ST. LOUIS - Manny Ramirez seems to live in his own world and is usually pretty shy in public. But he was pretty savvy about knowing what to say Wednesday night after being named the MVP in Boston's World Series sweep:
"I'm going to Disney World."
Ramirez was chosen for his .412 average, the result of a team-high seven hits (six singles) and four RBIs. He had at least one hit in each game and had a homer and a key assist in Game 3.
"It means a lot, but I wanted to get the ring and I have it," Ramirez said. "That's the thing that nobody is going to take away from you. The other stuff, you never know when you're going to get it.
"I'm just blessed to be the MVP and to win a World Series."
Had things worked out differently last off-season, Ramirez would not have even been with the Sox. They placed him on waivers and tried to trade him to Texas.
"I left everything in God's hands," Ramirez said. "If they want me to go back to Boston, I'm going back to Boston. If they want me to be in Texas, I'm going to prepare myself to have a great year. If I'm going back to Boston, and I did, it's because there's a reason.
"God sent me back for a reason, and that's why I'm here."
FAMILIAR RING: The key baserunning blunder in Tuesday's game Game 3 turned out to be the result of some miscommunication, with Cardinals pitcher Jeff Suppan thinking third-base coach Jose Oquendo was saying "No" when he was actually telling him to "Go."
It all sounded very familiar to Don Zimmer.
The Rays senior adviser was involved in a similar celebrated incident as Boston's third-base coach during the 1975 World Series against the Reds.
With the bases loaded, no outs and the scored tied in the bottom of the ninth inning of Game 6, Denny Doyle unexpectedly tried to score on a medium-depth fly ball to left. He was thrown out easily and claimed he thought Zimmer was saying "Go" instead of "No."
"When it went up I told him to get back and tag up, then I realized that it was way too short with nobody out and I went back to the bag and said, "Stay right here,' " Zimmer recalled Wednesday from his Treasure Island home. "He got off the bag a little bit, and I thought he was faking to draw a throw. I'm like, "No, no, no,' and he went on and got tagged out.
" Pete Rose was playing third, and the next day he said, "I don't know how many times Zimmer had to tell him not to go.' "
Doyle's miscue was easy to overlook since the Sox came back to win on Carlton Fisk's dramatic 12th-inning home run. But watching Tuesday's game, Zimmer had no trouble remembering how huge a mistake it could have been.
"If we had lost that game, I was going to shower before the media came in and just leave because in my mind I don't want to crucify a player," he said. "I can't do anymore than tell the guy not to go."
ONE IF BY LAND: The Red Sox couldn't have been too happy that the news got out, but Boston city officials have already been hard at work planning the victory parade.
Their idea is to plot a route that stretches for miles, hoping to spread out a crowd they figure will dwarf the estimated 1.5-million who packed the streets for the Patriots' Super Bowl processional.
"The Patriots parade was insane," council member John Tobin told the Boston Globe. "I shudder to think what this will be like."
MISCELLANY: The Sox are the third straight wild-card team to win the Series, following the 2002 Angels and 2003 Marlins. ... Johnny Damon hit the 17th leadoff homer in Series history, the first since Derek Jeter in 2000. ... Ramirez extended his postseason hitting streak to 17 games, matching the record shared by Jeter and former Yankee Hank Bauer. ... Ramirez has joined the group of players, which includes Carl Crawford, that will tour Japan next month. ... The Sox are the first team to win eight straight games in a single postseason. ... It was the first sweep since 1999, when the Yankees blanked the Braves. ... St. Louis reserve Hector Luna batted during the lunar eclipse.
