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Manny will stay home

When the Red Sox head to Baltimore tonight, Manny Ramirez will not be with them.

Terry Francona reported this afternoon that Ramirez still is not able to play because of the strained left oblique that has kept him out of the last seven days.

``The medical people will give us clearance,’’ Frnacona said. ``He’ll stay back from Baltimore with Scott Waugh (the team’s rehabilitation coordinator) because he’s just not ready to do the baseball stuff.’’

Francona said the decision on when Ramirez returns will be totally a medical one.

``I have to get a clearance. It’s not like I can go in there and beat on somebody and say we need him,’’ the manager said. ``We obviously want him, but they will clear him when he’s available to start baseball activities. How fast that comes, we’ll try to use common sense.

``It’s a tough injury. You push, push, push and you push too far, you hurt it and you're in trouble,’’ he went on. ``They (the medical people) never tell me when to hit and run and I don’t tell them (where to make guys return). . .That’s what their education is in. We listen to them. These guys have input in what we’re doing.’’

Posted by Paul Kenyon  at 4:58 PM | Permalink