Ramirez leaves a team to join a nation

The naysayers may have a hard time bashing Manny Ramirez for this absence: The Red Sox superstar missed last night's game against the Indians to become a United States citizen.

If all went well, Ramirez, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic with his family when he was 13, raised his right hand in a federal building in South Florida and recited the pledge of allegiance in a formal citizenship ceremony.

He needed to pass a written exam and complete an official interview before he was cleared for the ceremony.

"He has our full support on this," manager Terry Francona said. "We're really excited for him."

Ramirez, 31, who before last night was the only Sox player to start every game, departed for Miami immediately after Sunday's game against the Royals. Missing a scheduled citizenship interview can delay the process for months, if not longer.

"He worked for it," said Ramirez's pal, David Ortiz. "He asked for it. It has to be very important to him."

The Sox had planned to give Ramirez last Saturday off during a stretch in which they were scheduled to play 20 games in 20 days in Boston, Texas, Cleveland, Toronto, and St. Petersburg, Fla. But he asked them to adjust his off day to accommodate his bid for citizenship.

"He did it right," Francona said. "We knew [about the appointment], and he did a good job."

General manager Theo Epstein agreed. "It's an excused absence," said Epstein, who expressed his full support for Ramirez's endeavor.

After Ramirez and his family moved from Santo Domingo to the Washington Heights section of Manhattan, his father drove a cab and his mother worked as a seamstress while Ramirez become one of the most dominant high school baseball players in New York history. The Indians selected him in the first round of the 1993 draft.

Now, Ramirez is in the fourth year of an eight-year, $160 million contract with the Sox. He has married since he joined the team and become a father.

"It's actually kind of exciting," Francona said of Ramirez's citizenship effort. "I think it's kind of a big deal."

Ortiz said Ramirez sought to become a citizen to join the country in which he gained his fame and fortune as well as to benefit financially, particularly in launching his charitable foundation.

"Manny gets crushed in taxes," Ortiz said. "Guys who have made tons of money, when you become a US citizen they take better care of you."

Revved but not ready

While Nomar Garciaparra cautioned against considering it a milestone, he appears to have made significant progress in rehabbing from tendinitis in his right Achilles' tendon. He "revved it up pretty good," Francona said, in taking grounders and hitting off a tee and against a batting practice pitcher for five simulated innings before last night's game. Today, Garciaparra is scheduled to face a pitcher for the first time since spring training as righthander Eric Glaser travels from Double A Portland to do the honors. Asked if Garciaparra was getting close to a minor league rehab assignment, Francona said, "He's just getting better. I don't know that we're quite there yet. He's still going to have to have some rest periodically. He's not quite to that point where you go every day yet." . . . Kevin Millar fouled a ball off his left foot for the second time in a week and left the game after he suffered the injury in the seventh inning. X-rays were negative, and he said he expected to play tonight. Millar singled in the third inning to extend his hitting streak to nine games . . . The Indians have scored two runs in the first inning in each of their five games this season against the Sox . . . Johnny Damon collected three hits and a walk, marking his fourth straight game with at least two hits . . . Mark Bellhorn's triple, in the first inning, was his first since Opening Day last year with the Cubs . . . Brian Daubach's homer in the fifth inning was his first for the Sox since Sept. 27, 2002. He also recorded his first assist from left field at Fenway since '02 . . . The Sox have homered 15 times in the last seven games.

Shaving scheme

Damon, who has been inundated with requests from charities, corporations, and television outlets to trim his locks, has agreed to shave his beard May 21 in exchange for the Gillette Co. donating $15,000 to the Boston Public Library. Mayor Thomas M. Menino is expected to attend the ceremony, though details had yet to be formalized. By going with Gillette, Damon preempted King of Shaves, a UK-based shaving and skin care line that was trying to cut a check for his charity of choice if he shaved. Damon may cut his hair for charity as early as next month . . . Ellis Burks, who underwent surgery two weeks ago to repair torn cartilage in his left knee, has made unexpected progress in his rehab program. "I think he's trying to set all records coming back," Francona said. "He's already swung a bat and he's been throwing." The Sox are not expected to let Burks rush back so quickly that he risks aggravating the injury . . . Though Trot Nixon still needs his quadriceps to heal, his back injury has improved enough that he was swatting balls over the walls in batting practice. He will return to Fort Myers, Fla., later in the week.

Carol Beggy of the Globe staff contributed to this report.