "Then back in the weight room, where he does his strength and development work. And then he finishes up with conditioning.
"I was pleasantly surprised how good of an athlete he is. I've talked to other coaches that have worked with him in the past and they've all said he's a great guy, he works really hard, and he's a great athlete, but until you've seen it, you always reserve judgment. He has been nothing but great to work with, phenomenal to work with."
Ramírez arrived here in December, having been introduced to the state-of-the-art gym by former Red Sox teammate Nomar Garciaparra.
