Wow, yet another article about Manny. Let's enjoy these while we can.

Have a peaceful weekend,

Lynne

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FORT MYERS - Welcome to the Manny Ramirez School of Zen, an
institution built on the power of meditation, yoga and an old campaign
slogan.

Four more years.

"I'm gonna get four more years here, man," Ramirez said yesterday
while all but skipping out of City of Palms Park. "I'm going to get
the two options and I'm going to get two more years."

Have the Red Sox already talked to him about it?

"They don't need to," Ramirez answered in his typically carefree
nature. "I know I'm going to get it."

Ah, Manny. Once he did not want to stay; now he never wants to leave.
Fewer than three months shy of his 36th birthday, the fascinatingly
complex cleanup hitter has discovered true joy and inner peace. Never
has Ramirez looked happier and more committed to the Sox.

Serenity now.

Yesterday, in a rain-shortened 7-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles,
Ramirez went 1-for-2 with a two-run homer that looked as if it were
shot out of a bazooka. The blast came after a pregame workout in which
Ramirez teed off as if he were at the driving range, a session during
which Ramirez declared himself fully fit for the 2008 season.

"I'm ready," Ramirez said while working out in a group with David
Ortiz [stats], Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek [stats]. "Let's go to
Japan today."

Later, while standing in the players' parking lot and being flanked by
his uncle Jose "Rico" Rivera, Ramirez still sounded like a man who had
overdosed on Anthony Robbins DVDs.

"I'm ready to go. My timing is good," Ramirez said. "I'm ready. I
can't wait to go to Japan. I'm ready."

And how long has he been ready?

"Since the end of last season," he said.

A couple of things about Manny Ramirez: First, he rarely talks to
reporters. Second, he rarely talks like this. Ask Ramirez about his
timing during a particularly hot streak at the plate, and he
frequently will tell you that he does not feel that good, that the
quest for perfection is a never-ending struggle. Then he'll go out and
continue to drive in runs like he's knocking down tic tacs.

Recently, to just about anyone willing to listen, Ramirez has talked
about his new commitment to yoga and meditation at the urging of his
uncle. He is reading "The Secret" (Spanish version). Ramirez is coming
off a winter during which he was involved in nary a trade whisper, and
he is entering the final year of an eight-year, $160 million contract
on which the Red Sox hold $20 million options for 2009 and 2010.

On all fronts, he appears happier, healthier and more focused than ever.

"He seems very comfortable in his own skin," Red Sox manager Terry
Francona acknowledged. "I think he's in a very good place."

Last year, before hitting .348 with four home runs, 16 RBI and 16
walks in 14 postseason games, Ramirez had the least productive season
of his seven-year Red Sox career. Though he has been a better player
at other times during his Boston tenure, he has never been a better
teammate. Beyond the trade talk, considerably more than a year has
passed since any real Manny moment that Francona likes to call an
"episode."

The drop in Ramirez' production last season? Maybe it meant
everything, maybe it meant nothing. In October, certainly, Ramirez was
nothing short of a beast, even declaring himself a "bad man." Now he
is entering what amounts to a contract year, and Ramirez seems so
positively ebullient that he might be on the verge of a monster year.

After last October and Ramirez' colossal, game-winning home run
against Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez in the American
League Division Series, is there any doubt he can still produce?

"Zero," snapped back Francona. "He's one of the best hitters I've ever
seen and I would think that will continue as long as he wants it to.
He's in great shape. That ball (yesterday), you don't see many hitters
go down and get that ball like that because he doesn't cheat. He
doesn't budge."

Yoga, meditation and the power of positive thinking.

Maybe a 35-year-old Manny Ramirez has identified what he wants out of
life and out of baseball.

Starting with four more years.

Source: Tony Massarotti / bostonherald.com