BOSTON— He slips. He trips. He lets it rip.
That's Manny Ramirez.
Brilliant with the bat, bumbling in the field, the Red Sox outfielder was in his usual form for Game 1 of the World Series on Saturday when he singled three times and committed two errors in Boston's 11-9 victory.
Ramirez went 3-for-5, adding a pair of RBIs after failing to drive in a single run in the ALCS. But he flubbed two plays in a row to allow St. Louis to tie the game in the eighth inning before Mark Bellhorn's two-run homer won it for Boston in the bottom half.
"Those are tough breaks," closer Keith Foulke said. "It's a challenge, but you know what? We've had to deal with challenges all year. It's just another challenge that we've overcome."
With one out and runners on first and second in the eighth, Edgar Renteria singled to left. Ramirez charged the ball but over ran it, allowing Jason Marquis to score.
Larry Walker followed with a fly ball to left. Ramirez slid while trying to make a catch when he probably could have caught it standing up. His spike got caught in the grass, the ball bounced off his shoulder and Ramirez kicked up a divot while toppling over.
His second error in two batters allowed Roger Cedeno to score the tying run, put Renteria on third and Walker on second. After Keith Foulke intentionally walked Albert Pujols to load the bases, he got Scott Rolen to pop out to third and Jim Edmonds on a called third strike to end the inning.
Ramirez has always been a tradeoff, for the Red Sox and the Indians before them. His hitting is unmatched, but his fielding has been a liability and his attitude can also frustrate fans and managers.
Though he comes across as lazy or uncaring, Ramirez is actually more quirky than anything else. He has forgotten to run out ground balls, cut off throws from other outfielders and once, in a Triple-A rehab start, delayed a game to look for a diamond earring he lost while sliding.
But Ramirez's teammates defend him and say, "That's Manny."
Ramirez was 5-for-13 with seven RBIs in the first-round series against Oakland. When the Red Sox played the Yankees for the pennant, though, Ramirez didn't drive in a single run in seven games.