Just happy to be here

WINTER HAVEN, Fla. -- Grady Little always said Manny Ramirez was the least of his problems.

"Except for a few times when you have to keep him on the right track, this guy is no problem at all," said the former Red Sox skipper. "I would manage Manny Ramirez again and be proud to do it. He's a superior talent who just loves to play baseball and have fun playing baseball. There's nothing wrong with that."

And, really, that's what everyone who has ever been around Ramirez has come to know. Oh, you'd love to see him show more fire. You'd love to see a more serious side, but it's his loosey-goosey nature that makes him such a great hitter.

Veteran Terry Shumpert was looking over at Ramirez in the Sox clubhouse in Fort Myers the other day and he just shook his head. "What a talent," he said. "What an amazing talent. I've never seen anyone who can hit like him, whose swing is so fluid and effortless. I don't know if you can even teach that. I think you're born with it. You have to be born with it."

When managers, teammates, fans, and media members say, "It's Manny being Manny," well, that's the point. That's what fans should want. You want Manny Ramirez blistering the baseball to all fields, just as he did in yesterday's 10-9 loss to Cleveland. The All-Star left fielder went 2 for 4 with two RBIs against his former club.

Ramirez made the 2 1/2-hour trip here even though he was scheduled to have a day off, but when manager Terry Francona asked him to come so the Red Sox could have a representative team here before 7,111 at Chain O' Lakes Park, Ramirez was more than willing. He doesn't deserve a medal of honor for that, but Ramirez is a $20 million player, and normally $20 million players have their own agendas.

When Francona spoke with Ramirez earlier this week about the possibility of playing some right field while Trot Nixon healed, Ramirez told Francona, "I'll do whatever you ask me to do and try my best."

Francona said yesterday, "We may not even do that. I wanted to talk to him first, and he was great about it. We may not do that. That may not even be an option. Sometimes you think you should just bat him third and let him play left field and leave him alone. I just wanted to see how he felt and if it would be an option, and he's OK about it."

Ramirez seemed more certain that Francona was going to attempt it. He was a right fielder in Cleveland, but that was a smaller park. Playing right field in Fenway Park is a horse of a different color. There's lots of rooms for follies and mistakes. A lot of that can be blamed on the brutal sun.

"[Francona] told me that," Ramirez said. "Maybe next week I'll start taking flyballs out there. I'm just going to go out there and try my best out there. Fenway is probably the toughest right field in the American League. Once you get used to playing in left, coming back to playing right in Boston is hard, but all you can do is go out there and try your best. If I have to go out there, I'll do it to help the team."

He has been especially funny in the clubhouse recently, creating a loose atmosphere for his teammates. Again, no medal for that. But consider the Red Sox have placed Ramirez on irrevocable waivers and also tried to trade him for Alex Rodriguez. That could leave a lot of players disgruntled. The fact that he isn't, whether it's because he is oblivious or he lets nothing faze him, is definitely a positive for the club.

The other day he was walking around in cowboy boots telling everyone how comfortable he felt in them. On Tuesday night, he was spotted getting on a bus bound for Sarasota wearing his white home pants. Clubhouse manager Joe Cochran was right behind him with the grays.

When he speaks, and that has been rare, he is one of the more entertaining players. He was in precisely that mood after coming out of yesterday's game, answering questions on myriad topics.

Ramirez said he does not consider personal goals. Those monster RBI years in Cleveland may be a thing of the past and Ramirez doesn't fret over repeating those feats.

"I'd be happy with 80 RBIs," said Ramirez, indicating if the team was winning that would be enough.

Ramirez was impressed with David McCarty's day -- two home runs and four RBIs. Here's Ramirez, one of the best hitters in the game, marveling at the way McCarty, fighting for a roster spot, was swinging the bat.

"Oh my, he swings the bat good," said Ramirez, who was also impressed with shortstop Cesar Crespo.

On the team repeating its exploits of last season, Ramirez said, "I don't know, let's wait and see. All we can do is wait and see what's going on."

On his goal of being content playing for the Red Sox and blending into the Boston landscape, Ramirez said, "I do whatever I want to do to be happy. I don't care what people say, or whatever man, as long as I know I'm going out there and playing hard. That's the only thing I care about."

He did not return to Boston at all during the offseason because he hates the cold weather, despite growing up in New York.

Ramirez then turned playful.

"I'm trying to make the team, man," he said. "There's only one spot left. I've got to surprise the manager, man." He said that's the way he's trying to approach spring training.

Ramirez went home to South Florida after the heartbreak in the American League Championship Series and said, "We got so close last year. The next day when I was home I thought it was a dream, I couldn't believe it. Things happen, what can you do?"

He hopes to speak to Little someday, but he never contacted the manager after the Sox let him go.

"Grady did a great job," Ramirez said. "I liked Grady. He let you go out there and have fun and play. The game is supposed to be fun."

When told how much Little enjoyed managing him, Ramirez said, "I'm a fun guy to be around, man, that's just the way I am." Speaking of Francona, the slugger said, "He's awesome too, man. I've never had a problem with managers. I just go out and play my game."

When asked if he tries to give hitting tips to others, Ramirez went back into self-deprecating mode.

"I need help, man," he said. "I don't even know what I'm doing myself. What if somebody comes up to me [and says], `Hey, Manny, what am I doing wrong?' Hey, you're talking to the wrong guy. I've had two hits in spring training."

When asked if he believes that he is the best hitter in the game, he gives you a "Nah. The best hitter is Nomar Garciaparra. He's unbelievable. In my opinion, Nomar is the best hitter. It's unbelievable, man. He's always ready. I'm not like that, I'm never ready. I just go out there and see the ball and hit it. He's always ready for that first pitch to hit it."

In fact, Ramirez said he was just trying to get himself ready for the season. He said he felt "horse [expletive], but I'm always like this in spring training."

Not really. Last year he hit .490 with with 5 homers in 49 at-bats.

But that's Manny being Manny. And really, that's all anyone should want him to be.