Cleveland Indians defeat Boston Red Sox, 10-6

The naysayers may have a hard time bashing Manny Ramirez for this absence: The Red Sox superstar missed last night's game against the Indians to become a United States citizen.

If all went well, Ramirez, who emigrated from the Dominican Republic with his family when he was 13, raised his right hand in a federal building in South Florida and recited the pledge of allegiance in a formal citizenship ceremony.

He needed to pass a written exam and complete an official int...

Byung Hyun Kim's brief, futile run as a starter ended so abruptly last night it could have caused whiplash.

In a powerful sign that the Red Sox will have little patience with mediocrity in their push toward the postseason, they yanked Kim from the rotation immediately after he put the team on the path to ruin by surviving only 3 1/3 innings in a wretched 10-6 loss to the Cleveland Indians before 35,257 at Fenway Park.

Kim's lapse allowed the Yankees to creep within a...