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Manny scratched

Print | Comments () Posted by Amalie Benjamin July 25, 2008 04:30 PM

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After being penciled into his regular cleanup spot earlier in the afternoon, Manny Ramirez was scratched from tonight’s lineup with soreness in his right knee.

In his pregame meeting with the media (which took place before Manny was scratched), Red Sox manager Terry Francona -- who had Ramirez in his original lineup for tonight’s series opener against the Yankees -- said Ramirez's knee was still bothering him from time to time and that he had asked the slugger to tell him if he couldn’t play tonight.

After Francona's meeting with the media, and just before the Red Sox clubhouse closed, the new lineup was posted without Ramirez's name in it. What is still unclear is whether Ramirez spoke with Francona between the time the manager talked to reporters and when Ramirez was taken out of the lineup. Ramirez also missed Wednesday's game with a sore knee.

Here's the new lineup:

1. Jacoby Ellsbury, LF
2. Dustin Pedroia, 2B
3. David Ortiz, DH
4. Kevin Youkilis, 1B
5. Mike Lowell, 3B
6. J.D. Drew, RF
7. Jed Lowrie, SS
8. Jason Varitek, C
9. Coco Crisp, CF

SP -- Josh Beckett

More in a bit ...