Manny Ramirez News

"Manny Ramirez is taking his campaign to the seats. Ramirez joked that he needed to press the flesh of All-Star Game voters as the reason why he high-fived a fan in the front row behind the 7-foot left-field wall after making an impressive over-the-shoulder catch in the fourth inning yesterday."

"Forget 500 home runs, Manny Ramirez has his eyes on another prize - a Gold Glove. But, according to Ramirez, there’s one problem. “How am I going to win a Gold Glove if they take me out in the eighth (inning),” said the Sox left fielder, repeating a line he has passed through the clubhouse since he was removed for defensive replacement Jacoby Ellsbury on Friday night against the Twins. That was a joke. This, however, wasn’t: “I think I’m the best ever to play left field in Boston,” the slugger said."

"Manny Ramirez is in no rush, although the same can’t be said for the team’s unofficial hairstylist, Angel Lucas “LMontro” Pena. “I’m not getting it cut until he hits 500,” Pena said, pointing to fledgling dreadlocks. No matter for Ramirez, who went on to tell his haircutting friend that he should emulate the left fielder’s three-year hair growth. Once in a rush to reach 500 career home runs, telling teammates he would accomplish the feat by the end of April, Ramirez, who hit No. 497 in last night’s 5-0 victory against the Detroit Tigers, is now taking a different tack."

"Quirky, unpredictable, enigmatic and sometimes aloof, Manny Ramirez often seems to be lost in his own little world. As the Red Sox slugger travels into the latter stages of his storied career, however, he is going to be welcomed into baseball’s prestigious and rarely traveled stratosphere. On the verge of becoming only the 24th player ever to hit 500 home runs, the four active players in the elite club, as well as the one closest to gaining entry after Ramirez, welcome his company on the path to Cooperstown, N.Y."

"It was a sun-drenched, late January day in Tempe, Ariz., when Manny Ramirez and Kevin Youkilis ventured out onto half of an artificial turf football field owned by Arizona State University. Without any direction, they took off, one by one, jogging 30 yards to the goal line before taking a sharp left turn and breaking off into a sprint for another 30."

"Ramírez, who has 496 home runs, has two games left in April to become the 24th player in major league history to hit 500 home runs. The Sox, losers of five in a row, open a three-game series tonight at Fenway Park against the Toronto Blue Jays, who just snapped a six-game losing streak of their own with a 5-2 win on getaway day in Kansas City."

"We start our report this week with a few questions for agent Scott Boras regarding the change in Manny Ramírez's personality, his conditioning, his desire to play at least four more years - all of which occurred since Boras began representing Ramírez this winter..."

"Terry Francona admittedly had second thoughts about giving Manny Ramirez his first full day off yesterday."

"Ramirez, who already has had several uncharacteristic run-ins with home plate umpires regarding balls-and-strikes calls, was ejected for the fourth time in his career after being called out on strikes in the second inning by Paul Emmel."

"Manny Ramirez sided with Kyle Farnsworth, saying the New York Yankees relief pitcher did not deserve to be suspended by Major League Baseball for three games and fined an undisclosed amount for throwing behind him in the seventh inning of Thursday’s game at Yankee Stadium."

"The familiar act involving David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez finally returned to center stage at Fenway Park in a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers. A game-tying single from the designated hitter; a “did-you-see-that” game-winning home run off the left field light tower by the left fielder."

"Boston scored three times in the eighth, with the 496th home run of Ramirez's career providing the winning margin in a 5-3 victory over the Rangers."

"So here's what Manny did last night with that 0-and-2 count. He watched, and waited, while Mussina served up two balls. Then, when Ramírez identified the pitch that interested him, he uncoiled a monster two-run shot over the left-field fence, thereby figuratively thumbing his nose at the 55,088 fans who jeered him moments earlier. "He gave me a good pitch to drive," the slugger shrugged. "So, I drove it.""

"In the first three innings Thursday night, Manny Ramirez was knocking down icons of the game. First he took down Lou Gehrig. Then it was Mel Ott, Eddie Mathews and Hank Greenberg... He led off the second inning with a homer to center field. It was the 494th of his career and snapped a tie for 24th place on the all-time list with Gehrig and Fred McGriff. It also was his 54th home run against the Yankees, passing Greenberg for third place all-time in that department."

