MRI on Ramírez's knee comes back clean

The MRI that was supposed to determine -- once and for all -- the damage to the right knee that has been bothering Manny Ramírez the latter part of the season came back clean, according to a source familiar with the situation.

And not long after yesterday's MRI revealed no structural damage, the left fielder appeared in the clubhouse with his teammates. Nothing much had changed in his demeanor -- or walk -- just as nothing much had changed with the revelation that there was no stress fracture, as manager Terry Francona had suggested before last night's game against the Twins.

``Everything came back very good -- that was good news," Francona said, after the 8-2 loss to the Twins. ``We just wanted to make sure, we didn't want to miss something. I don't think anybody thought it was a stress fracture, but we need to rule out everything. So that was good news."

Ramírez has not played since Sept. 9, after an 0 for 4 against Kansas City and had played sparingly since leaving early in the final game of a five-game sweep by the Yankees that ended Aug. 21. The Red Sox had attributed the exit to patellar tendonitis, an injury in which treatment mostly consists of extended rest -- which Ramírez will get starting in October, with the Sox all but eliminated from the playoff chase.

``Try to enhance the recuperative process," Francona said, of using ice and various other treatment methods on Ramírez's injury. ``But really rest is what does it more good than anything. Unfortunately."

Unlike pitchers Matt Clement and Jonathan Papelbon, whose progress the team is monitoring closely, with Clement possibly getting into a game this season and Papelbon getting ready for the offseason, there is little the team can do for Ramírez except wait.

``Going into the offseason it would be advantageous to know where we stand [with the pitchers]," Francona said. ``It's going to be a crazy winter. If you have a pitcher you're relying on for a couple hundred innings and you don't really know where they stand, it makes [general manager Theo Epstein's] job a little tougher.

``Manny . . . he's going to be OK next year, he just needs rest."

And rest he will get. With just 10 games left in the season, that rest seems likely to extend until February, when the team reports to Fort Myers, Fla., for spring training.

``It's what he can tolerate," Francona said, of the timetable for Ramírez's return this season. ``Right now he's not able to [play], so that's kind of where we are. We just wanted to eliminate . . . just make sure there wasn't something hiding in there we didn't know."

The Red Sox are starting to consider which players will be playing baseball after October. To that end, Francona had a conversation yesterday with outfielder David Murphy about heading to winter ball.

``Just wanted to get his thoughts on it," Francona said. ``Murph's a good candidate for me because of where he is in his development. Going to a good winter ball situation would maybe enhance his development. That's what I was trying to tell him. Then, on the flip side, if you go down with maybe not the right attitude, it ends up not being what you need."

As of now, a few notable names will be heading to either winter ball or the Arizona or Hawaii fall leagues. The players include lefthanded pitcher Felix Doubront, infielder Alejandro Machado, and righthander Edgar Martinez (Venezuela); righthander Jermaine Van Buren (Mexico); recently called-up righthander Devern Hansack (Nicaragua), and outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, righthander David Pauley, and manager Luis Alicea (Arizona). Francona also specifically mentioned lefthanded pitchers Lenny DiNardo and Javier Lopez as prime candidates for a fall league or winter ball posting.

David Ortiz's 50th home run of the season marked the 20th time that an American League player has hit that many in a season. The home run also tied Ortiz's AL record for home runs by a designated hitter -- 43 -- which he set last season . . . Dustin Pedroia's two-out RBI single in the second inning -- sending home Jason Varitek, who had gotten aboard on the 10th triple of his career -- gave him a five-game hitting streak, during which he has gone 6 for 12 . . . Curt Schilling didn't walk a batter for the 12th time this season, boosting his major league-leading strikeout-to-walk ratio to 7.25-to-1 . . . Last night's win was the Twins' fifth straight over the Red Sox. Their last streak of that length was in 1994 . . . Clement will not be considered as a closer for next season with Papelbon probably heading to the starting rotation. According to two team sources, the team's only focus right now is on determining whether Clement can help the team next season, hopefully after seeing him pitch in a start in the waning days of the season. Clement has spent the majority of this season on the disabled list with a right shoulder strain. The righthander is due $9.5 million in 2007 . . . Kevin Youkilis, who left Tuesday's game with a strain in the back of his neck, will not likely be sitting out long. ``I don't think it's anything that might cost him a couple days," Francona said. ``It's nothing that I don't think any of us haven't had. Kind of irritating, not much more except that you're trying to hit and play baseball. It's not real conducive to that." . . . Wily Mo Peña's strained right hamstring is feeling better, the outfielder said yesterday, but he won't be playing at least until tomorrow at Toronto. On another note, Peña received a shipment of bats -- the knobs are cut on an angle -- that are supposed to help support players with hamate bone problems . . . Before the game, team president Larry Lucchino gave Francona a rubber bracelet symbolizing the fight against lymphoma. A number of them had been sent to the team so the Red Sox could show their support for rookie pitcher Jon Lester, who was diagnosed with the disease a few weeks ago. Francona immediately ripped open the packaging and slipped on the bright red bracelet, where it joined a yellow Livestrong bracelet.

Nick Cafardo of the Globe staff contributed to this report.