Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez headed for disabled list
Reporting from Phoenix — Manny Ramirez will be placed on the 15-day disabled list with a strained right hamstring, according to three baseball sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the move wasn’t official yet.
Ramirez will be replaced on the active roster by Xavier Paul, who will be recalled from triple-A Albuquerque.
Ramirez was out of the lineup for the second consecutive day on Friday and started the day listed as day to day. Before the game, Manager Joe Torre said the Dodgers remained uncertain whether they would put him on the disabled list because of a strained right hamstring.
Ramirez had earlier reported an improvement in his condition, prompting Torre to say: “We have to figure out to what degree it will get better and what does that get us. Is he going to be a player by Tuesday? Or is he going to be a pinch-hitter by Monday or Tuesday?
“I think we have to decide if that’s worth playing a man short.”
Paul also replaced Ramirez on the active roster when Ramirez was put on the disabled list April 23. Ramirez, who was hitting .415 when he was hurt in April, slumped after being activated May 8, something hitting coach Don Mattingly blamed on a loss of timing.
Mattingly said he had seen that timing return in recent weeks. Ramirez has hit .460 with three home runs and 15 runs batted in over his last 15 games.
Kemp on argument with Schaefer: no comment
Matt Kemp refused to talk about the argument he had with bench coach Bob Schaefer last week that led to Kemp’s being held out of the lineup for three days.
Kemp became upset when Schaefer reminded him that his job was to back up second base on attempted steals. Kemp returned to the lineup only after he approached Torre to discuss the matter.
“If you want to talk to me about anything but that, you can talk to me, but I’m not talking about that,” Kemp said.
Torre would not say why he waited for Kemp to approach him instead of seeking out Kemp.
“That’s none of your business,” Torre said.
Torre has continued to avoid talking in detail about Kemp’s benching.
“I was frustrated for him,” Torre said. “I’m trying to help.”
White or Ng: Next Diamondbacks GM?
The shakeup in the Diamondbacks’ front office could affect the Dodgers’ baseball operations department.
The Diamondbacks, who fired General Manager Josh Byrnes and promoted assistant Jerry Dipoto to replace him on an interim basis, plan to look for a full-time general manager over the winter. Among the candidates they expect to consider, according to a Diamondbacks source, are Dodgers assistant general managers Logan White and Kim Ng.
White and Ng both worked with Diamondbacks President Derrick Hall, a former Dodgers executive.
White, who is credited with overseeing the drafts that produced the nucleus of the Dodgers’ present major league team, was interviewed by the Houston Astros for a vacant general manager position in 2007. Ng, who could become baseball’s first female general manager, was interviewed for a similar position by the Dodgers in 2005, the Seattle Mariners in 2008 and the San Diego Padres in 2009.
Awkward
When the Diamondbacks visited Dodger Stadium earlier this year, Hiroki Kuroda said he finally spoke to Rusty Ryal, who hit the line drive that struck his head last season.
Kuroda and Ryal happened to be in the weight room at the same time. They exchanged greetings but didn’t say anything more to each other.
“I wished I could speak English so that I could have told him a joke,” Kuroda said.
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