"The Yankees finally decided enough was enough, and rightly so. If Kyle Farnsworth had to be the enforcer, well, why not? At least it gave the fans at the Stadium reason to cheer for him. More to the point, it was time to let Manny Ramirez know he wasn't going to hit rocket after rocket off their pitchers without paying a price. It's the way the game has been played forever. Maybe Farnsworth didn't do it in the accepted manner. He should have thrown a fastball up and in, not behind Ramirez's head, if he wanted to send him sprawling. "

"They wanted Mike Mussina. They got Manny Ramirez. Seven years ago, that was the outcome when the Red Sox chased after Manny and a Moose. History intersects again tonight at Yankee Stadium, where the Red Sox and New York Yankees will meet in the finale of a two-game miniseries in the midst of baseball’s Hundred Years War. The makeup of the Sox and Yankees have changed considerably in this millennium, but two of the constants will square off again when Ramirez steps into the batter’s box against the man with whom he will forever be linked."

"For Manny Ramirez, it isn’t complicated. He hits home runs, like the one that won last night’s game, and thereby punches his ticket for six more years in Boston. It’s that simple. Don’t even bring up alternatives. According to Manny, those won’t be necessary."

"The playful face and sometimes quizzical comments are back. The old Manny Ramírez, the one who talked and smiled and hit home runs at a prodigious pace, is back. Though he managed to insert one off-year into a career bound for the Hall of Fame, Ramírez seems to have recaptured it, along with the persona that he used to show outwardly but got more and more hidden over the past few years."

"Asked to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning at Progressive Field, Borowski instead surrendered three runs, two on a Manny Ramirez go-ahead home run. The 6-4 victory salvaged nearly eight full innings of lackluster play by the Red Sox."

" When Ted Williams hit a home run in his last at- bat in a Red Sox uniform, he headed to Cooperstown, N.Y., for enshrinement. With his pen, writer John Updike remembered how he said adieu. When Manny Ramirez hit a home run in his last at-bat in an Indians uniform, he headed to Boston for enrichment. With their lungs, Cleveland fans remembered how he left and said "Boo." "

"David Ortiz is still an automatic out, it's too bad for the Yankees that Manny Ramirez isn't suffering from the same affliction. It was more Manny Madness for the Yanks yesterday as they watched their feared nemesis sock it to them again. "

"It was just another giddy, loony day Saturday in the world of Manny Ramirez. The always entertaining Washington Heights product had a solo homer and the go-ahead two-run double against the Yankees and also galloped off the field without his cap after making a running catch in the third inning. "

"For what it's worth to Joe Girardi - who presumably had Yankee legions and Red Sox Nation alike screaming, "What is he thinking?" when he elected to pitch to Manny Ramirez with first base open in the pivotal sixth inning Saturday - it at least took two weeks into his Yankee managership for him to earn the moniker that was bestowed on Joe Torre from the get-go."

"Joe Girardi pours over tapes and scouting reports and sta tistical breakdowns, and somehow in all of that diligent study he missed one item: DO NOT LET MANNY RAMIREZ BEAT YOU. "

"Manny Ramirez, for one, left Canada yesterday with the same smile he possessed exiting Fort Myers, Tokyo, Los Angeles and Oakland."

"In Japan, Manny Ramirez found out he could not use his all-red bat, and had to go to a part-red, part-black model. Now he has found out the white-leather interior of his outfielder’s glove is no good. That is why bullpen catcher Alex Ramirez spent a good chunk of time before last night’s game painting the inside of the glove with black shoe polish."

"Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez is one of a host of Major League Baseball players participating in a summer sportswear promotion for Macy’s."

"Nobody knows quite where the new Manny Ramirez took root. Alex Cora, for one, believes the transformation began when Ramirez said to a shocked throng of media after the Red Sox found themselves in a 3-1 hole to Cleveland in the American League Championship Series last fall, “It’s not the end of the world.”"

"Manny Ramirez is a new man. Sure, there is the change in the slugger’s approach to the media, his embracing Mantra Yoga and, of course, the newly formed Manny Ramirez Book of the Month Club."

"With 490 homers in his 15-year career, even 700 might be far-fetched. But not if you listen to the slugger, who is planning to have some years left in Boston, years in which to round out his legacy, pick up the big numbers, and end it all in a place he hasn't always wanted to be. No longer, though. He's happy, and he's happy to share."

