ST. PETERSBURG -- Red Sox manager Terry Francona, after hinting for
several days that slugger Manny Ramirez would give up his spot on the
American League All-Star team because of a nagging right knee,
indicated before Tuesday's game that the only hold-up seemed to be an
official announcement from Major League Baseball.

"Well, I don't think he's [going to] go, I don't think he's [going to]
play," Francona said. "To be honest with you, I'm not quite sure where
the hold-up is. I'm just not sure why it hasn't been [announced]. I
understand he's the leading vote-getter [for the American League]. I
have tried for a while now to make it known, and I know there's been
some, I don't know if it's political red tape, but it's getting bogged
down a little bit.

"That's why I kind of said yesterday I don't want Manny to catch hell
at the end here, because we've tried to come out early enough where it
doesn't be disrespectful or anything like that. Again, I know there's
channels to go through, it just seems like it's taking a little while
to do that. I don't think he's going to play. ... Going, that's up to
him, and I don't know what the ramifications are, I just think the
three days [off] would be huge for him."

Fellow Sox slugger David Ortiz seemed to think that Ramirez not
playing in the Midsummer Classic on July 11 in Pittsburgh would be a
smart thing.

"He needs [rest]," Ortiz said. "Manny plays every day."

Ramirez hasn't spoken to the media in four months, so there's no word
on what his take would be on relinquishing his spot in the American
League's starting nine.

This is the 10th All-Star selection of Ramirez's career.

The good news for the Red Sox is that the knee ailment has not
impacted Ramirez's production in the least. He entered Tuesday's game
hitting .308 with 22 homers, 60 RBIs and an OPS (on-base plus
slugging) of 1.054.

Source: Ian Browne / MLB.com