Report: Sox were ready to suspend Manny
It doesn’t change much if anything at this point, but it appears the Red Sox were ready to suspend Manny Ramirez in late July.
Several baseball sources told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez today that Red Sox management delivered an official letter of suspension to Manny Ramirez at 11 p.m. on Fri., July 25, shortly after Ramirez sat out his second straight game with the club. The letter informed the slugger that the suspension was to go into effect on Sat., July 26, and stated the reason for the suspension was Ramirez’s unwillingness to play, according to the report. Ramirez cited a knee injury as his reason for missing the two games, but MRIs on both of his knees failed to find physical damage.
Copies of the suspension letter, Gomez reports, were also sent to Major League Baseball, the MLB Players Association, and Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras.
According to the report, Ramirez called the team several hours later to inform them he would indeed be playing on July 26 against the Yankees. Ramirez did play, but after what is now a well-documented saga, the left fielder was traded to the Dodgers a week later.
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