Manny Ramirez clobbered career HR no. 498 off Livian Hernandez in Boston’s 7-3 loss to Minnesota, but the enigmatic slugger reached another milestone a day earlier, making one of the more fantastic public statements of his career to the Boston Herald’s Rob Bradford.


œHow am I going to win a Gold Glove if they take me out in the eighth (inning), said the Sox left fielder, repeating a line he has passed through the clubhouse since he was removed for defensive replacement Jacoby Ellsbury on Friday night.

That was a joke.

This, however, wasn™t:

œI think I™m the best ever to play left field in Boston, the slugger said.

He asserts no other Red Sox has defended left field like him because of his familiarity with the intricacies of playing so many games in front of The Wall.

œI invented that throw that I do, said Ramirez, mimicking the double-play-like flip he uses to get the ball back into the infield. œI don™t know how it started, it just happened like three years ago. I have to practice it, though. I started to learn how to throw it where it tails right into Dustin Pedroia. But I need to practice it more. I haven™t practiced it at all this year. But I™ve got it.

Despite the pride he takes in attempting to revolutionize playing left field at Fenway Park, Ramirez admits there are drawbacks to his style of play.

œIt™s a bad habit, he said of the sidearmed throws. œYou should throw over the top sometimes. For Fenway it™s good, though. The problem sometimes when I™m on this type of field (at the Metrodome) I get into bad habits and throw it like that, just trying to hit the infielder™s mitt.

As for Ramirez™ other Fenway innovation – playing closer to the infield dirt than The Wall – the Red Sox asked that he put that away for a while.

œThey told me to play back, Ramirez said. œI figured when I play in Boston anything that was hit over my head was a hit, so I catch everything that might be base hits. But if they want me to play back, I™ll play back.

Rather than suggest that either Manny or Bradford sincerely rank the former’s defensive prowess ahead of Carl Yazstremski, I’ll instead submit that only a prodigious hitter/folk hero with 2 rings in 4 years could get away with the sort of boast that would otherwise result in irrepairable damage to WEEI’s telephone systems.