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June 9, 2007
Manny Ramirez, who has played in more games than any of his teammates this season, is not in the Red Sox' starting lineup tonight.
A couple of circumstances played a part in manager Terry Francona's decision to keep Ramirez on the bench, at least at the outset.
Ramirez, who had played in 59 of the Sox' first 60 games, was hit on the left wrist by a tailing fastball from Arizona right-hander Edgar Gonzalez in the sixth inning of last night's game at Chase Field. Ramirez fell face-first to the dirt and stayed there for a while before finally popping up and going to first base.
Ramirez played in left field in the bottom of the inning, but was replaced by Eric Hinske for the seventh. Francona said Ramirez's wrist was sore, but he could have played tonight.
Francona, though, has been trying to give every regular a day off from the starting lineup during this seven-game road trip, which followed on the heels of a typically intense three-game set at home against the Yankees, with a tiring West Coast trip added into the mix.
The manager initially was going to rest Ramirez Thursday, the last day of the four-game series in Oakland, but Boston had lost the first three games, so he kept Ramirez in the lineup.
But with Arizona starting a pitcher (Micah Owings) Ramirez wasn't familiar with, and with his wrist being sore, Francona has opted to sit Ramirez tonight, replacing him in left with Hinske, while Kevin Youkilis slides into the cleanup spot. Tomorrow David Ortiz will sit against flame-throwing left-hander Randy Johnson, so Francona thought tonight would be best for a Ramirez rest, giving the Sox one of their thumpers in each of the final two games of the series.
While Ramirez has not been hitting home runs with his customary frequency (7 this season, zero in his last 57 at-bats), he has been drilling base hits. Since his last homer, on May 22, Ramirez has batted .375 (24 for 64), boosting his average from .244 to a season-high .293. He is available as a pinch hitter.
-- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 7:06 PM | Permalink
