Dodgers ponder possible loss of Manny Ramirez
Reporting from San Francisco — The Dodgers are bracing themselves for the possibility that they could lose Manny Ramirez for the second time this season. Manager Joe Torre said he has already met with General Manager Ned Colletti to discuss their options in the outfield if Ramirez lands on the disabled list.
Ramirez, who strained his right hamstring in the Dodgers’ second of three games in San Francisco, is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam Thursday morning.
“We’ll have an evaluation, a decision at that time,†Torre said. “It doesn’t seem too bad but that doesn’t mean that eventually he won’t be put on the DL. For certain, we’re going to have to do whatever the conservative thing is because it’s early on in the season.â€
Ramirez was out of the lineup for the series finale in San Francisco on Wednesday, his place in left field taken by Garret Anderson.
The last time Ramirez was injured, he was replaced on the active roster by Xavier Paul, who is at triple-A Albuquerque.
Torre said that because Ramirez intended to play in the day game Wednesday, he told him he would try to remove him as soon as possible from the night game Tuesday.
“I didn’t realize it would be the first inning,†Torre said, laughing.
Told that he had a good sense of humor about the situation, Torre replied, “What are you going to do?â€
When Ramirez landed on the disabled list April 23 because of a strained calf muscle, he was hitting .415. He slumped upon returning, something hitting coach Don Mattingly blamed on Ramirez’s loss of timing.
Ramirez regained his rhythm in recent weeks and has hit .460 with 11 runs batted in over his last 15 games.
Torre on Kemp: No comment
Torre performed the Mark-McGwire-in-front-of-Congress routine when asked whether Matt Kemp blew up at a member of the coaching staff during a game Saturday, as reported by mlb.com. Kemp was benched for the next three games.
“I have no comment,†Torre said. “We move on. That’s all I’m interested in, where we are right now, to be honest.â€
Kemp has denied such an incident took place.
Ely puts troubles behind
John Ely said he thinks the rough part of the season is behind him. On Tuesday, he had his second consecutive seven-inning start to earn his first win in more than a month. Ely’s previous win was May 22.
The consecutive seven inning starts ended a three-start skid during which he gave up 15 runs in 14 2/3 innings.
Even though Ely had never pitched in the major leagues until this year, he said he was confident he would recover because he had similar experiences in the minor leagues.
“That’s what I think helped a lot, learning to deal with struggle, getting through it,†he said. “I know no matter what level it is, it’s still baseball. I know I can get through it. I have in the past.â€
He’s still here
Knuckleballer Charlie Haeger cleared waivers and was outrighted to Albuquerque.
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