Manny Ramirez is STAYING in Boston!!!

[missjohnR]

On the Red Sox site, Manny is staying put in Boston. He wants to help his team go to the world series again. His team mates agreed that they nned him around. However he might not be around after his contract is up in 2008. Read Below.

BOSTON -- All week, the talk in Boston was about Manny Ramirez. Early Sunday afternoon, roughly four hours before the trading deadline would pass and he was all but certain to remain with the Red Sox, Ramirez did the talking himself.
Amid the backdrop of manager Terry Francona's cramped office, which was packed with reporters, the star slugger of the Red Sox made his first public comments since May 15, the day he belted his 400th home run in Seattle.

Ramirez, flanked by Kevin Millar, who was serving as a mock moderator, said that he was at peace with playing the remainder of the 2005 season for the Red Sox.

"I want to stay here for 2005. I want to help this team win another World Series," said Ramirez, whose name had surfaced in numerous trade rumors involving the Mets the last few days.

Ultimately, the Red Sox decided that their best chance to repeat as World Series champions was to proceed with Ramirez as their cleanup hitter.

Amid reports that Ramirez and Francona have had a serious falling out, the left fielder said that he was fine with his manager.

Francona was sitting at his desk while Ramirez, in noticeably good spirits, held court.

"I never said that [I have a problem with Francona]," said Ramirez. "My situation with Tito is perfect, man. I never had no problem with no manager."

Ramirez then explained the other big controversy of the week, in which he chose to take a scheduled day off this past Wednesday against the Devil Rays when the team was short-handed with Trot Nixon going on the disabled list before the game.

Said Ramirez: "The things that happened, I was supposed to get Sunday off in Chicago, and I told Tito, 'No, Tito, I'm going to play on Sunday.' I told him, 'Why don't you give me Wednesday off so I could get Thursday [an off-day for the Red Sox] off, [also].' OK, so when Trot got hurt, one of the coaches came up to me and told me, 'You still want Wednesday off?' I told him, 'Yeah.' If they came up to me and told me, 'I want you to play on Wednesday,' I would have played. I want to play. I'm a player. That's what happened. I'm not here because I don't want to play; I'm not that kind of guy."

Francona added later that if there was any lack of communication, he would take the blame.

Ramirez didn't say whether he wanted to remain in Boston beyond 2005. His contract expires following the 2008 season, so there's a chance the Red Sox could explore moving him again in the winter, though he'd have 10-5 rights, which would give him the right to veto any potential trade.

"Hey, I'm still here. I'm here to win and help this team win for 2005," said Ramirez.

Shortly before Saturday night's game, Francona huddled with Ramirez. Considering everything that was swirling around the slugger, Francona opted to give him Saturday and Sunday off, which precedes Monday's off-day with the hope that a mentally and physically refreshed cleanup man will re-join the lineup on Tuesday night against the Royals.




complete coverage >Ramirez, who didn't play at all on Saturday, said he'd be happy to come off the bench on Sunday if his team needed him.

"It's great. I'm getting the day off," said Ramirez. "But I'm here. If they need me, I'll play."

He said there was no truth to rumors he had asked out of the lineup moments before Saturday's game.

"Tito told me he was going to give me a day off. That's what happened," said Ramirez.

On Friday night, Ramirez was booed harshly by the Fenway faithful for the first time since joining the Red Sox in 2001.

"It doesn't bother me, man. This is not my first time I've got booed," said Ramirez. "I don't care about that. I'm just going to go out and do my thing and play the game."

Francona then smiled at Ramirez and said, "This isn't your first rodeo."

Ramirez, like a playful parrot, said, "No, this is not my first rodeo."

As it turns out, he has quite a few more rodeos left in Boston in 2005, and perhaps beyond.

[moeee]

whoohoo!!! ramirez is staying.....for now.

[Rene]

good im glad hes stayin cause we need him if we want to win the world series again

[Janice]

Everyone, for now, loves this Boston happy ending


The entire thing played out like some cheesy, made-for-TV movie, right down to the happy ending and some very, very bad acting. But when you whittle away all of the nonsense and posturing, not a single blasted thing has changed between the Red Sox and their enigmatic left fielder.
Come the offseason, you can bet your Manny Ramirez baseball card that the Red Sox will look to trade him again.
And you can bet, too, that Ramirez will ask them to.
In the interim, the Red Sox left Fenway Park yesterday with enough positive energy to choke Anthony Robbins, posting a 4-3 win over the anemic Minnesota Twins. The embattled Ramirez provided the margin of victory with a dramatic two-out, pinch-hit single in the bottom of the eighth inning. And four days after manager Terry Francona rightfully hung him out to dry like a pair of soiled shorts, Ramirez and the skipper hugged as the victorious Sox left the field.
And so Ramirez and the Red Sox move on to August, it seems, freed from the bitterness and distaste. At least, that is, for now.
``I want to stay here for 2005. I want to help us win another World Series,'' Ramirez said during a surreal pregame scene in which he and interpreter Kevin Millar addressed reporters in Francona's office. ``My situation with (Francona) is perfect, man. I've never had (a) problem with a manager.''
Said Francona: ``I don't have a problem with Manny. Is every relationship perfect? It can't be. You can't have a ballclub and not have raised voices. A good team – a team that gives a (hoot) – you're going to have that. That's the way this game is. It's better to have people that are passionate and that care.''
Over? No, no, no. Not a chance. For all of the swirling speculation that took place leading up to yesterday's 4 p.m. trading deadline, the Red Sox are still committed to Ramirez through 2008 at an average of $20 million per season. Ramirez is still as goofy, indecipherable and downright maddening as ever. And he remains, perhaps most importantly, one of the most truly prolific run producers the game ever has seen.
If the Red Sox had traded Ramirez for a package including Aubrey Huff and Mike Cameron, the entire baseball operations staff should have had its collective head examined. To dump Ramirez for a pair of inferior talents with the team in first place would have been an inexcusable insult to every other player that wears a Red Sox uniform.
Even if Ramirez may not, the rest of them generally play to win.
``This is a first-place team,'' general manager Theo Epstein said when asked his assessment of the club following yesterday's deadline. ``This team has a chance to win the division. This team has a chance to win in the postseason.''
Minus Ramirez, you could kiss those chances goodbye.
As for Ramirez' childish behavior, the Red Sox are fortunate that they have a collection of veteran players who dismiss him for the adolescent he is. Ramirez pulled his shenanigans in 2003 and the Red Sox reached Game 7 of the American League Championship Series. Last year, with him on the roster, the Red Sox won the whole darned thing.
Prior to yesterday's game, a straight-faced Francona said the Red Sox generally deal with similar Ramirez nonsense ``about once or twice a year'' The Red Sox believe this year's pouting sessions are behind them. They believe Ramirez can be a happy, productive player for the balance of 2005, that he can help them make a run at another title.
But after that, all bets are off.

[Janice]

I'm glad Manny's staying because we really need him, but I still think he's a whinebag prima dona. Pedro Martinez used to act the same way.

[Moonlight Lady]

That's great! I'm glad he's staying. It would be great to win another World Series. They'd have to be crazy to even consider trading him.

[Brian Damage]

As a Yankee fan, I wish he had gone to the Mets. Boooooooo!!!

[moeee]

Originally Posted by Brian Damage

As a Yankee fan, I wish he had gone to the Mets. Boooooooo!!!

[Rene]

lol no! ramirez is gonna lose a lot of fans over this ill tell ya that hes actin like a punk with a baaaaaaad attitude

[TJL]

Good.