With 0-fer, latest chapter in Ramirez saga appears over

July 27, 2008|Amalie Benjamin, Globe Staff

Those gearing up for a showdown yesterday between the Red Sox and volatile left fielder Manny Ramírez got little more than a whimper. Ramírez didn't sit out in protest, he didn't complain about right knee soreness, and he was not suspended. Instead, Ramírez was listed on the lineup card, which was posted later than normal, then strode to the plate in the first inning to a mixed reaction from the capacity crowd at Fenway Park.

On Friday, in the opening game of the series against the Yankees, Ramírez begged off playing, citing the knee soreness that had cropped up Wednesday, keeping him out of the lineup in Seattle. The Red Sox were not amused, with a highly placed source saying Ramírez was expected in the lineup yesterday or the team would consider it an act of defiance and suspend him.

"Don't worry about it," Ramírez said as he walked through the clubhouse before the game and before any questions were asked. "I'm not going to talk. I'm going to play, that's it."

Asked about his status, he said, "Check the lineup. I'm in the lineup."

He was. So with the return of Ramírez, there's a new focus for the Sox. Because it would be extremely difficult to trade him, given he has the power to veto any deal because of his 10-5 status and the unlikelihood of getting equal value in return, keeping Ramírez on the field is key. Getting him to stay in the lineup, and stay productive, appears to be the best way of handling the situation for the organization.

Even if he stays in the lineup, there remains a question about whether he is a distraction for the team. With the Sox playing a big series against the Yankees, who won for the second straight day at Fenway Park, it isn't a good time for off-field antics.

"I don't know. You guys know more about it than I do," said a testy Dustin Pedroia when asked whether Ramírez had become a distraction. "I don't pay attention to that. Name's in the lineup, you go play. That's how it should be around here."

It wasn't Friday.

"This week, you know what, we had some misunderstandings," Sox manager Terry Francona said. "There's no way getting around that. It doesn't mean he's a bad person. We expect a lot; again when things don't go right, we try to make them right."

But that doesn't mean the organization's patience has not been wearing thin, as the team demonstrated with its willingness to suspend Ramírez had he not played yesterday.