By Broderick Turner
Scripps Howard News
LOS ANGELES ó Manny being Manny.
Well, the Los Angeles Dodgers and their fans finally got to see the kind of Manny Ramirez moment he became so famous for while playing for the Boston Red Sox.
Every other Dodger had taken the field for the start of the ninth inning Monday night, but Ramirez was nowhere to be found.
So they waited and waited and waited and waited some more.
Finally, Ramirez jogged onto the field, buttoning up his shirt.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre said Ramirez thought he was taken out of the game after the eighth inning and had went inside to change clothes.
Just like Paul Newman and Strother Martin in the 1967 chain-gang epic, iCool Hand Luke,î Ramirez and Torre had a failure to communicate.
iI didnít know anything about it until Juan Pierre said, ëHe took all his bats and went on in,í î Torre said Tuesday during batting practice. iSo I said, `Well, weíd better get him out here.í Manny was still getting on me about it today.î
iI just went to the bathroom,î Ramirez said with a chuckle after the Dodgersí 8-6 victory. iAll the guys said, ëHey, we play nine in here.í î
Manny being Manny also means hitting the baseball.
And he did that, too.
Ramirez was 2-for-3 with two walks, one intentional.
His double to the center field wall that scored the first two runs opened the floodgates for the Dodgers, who scored six runs in the third inning.
iI was just going up there trying to put the ball in the air,î Ramirez said, itrying to make something happen.î
It continued a torrid stretch at the plate for Ramirez who is hitting .475 (19-for-40) with four homers and 13 RBI since being dealt to the Dodgers on July 31. Unfortunately, the Dodgers (59-59) are only 4-6 since the deal and remain a game behind Arizona in the N.L. West.