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MANNY ARRIVES AS THE
April 6, 2001 ... The weather charts will forever suggest that Opening Day 2001 at Fenway Park was a chilly, dreary afternoon best suited for mourning. But history may show that the Red Sox homecoming signaled the dawn of a new era. With a single swing of his bat, the $160 million prodigal, Manny Ramirez, soothed a baseball-crazy city's restive soul. With the Sox just back from a disastrous opening series in Baltimore and already trailing Tampa Bay, 3-0, in the first, Ramirez struck the first pitch thrown to him as a member of the Sox at Fenway and scorched it over the Green Monster for a three-run homer. The demons were routed for today. The Sox were back, and as a cold rain thinned the welcoming crowd of 33,525, the Sons of Yawkey Way blasted their way to a reassuring 11-4 victory. The home run by Ramirez off Ryan Rupe was his first for the Sox - and the first of many thrills he is certain to provide fans, who have eight years to admire his work. It sparked the Sox to the eighth victory in their last nine home openers and their fourth in a row. Ramirez also knocked a run-scoring single off the Wall in the eighth inning. The win snapped a dismal drought in which the Sox scored five runs in their opening three-game series in Baltimore. They lost two of the three games by one run. Ramirez's dramatic blast also gave life to Sox starter Tomo Ohka, who got burned in the first inning. Struggling with his control, Ohka yielded three runs on four hits in the 36-pitch odyssey. Ohka said his nerves were firmly intact. The problem, he said, was his location. Whatever caused Ohka's meltdown, he recovered from it after Ramirez's blast tied the score. Ohka held the Rays scoreless before giving way to Tim Wakefield to start the fifth. By that time the Sox had built an 8-3. The Sox scored three runs in the third. With Nixon (double) and Jose Offerman (single) at the corners, Carl Everett brought home the fourth run by beating a throw to first to avoid a double play. After Ramirez struck out and Troy O'Leary walked, Varitek cleared the bases with a Wall double. The Sox scored twice more in the fourth on solo homers by Mike Lansing and Everett. It was the second straight home opener in which Everett has homered for the Sox; he hit two in the opener last year. The outburst was welcome throughout the clubhouse, but particularly by new hitting coach Rick Down. Ramirez's homer was the first time this season the Sox drove in a runner in scoring position. They had gone 0 for 18 before then. The Sox put it out of reach with three runs in the eighth inning. Doug Creek walked Nixon with the bases loaded, Brian Daubach scored on Offerman's sacrifice fly, and Ramirez drove in Lansing with his single off the Monster. It was enough to calm the nerves of most Sox diehards, though some clung to their doomsday scenarios. Count Offerman (3 for 5) among those struggling for positive thoughts. After losing his starting job at second, he has excelled in two straight games (5 for 8) since Chris Stynes strained his hamstring. But he was cleary still irked and said he was not trying to make a statement with his sudden turnaround. Trot Nixon, who makes a fraction of Offerman's pay ($390,000), made the defensive play of the day when he raced to the corner in right in the fifth to catch a drive by Steve Cox that appeared headed for the stands. Manager Jimy Williams pulled Ohka after four innings, preventing him from posting the win. Williams said the temperature (49 degrees) and Ohka's pitch count (86) warranted the move. Tim Wakefield earned the win with three solid innings of relief, despite the wet conditions that made gripping his knuckleball more difficult. He yielded only one run, in the seventh inning, when Felix Martinez singled and Cox doubled. Pete Schourek and Rolando Arrojo each pitched an inning of hitless relief to finish off the Rays. And there was joy again in Sox country. |
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