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Ramirez To Report Late To Red Sox Camp

The latest Manny Ramirez mystery surfaced Monday when teammate Julian Tavarez said his close friend would arrive late at spring training and Boston manager Terry Francona said that may not be true.

Tavarez said the left fielder would report March 1 as he did last year when he received permission from the Red Sox to show up late.

The first workout of spring training for position players is set for Thursday. The official reporting date under the collective bargaining agreement is Feb. 27.

"I spoke to Manny (Sunday) and he said he's going to be here March 1," said Tavarez, a reliever who joined the Red Sox before last season. "He's been going through a tough time because his mom, you know, they told him that she had a tumor.

"It wasn't a tumor. She had surgery in between those ribs. She's at home right now recovering and Manny's there with his mom. He's working out," Tavarez said. "Nobody believes that, but it's the truth about his mom. That's really true."

He said Ramirez was with his mother in Weston, near Miami, about a two-hour drive east of Fort Myers.

"The way he sounded (Sunday), he's laughing a lot. I don't know if that's because his mom's home and he's happy," Tavarez said. "He said, `Hang in there. I'll be there the first.'"

Ramirez requested trades the past two offseasons, but Francona said on Feb. 6, "I don't think there's any problem."

On Monday, Francona was reluctant to comment.

"That's unfair because I haven't talked to (Ramirez). There's a lot of, `he said, she said,' that I'm not too sure is true," Francona said. "If somebody calls me and tells me something happens, it's easier for me to comment (on it) than on his publicist (or) Julian saying this."

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein said he had no comment. Ramirez's agent, Greg Genske, did not respond to an e-mail seeking comment.

The team and Ramirez have had a sometimes bumpy relationship since he signed an eight-year, $160 million contract before the 2001 season.

He has complained about a lack of privacy, requested trades and been placed on waivers with no takers. In the last six weeks of last season, he played in just 11 games, raising speculation that he wasn't badly hurt. The team said he had tendinitis in his right knee.

Still, he batted .321 with 34 homers and 102 RBIs in 130 games. In his career with Boston, he is hitting .316 with averages of 39 homers and 119 RBIs.

"Manny's really prepared for things he does, play ball, and he's worked hard in the offseason. He always shows up in good shape," Tavarez said. "He's still going to put up 100 RBI, 40 home runs and hit .300. That's a natural player right there."

He said he lives about 10 minutes from Ramirez and wouldn't be surprised if the team didn't know of Ramirez's reporting plans.

"He doesn't keep in touch with anybody but me," Tavarez said.

Last season, Ramirez also reported on March 1, six days after the first full team workout and one day after the major league reporting date. Six days later, he singled in his first at-bat in an exhibition game. Boston's first exhibition game this season is March 1 against Northeastern University.

When Ramirez arrived last year, he declined several opportunities to say he's happy to still be with the team.

"Manny's going to be happy anywhere he goes. He doesn't want to leave Boston. It's a great city to play ball. He knows that," Tavarez said. "I tell him every time, he has to give something for you (reporters) to talk about.

"He doesn't deal with the media, so he's got to do things to bring Manny's name (up). It doesn't make Manny crazy. It's just Manny being Manny," Tavarez added. "He doesn't think about anybody. There's only one human being in Manny's life. That's Manny. Manny doesn't know there's many humans in the world."

No matter what issues surround him, Ramirez always produces on the field. So Francona didnt rush to comment with the regular season still six weeks away.

"We all know how this works," Francona said. "It gets legs and we'll end up wasting time. If there's ever a need to talk about anything with our team, I'll be happy to do it. I just think it's very premature."

Notes:@ Shortstop Julio Lugo, signed as a free agent, arrived in camp Monday and said he was happy to play with Ramirez and David Ortiz. "It's important for me, just coming to a new team and to have two guys of that caliber to be your friend, people that you know that are going to support you," Lugo said. ... RHP Daisuke Matsuzaka is scheduled to throw off a mound for the second time Tuesday.

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