"Maybe it was being out of the Western Hemisphere. But for some reason, Manny Ramirez was in a talkative mood Saturday before the Sox took on the Hanshin Tigers. Ramirez, who said he’s adjusted to the time difference well and enjoying the plentiful sushi, said he anticipates playing for some time to come even though, at age 35, he’s entering the final guaranteed year of his landmark eight-year deal."

"Manny has a plan. “I know what lays ahead. I’m going to get two more years here, and then I’m going to get four more years, so it’s going to be six years,” Manny Ramirez said in front of his locker at the Tokyo Dome before the Red Sox’ exhibition game against the Hanshin Tigers."

"Welcome to the Manny Ramirez School of Zen, an institution built on the power of meditation, yoga and an old campaign slogan. Four more years. “I’m gonna get four more years here, man,” Ramirez said yesterday while all but skipping out of City of Palms Park. “I’m going to get the two options and I’m going to get two more years.”"

"Manny Ramirez just made Dustin Pedroia’s day. The Red Sox slugger presented the second baseman with a Rolex watch for winning the American League Rookie of the Year in 2007. Ramirez handed Pedroia a box and then hit it pretty hard with his bat, denting the box. When Pedroia opened it all he could say was “Damn!” "

"Manny Ramirez was meditating on Wednesday when President Bush noted his absence at the White House, so no, he was not listening as Bush made a quip about the possible death of another grandmother and mentioned what a “bad man” Ramirez is at the plate."

"On several occasions over the years, Manny Ramirez has quit on the Red Sox. This is not opinion, but fact. You can choose to believe this basic Red Sox truth, which means you have an agenda against Manny. Or you can call it a lie, which makes you a Manny apologist. Take your pick."

"Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein confirmed yesterday that Manny Ramirez informed the team on Thursday that he has switched agents, selecting Scott Boras as his representation."

"Powerful agent Scott Boras confirmed last night that he has added Manny Ramírez to a stable of clients that already includes some of the biggest names on the Red Sox' roster."

"The Red Sox confirmed they’ve been informed that Manny Ramirez has switched agents, dropping Greg Genske in favor of Scott Boras."

"A happy, upbeat and forward-looking Manny Ramirez took his first batting cage cuts of spring training yesterday after which he announced he hopes to remain a member of the Red Sox beyond this season."

"With a chance to have the Red Sox pick up the $20 million option year for 2009 - he has $20 million options for the next two seasons - Ramírez has appeared to have rededicated himself in the offseason, heading to Athletes' Performance Institute in Arizona for workouts, showing up at camp on time, and addressing the media. But, he said, he's not going to demand the team pick up the option. He's not going to storm in and ask for an extension. "

"Right on time, Manny Ramirez reported for his first day of workouts yesterday. Whether he’s back here at this time next year, he said, isn’t up to him."

"Ramirez said he wants to remain with the Red Sox for the remainder of his career. The Red Sox can pick up $20 million options for the 2009 and 2010 seasons. Former general manager Dan Duquette signed Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million contract before the 2001 season."

"But while Manny’s place in baseball history is secure, his place as a member of the Red Sox beyond 2008 is a question that will be a season-long subplot. When former general manager Dan Duquette signed Ramirez to an eight-year contract before the 2001 season, the deal had club options for 2009 and 2010 for $20 million a pop, and now, all these years later, it’s time to wonder: Will the Sox pull the trigger on those options?"

"Theo Epstein wasn’t going to hide his satisfaction. Life was good, Manny Ramirez was in camp on time."

"With Ramirez in camp, the talk regarding the 35-year-old turns to the prospects of the Red Sox picking up his $20 million team option following this season."

" This is the final guaranteed season of Ramirez's eight-year, $160 million contract. The Red Sox hold $20 million options for each of the next two seasons, plenty of incentive for Ramirez to impress his employers."

"Sometime this week — maybe today, maybe tomorrow — Manny Ramirez is expected to arrive for the start of his eighth season with Red Sox. It could also be his last. When Ramirez checks into camp, will it mark the unofficial beginning of the end?"

"Yesterday was a crystal-clear reminder that when it comes to Manny Ramirez’ focus, the only place it is guaranteed is in the batter’s box. Before the Red Sox slugger donated his custom 1967 Lincoln Continental convertible to the Franciscan Hospital for Children in Brighton, he was asked about his thoughts for the 2008 season. Instead, he jumped ahead 12 months."

"It's 8 a.m., and Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramírez is already sweaty. He looks ripped and ready to defend the world championship."