Posted at 2:19 p.m., Friday, September 14, 2007
Baseball: Ramirez might miss entire Yankee series
Associated Press
BOSTON — Manny Ramirez is getting closer to returning from a strained muscle in his left side but the Boston outfielder appears to be a long shot to play in the three-game series with New York that began today."He's not ready to play," Red Sox manager Terry Francona said before the opener of the series between the top two teams in the AL East. "Maybe by the beginning of the week is somewhat realistic, but, again, you just don't know. He is making a lot of progress and doing a good job."
The left fielder was out of the lineup for the 16th consecutive game today after being injured on Aug. 28, in a 5-3 loss in New York in the opener of the Yankees' three-game sweep.
Ramirez "did well" swinging the bat yesterday, Francona said.
"He came out on his off day and took a ton of swings," Francona said. "I don't know how realistic it is for him to play in the next couple of days.
"I don't think it's ever been the case but I do think he's getting a lot closer. I don't think it's fair to put an exact day on it."
The Red Sox lost their first three games without Ramirez but were 9-3 in the next 12. The cleanup hitter is batting .292 with 20 homers and 86 RBIs in 125 games.
"He hits the ball off the wall (in batting practice) and everybody thinks he should be playing," Francona said. "There's a difference between taking swings in a controlled environment and then moving to BP and then going to a game."
The Red Sox entered today with a 5 1/2-game lead over New York in the division. The Yankees began the day with a 3 1/2-game lead over Detroit in the AL wild-card race.
