He is powerless to snap slump

Manny Ramírez will come out of this, because he always has, even last year, when he was batting .224 with only a handful of days left in May. But, at the moment, the quality of his at-bats, and his average, are plummeting. With his 0 for 3 (plus a walk) last night, Ramírez is 1 for his last 18, with six strikeouts and three double-play grounders. Through 10 games, he's batting .200 with seven hits, all singles.

Never before, in 13 previous seasons in what someday will be a Hall of Fame career, had Ramírez gone 10 games without an extra-base hit.

''I think his hands, I think he's been looking at his hands, where they are, pre-pitch," manager Terry Francona said. ''He did the same thing last year. His balance has not been [ideal]. When you do get out front a little bit, then your hands kind of come with you. When he's good, they don't budge."

Last year, Ramírez didn't double until his sixth game and didn't homer until his 11th, when he left the yard twice and knocked in six runs. Through 10 games in '05, he hit just .211 and as late as May 27 was hitting .224.

''Sometimes, coming out of the gate, you just lose your comfort zone for whatever reason," Francona said of Ramírez, who hit .311 with three homers and 12 RBIs during spring training. ''It's not like it's some young kid and you're like, 'Well, I hope he hits.' It's just: Where is it going to be? How condensed is it going to be?

''He'll get it. When he does, that's the good news. At some point, when he gets hot, he has that ability to carry you for a while. It won't take long. He'll get one good swing, the one that clicks, and he'll be OK.

''Good players, they get to their level, and he will, and somebody will have to pay for it."

Ramírez, with his next homer, will become only the fourth player to homer 200 times for two teams. The three before him: Jimmie Foxx (302 with the A's, 222 with the Sox), Mark McGwire (363 for A's, 220 for the Cardinals), and Rafael Palmeiro (321 as a Ranger, 223 as an Oriole).

Francona became the second-quickest Sox manager to win 200 games last night. He did it in 334 games. Only Joe McCarthy (323 games) was quicker to 200 . . . David Ortiz went into last night 12 of 31 against Jamie Moyer, with 11 hits going for extra bases (6 doubles, 1 triple, 4 homers). Last night: 0 for 3 vs. Moyer and 0 for 4 on the night. That snapped Ortiz's streak of consecutive games with a homer at three. He has never homered in four consecutive games with the Sox but did so as a Twin, Aug. 9-12, 2001 . . . Curt Schilling is the AL's first three-game winner. He's 3-0 through three starts for the first time since 2002 with Arizona, when he began 12-1 and won a career-high 23 games . . . Kevin Youkilis has hits in six of his last seven games, during which he's batting .400 (10 for 25).

Lefthanded-hitting J.T. Snow, against last night's Seattle starter, lefthander Moyer, is 12 for 21 lifetime (.571) with two homers and four RBIs. However, Youkilis (0 for 1 lifetime off Moyer) started at first base. Why? Snow switch hit until the 1999 season, when he began batting lefthanded exclusively. Francona, before making out yesterday's lineup, asked Snow how many of those 12 hits came during Snow's switch-hitting days. Snow's answer: most of them. Batting righthanded, Snow went 10 for 18 (.555) with a homer and two RBIs off Moyer. However, in the time since Snow ditched batting righthanded, he's still gone 2 for 3 vs. Moyer with a double, a homer, and two RBIs . . . The Sox play four games against Seattle at four different times (7:05 p.m. yesterday, 1:20 p.m. today, 2:05 p.m. tomorrow, 11:05 Monday), and with so many early games, Francona wants to rest each of his infielders. The plan, as of yesterday: Snow, who has started only twice in 10 games, will play today and Monday against righthanders Joel Pineiro and Gil Meche. Youkilis will move to third base today, giving Mike Lowell a day off. Alex Cora will play second base today, spelling Mark Loretta. And Cora could play shortstop Monday to give Alex Gonzalez a rest.

Francona said Trot Nixon (strained groin) could be ready ''maybe in a couple of days, even if we don't have him back to start, maybe we'll have him available. He's doing OK." . . . Ortiz and the Boys & Girls Club of America teamed up yesterday to tape a public service announcement featuring the Sox slugger and members of the Boys & Girls Club of Cambridge. The commercial will debut in May and be used by Major League Baseball throughout the season . . . Sox wives Kathryn Nixon, Shonda Schilling, and Dawn Timlin will run in Monday's Boston Marathon, raising money for charity . . . Hee Seop Choi, who remained in extended spring training nursing an injured hamstring, joined the PawSox yesterday and hit a home run last night against Charlotte . . . Adam Stern is likely to get a start in center today, probably with Wily Mo Peña in right and Dustan Mohr sitting, Francona said . . . Tim Wakefield pitches today, in search of his first win against Seattle since his complete-game, 4-0 win over Randy Johnson July 29, 1997 at Fenway. He's gone winless against the Mariners in 16 appearances (six starts) since.