BOSTON -- Terry Francona knows a good thing when he sees it. So after
watching Manny Ramirez this week, the Red Sox manager announced
Thursday he is waiting until next week to give the slugger a day off.

"I was actually planning on doing it this series and we spent some
time [earlier] this week and decided that we're just going to hold off
a little bit," Francona said before the opener of a four-game set with
the Devil Rays at Fenway Park.

Ramirez has done a lot this week to make Francona's decision an easy
one. The Boston left fielder entered the Tampa Bay series coming off
three games against the Yankees in which he homered four times, scored
five times and drove in 10 runs.

"I kind of put it out there: 'You've been playing every day and this
is how I feel and what do you think? Let's sit down and go over some
days,'" said Francona. "Because when we pick a day to give him off,
obviously I'd like it to impact our lineup the least amount possible.
That's just common sense. He's such a good hitter."

Having watched his cleanup hitter do exactly that over the last 33
games (raising his average 111 points to .316), Francona plans to keep
Ramirez in the lineup for the next seven games until the Red Sox open
a series in Detroit on June 2.

"We might put it off as far [ahead] as Detroit -- and that's getting a
little ahead of ourselves -- but my point was we get up into Toronto,
we have a righty and two lefties. But he was like, 'Nah, I can make it
till Detroit.' So that's great."

Something else has made Francona happy about his slugger: Ramirez's
attitude and the line of communication between skipper and slugger.

"I think it's past good, I think it's been great," Francona said. "I'm
very proud of him. I think the longer I'm here, it's supposed to be
better -- because if it doesn't, then I'm not doing my job correctly.

"Manny, in particular, has been great," Francona said. "He's been so
open with me. It makes my job easier. We're going to get it done
either way, but it certainly makes my job easier. Sometimes you've got
to be able to yell at one another. That's just the way this is, but
because we're in Boston and because it's Manny, it's a big, big, big deal.

Francona offered some perspective on the fish bowl Ramirez has had to
deal with since the day he arrived in Boston.

"I go back to last year in Toronto. I think Gregg [Zaun] said
something about [Miguel] Batista, and there was this much about it in
one paper," Francona said, holding his thumb and index finger
together. "It would have been a mini-series here."

Source: Mike Petraglia / Special to MLB.com