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June 3, 2008
In the initial lineup posted in the Red Sox clubhouse this afternoon, Manny Ramirez was going to play left field and Sean Casey was going to start at designated hitter.
But Ramirez's legs have been bothering him for a while, so manager Terry Francona has made a lineup shift. Ramirez will serve as the DH tonight. Casey will begin the game on the bench because Jacoby Ellsbury is shifting from a start in center field to take over Manny's position in left, which brings Coco Crisp off the bench for the start in center.
Ramirez will not be the Sox' primary DH in the absence of David Ortiz (wrist injury), and in fact, Manny isn't crazy about DH-ing. With Ortiz on the disabled list, though, Francona has a chance to give Ramirez's legs a little respite while still keeping him in the cleanup spot in the batting order by using him as the DH.
"Manny's legs were bothering him in Baltimore," said Francona of the four-game series that began last Friday. "He came up to me before the first game and told me. He didn't get to two balls in that series."
There hasn't been anything wrong with Ramirez's bat, though. The Sox slugger clouted home run number 500 in Baltimore on Saturday, and then hit a homer in each of his next two games, boosting his season total to 12 and his career total to 502.
-- Steven Krasner
Posted by Steven Krasner 
at 4:24 PM | Permalink
