The Yankees. The Red Sox. Always in competition. So when internal strife in the clubhouse at Legends Field started to dominate the spring training headlines, you just had to know that the Sox would step things up. Who says this isn't the best rivalry in sports?
Manny Being Manny
We were tempted to ignore the annual "When will Manny report to camp?" guessing game, but the big fella really stepped things up this year. First, came word that Ramirez' teammate Julian Tavarez was the one to inform the team that Ramirez wouldn't be reporting to camp with the rest of the Sox. That's sort of a non-traditional way of informing the team, but Manny's never been a traditionalist. Theo Epstein and Boston's management team confirmed that Ramirez was spending a little extra time with his mother in Florida, who had just gone through surgery, and that he'd be reporting to camp on March 1.
End of story? Not by a long shot. According to various reports, Ramirez is scheduled to appear at a classic car auction in Atlantic City on Saturday. Atlantic City, you'll note, is several hundred miles away from Red Sox camp in Fort Myers -- and from Manny's ailing mom. As of now, there's no indication as to when Ramirez booked the car show appearance or whether he's planning on showing up.
Perhaps the car show guys should ask Julian Tavarez.
Curt Being Curt
In other Red Sox news, Curt Schilling has announced that he'll file for free agency at the end of this season. The 40-year-old Schilling has one year remaining on his contract, and had been seeking an extension.
The Return of Jon Lester
On a much more positive and equally-dramatic note, the news on Jon Lester's progress continues to be good. Lester's rookie season was rudely interrupted when he was diagnosed with anaplastic large cell lymphoma. But off-season chemotherapy treatments seem to have the disease in remission, and he's expected to have a place on Boston's pitching staff this year.
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