No dirt on Ramírez-Youkilis dust-up

Although the most explosive portion of fight night at Fenway Park occurred during the bottom of the second inning, after James Shields hit Coco Crisp with a pitch, the undercard was no less intriguing.

Before the start of the fifth inning, there was an issue in the Red Sox dugout. And it was caught on camera, replayed on NESN.

Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramírez, who spent the offseason training together in Arizona, scuffled briefly before being separated. There was shouting, and Ramírez was trying to get at Youkilis while being restrained by trainer Paul Lessard and bench coach Brad Mills. They were pulled apart, and Ramírez was escorted into the tunnel that connects the dugout and the clubhouse.

But there were a lot of tight lips in the clubhouse once the game was over. Nobody wanted to reveal the reason for the altercation.

"I think that stays with the team," captain Jason Varitek said.

Testosterone was cited. And manager Terry Francona would go only a small step further.

"I think they were just exchanging some views on things," he said. "We had a lot of testosterone going tonight. It was kind of a hectic night. Sometimes those things happen. It wasn't really a big deal, it won't be a big deal, it happens. We'll get by that one. In fact, it's been handled and we'll move on from that one."

Ramírez was a bit tardy getting to the bench-clearing brawl, not entering the fray until the bullpen residents had reached the mound, jogging out late with Bartolo Colon a few steps ahead of him.

Asked if that was part of the problem, Francona said, "I understand it was on TV. It was handled. We'll move on. It wasn't that big of a deal."

"I really didn't see it," Dustin Pedroia said. "We're around each other a lot. But we love each other. We're a team. We'll be fine."

Ramírez had an early night. Midway through a seventh-inning plate appearance against Dan Wheeler, his right hamstring began to bother him. He stood flexing his leg, necessitating a visit from Francona. Ramírez remained in the game, drew a walk, and was on first when Mike Lowell flied to right. One pitch into Sean Casey's at-bat, Ramírez was replaced by Kevin Cash. That left just one player - Alex Cora - in reserve for the Red Sox.

Draft captivates them

With on-field details to worry about, Francona didn't get a chance to poke his head into the war room, where the Red Sox were awaiting their first-round pick. He did, however, recall being part of that operation while working for the Indians, calling it one of the highlights of his career.

And it was a highlight for pitcher/shortstop Casey Kelly (No. 30) and righthander Bryan Price (No. 45), who were drafted by the Red Sox yesterday. But it was a different experience for most players in the Sox clubhouse when they were drafted.

The draft has morphed from a radio-and-computer operation to an NFL draft-like scenario.

So Craig Hansen might be a little jealous when his brother Kyle - a 6-foot-7-inch high school pitcher - is eligible for the draft next season. He'll get the bright lights and ESPN live feed.

"It's great now," Hansen said. "I can't wait till next year when my little brother has the opportunity to possibly go out of high school or go to college."

Drew hitting stride

J.D. Drew continued his hot hitting last night, doubling off the left-field wall in his first at-bat.

Going into last night's game, Drew was 10 for 24 over his last seven starts, and was 15 for 44 (.341) over his last 14. He had three home runs and 10 RBIs over the latter period.

"Boy, if he could sustain it, that would be great. With David [Ortiz] not in there, that would be awesome," Francona said. "Right now he's just staying through the ball. He's taking good swings. He's got some balance. He's not rolling over."

Homing in

Ramírez's home run was his first at Fenway since April 19 against Texas. That's 18 games, the second-longest home drought of his career . . . Mike Timlin threw 42 pitches in 1 2/3 innings, the most he's thrown in a relief appearance since Sept. 10, 2000, at Milwaukee.