And you thought the Red Sox-Manny Ramirez drama was over:
Several baseball sources told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez today that Red Sox management delivered an official letter of suspension to Manny Ramirez at 11 p.m. on Fri., July 25, shortly after Ramirez sat out his second straight game with the club. The letter informed the slugger that the suspension was to go into effect on Sat., July 26, and stated the reason for the suspension was Ramirez’s unwillingness to play, according to the report. Ramirez cited a knee injury as his reason for missing the two games, but MRIs on both of his knees failed to find physical damage.
Copies of the suspension letter, Gomez reports, were also sent to Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association, and Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras.
According to the report, Ramirez called the team several hours later to inform them he would indeed be playing on July 26 against the Yankees. Ramirez did play, but after what is now a well-documented saga, the left fielder was traded to the Dodgers a week later.
Yeah he played all right – he stood there and took three straight fastballs from Mariano Rivera and never moved the bat off his shoulder.
I’m almost praying the Red Sox make him an offer and he accepts. We need Manny in Boston for the theatrics.
