Ramirez comfortable in his surroundings
ST. LOUIS -- He's not talking anymore about his dream to play for the Yankees, and the Red Sox aren't looking for a suitor with deep pockets and big dreams to take his salary off their books.
But had the events of less than a year ago turned out differently, there is no telling how Manny Ramirez would have been spending his fourth Monday of October '04.
"I just left everything in God's hands," said Ramirez, after his home run and two RBIs led the Red Sox to the doorstep of a championship last night with a 4-1 win over the Cardinals -- good for a 3-0 lead in the World Series.
"I said, `Well, if they want to trade me, I'll go any place they want me to go. I'm just going to go out and try to do my job, and if they want me to come back to Boston, I'll go and try to do my job.' I wasn't mad or nothing."
Ramirez came to the plate in the first inning, with two outs, and ripped a Jeff Suppan offering over the left-field wall for a 1-0 lead. Similar to the three-run shot hit by David Ortiz in Game 1 of the Series, Ramirez's blast provided the immediate booster that bolted the Sox to the lead.
In the fifth, with Sox starter Pedro Martinez in the midst of shutting down 14 straight Redbirds, his fellow Dominican came to the plate with runners at first and third, and this time delivered a run-scoring single to left. Red Sox, 3-0, and whatever chance the Cardinals had of clawing back into it was beginning to disappear.
"I have a lot of confidence in my team out there," said Ramirez, pondering a suggestion that perhaps neither he nor his teammates get enough credit for their talent, which now has them poised to win Boston's first World Series since 1918. "And I know they have a lot of confidence in me, both at the plate and in the field.
"As long as you go out and play hard, that's all that matters."
The home run was the second this postseason for Ramirez, and the third of his career in the World Series -- his first since the '97 Fall Classic with the Indians. He has 18 homers in postseason play, tying him with Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle for second all-time. Yankees outfielder Bernie Williams leads with 22.
Ramirez has hit safely in all 13 games of the postseason for the Sox, and in 16 straight overall, tying Pat Borders (Toronto) at No. 3 all-time. Only Hank Bauer and Derek Jeter (each with 17-game streaks) have done better.
Contrary to his stumbling around in left field in Game 1 of the Series, Ramirez had a flawless night on defense, and was in the thick of things in the first when the Cardinals tried to get a run on the board with some aggressive base running. With one out and the bases loaded, Jim Edmonds sent a routine fly Ramirez's way in left. Hoping to tie it at 1-1, Larry Walker tagged from third in hopes that Ramirez would misfire.
No such luck. Ramirez threw home perfectly to a waiting Jason Varitek, and the sliding Walker was easy prey at the plate. Behind home to back up the play, Martinez walked up to Walker, his former teammate in Montreal, and kindly used his glove to swat the dirt off Walker's backside.
"Pedro is the man out there," lauded Ramirez. "We've got a lot of confidence in him. And we know he's the best pitcher in both leagues, and we know he can do everything out there."
Game 4 is tonight, with 86 years sitting on top of a batting tee, with the Sox standing ready to swat a curse out of their history book.
"It is big," said Ramirez, weighing the 3-0 advantage. "But we learned our lesson against the Yankees. We lost the first three games, and especially against the Cardinals, they've got such a great team that anything can happen out there. You've got to keep grinding it out."
