Expect Ramirez in left field tonight
Manny Ramirez, the subject of talk-show banter, Internet chat sessions, national television programs and opinionated broadcasters, is expected to start in left field tonight when the Red Sox begin a four-game series against the Oakland A’s at Fenway Park.
Ramirez, who drew the ire of commissioner Bud Selig for skipping Tuesday night’s All-Star Game to rest his sore right knee, is expected to resume his “maintenance program” on the knee, according to general manager Theo Epstein, in the hopes Ramirez can get through the season without a major setback that would require him to miss significant playing time.
The Sox were continuing to say yesterday that Ramirez has a sore knee and nothing more, and both manager Terry Francona and Epstein called a published report by the Baseball Prospectus Web site, which said Ramirez has a tear in his meniscus, as “erroneous.”
One reason the report could be erroneous is because the Sox have not had an MRI taken on the knee, which provides the true indicator concerning possible damage. Yet there are two other ways of examining the knee without an MRI that could allow a doctor to deduce that Ramirez has a meniscus tear.
Either way, the Sox haven’t felt the need to have an MRI given Ramirez’s ample playing time and his ability to play 19 innings Sunday. Francona said he would have sent a pinch runner in for Ramirez from the ninth inning on in that game, but the need never arose.
“It’s status quo,” Epstein said of Ramirez’s knee yesterday at Fenway Park, a few hours before performing at the Hot Stove, Cool Music fund-raiser. “His knee was an issue in the first half that we were able to manage it by getting him out of games early. A big part of the treatment was getting him three days off at the All-Star break, and now that he’s had that, we hope to be able to keep an eye on him.”
In describing Ramirez’s knee, Epstein said: “It does swell up occasionally.”
A source familiar with Ramirez’s condition said he is routinely undergoing treatment for the knee, and his diligence has enabled him to play. He experiences soreness but not the kind that would prevent him from playing the field or running the bases.
The source said Ramirez would likely be able to play on the knee for the remainder of the season, but there might be times when he needs to take a day off or two, or DH.
Ramirez has been sensitive to criticism in the past, but he has received quite a bit of support from Sox fans who will likely cheer Ramirez tonight when he steps to the plate for the first time since the controversy over his All-Star absence.