Manny goes missing in LA

Source: Agencies  |   2008-8-13  |     NEWSPAPER EDITION

Philadelphia Phillies catcher Carlos Ruiz (right) tags out Los Angeles Dodgers' James Loney at home in the third inning of their game at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles on Monday. The Dodgers won 8-6. More in photo gallery

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THE ninth inning was about to start and left field was empty. Manny Ramirez was missing.

Here we go again.

Let's see, there's no Green Monster for him to hide in at Dodger Stadium - so where in the world was Manny now?

In the dugout, several Dodgers peered down the tunnel toward their clubhouse as Monday night's game against Philadelphia was held up. They looked as though they didn't know whether to laugh, scream or simply shake their heads.

Then, finally, the enigmatic slugger reappeared and jogged swiftly out to his position, dreadlocks dangling and a wry half-smile on his face.

"I just went to the bathroom," Ramirez said with a chuckle after Los Angeles' 8-6 victory. "All the guys said, 'Hey, we play nine in here'."

This time, there was a plausible explanation - sort of - for Ramirez's brief but conspicuous absence: He thought he had been pulled from the game.

Dodgers manager Joe Torre explained that there was some miscommunication between he and Ramirez, acquired from Boston at the July 31 trade deadline.

After Ramirez was forced out at the plate in the eighth inning, Torre pointed to him from a distance as a way of congratulating the slugger for his single. But Ramirez thought that meant he was being taken out of the game for defense, so he headed up the tunnel.

Just another curious moment for one of baseball's most baffling characters.

"When he came out, his jersey was half undone," teammate Jeff Kent said with a smirk. "So if he was going to the bathroom, he takes his jersey off to do it."

Elsewhere in the National League, it was: Pirates 7, Mets 5; Brewers 7, Nationals 1; Cardinals 4, Marlins 2; and Astros 3, Giants 1.

In the American League, it was: Blue Jays 7, Tigers 2; Indians 13, Orioles 8; Twins 4, Yankees 0; and Red Sox 5, White Sox 1.