Boston Red Sox defeat Minnesota Twins, 8-5

It came as no surprise when Manny Ramirez did not show up in the Red Sox clubhouse after the Sox' 8-5 victory victory over the Twins last night.

For starters, he wasn't seen until shortly before the game started.

Even his halfhearted effort to catch a Lew Ford double in the seventh inning -- which ricocheted off the Wall to Johnny Damon -- wasn't a first for the left fielder.

But when the Fenway crowd appeared split with boos and cheers at the sound of Ramirez's n...

Yes, Sox management appreciates Bill Mueller as Johnny Damon does -- ''I want my son to play like Billy Mueller," Damon said last night -- but the Red Sox' recent willingness to include Mueller in a deal for Twins reliever J.C. Romero comes with good reason.

The 29-year-old lefthander arrived for this weekend's series in Boston having faced 469 lefthanded hitters during the last four seasons, and Romero had allowed an extra-base hit only 11 times. Only four times had he...