Ramirez

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Given the turmoil that plagued the Boston Red Sox last season and how the team embarrassed itself down the stretch, the last thing the Red Sox need is controversy.

The Red Sox may have another one on their hands.

Outfielder Trot Nixon was miffed that Manny Ramirez was a no-show for the first full-squad workout of spring training Wednesday, and Nixon told the Hartford Courant so in a story published in Thursday's editions.

"You want to know why the Yankees win so many championships? I'll tell you why. Everybody shows up ready to play baseball," Nixon told the newspaper. "They figure out some way to gel together. The younger guys are in awe. They don't come strolling in, pimping around and doing this and doing that. Bernie Williams showed up. Derek Jeter made $20 million. He shows up. You can guarantee he shows up on time."

Ramirez has a valid excuse. He reported Monday and had a physical, the Courant said. A team spokesman said Ramirez was scheduled to have a second physical that day, one required by his insurance company, but the doctor was off for Presidents' Day.

Rickey Henderson, who signed a minor-league contract and will be given a chance to make the team as a backup outfielder, was also absent from camp. According to the Basic Agreement, the mandatory reporting date is next Wednesday.

Red Sox spokesman Kevin Shea said Henderson, who agreed to a contract Feb. 13, also informed the team he would not be in camp Wednesday. No reason was given for his absence.

"We've put in calls to Rickey, Rickey's agent," Red Sox manager Joe Kerrigan said. "Anytime you get a player that signs as late as he does and he's on the opposite coast, I imagine there's a lot of housecleaning chores he has to do before he comes all the way over and starts spring training. It's an understanding."

Henderson's absence wasn't as conspicuous as Ramirez's, whose 2002 salary is $15.5 million.

"He had enough time off in the offseason. He should be here," Nixon, who was unsure why Ramirez was not in camp, told the newspaper. "The last thing he needs to do is come in here with any type of grudge of this, that or the other, not wanting to show up, because that's just going to carry over. The biggest thing it does is, it shows these younger kids that it's OK once you start making money, you can come in whatever time you want."

Others didn't seem to mind that Ramirez was absent.

"Just as long as he's ready by April 1, so be it," Johnny Damon said.

Kerrigan called it a non-issue.

"They're in complete compliance with their contract," Kerrigan said. "What do you want me to do, change the contract of the Basic Agreement?"

There may be some lingering issues from last season, Ramirez's first in Boston.

According to the Courant, his agent, Jeff Moorad, spoke to Red Sox general manager Dan Duquette about making the clubhouse more comfortable for Ramirez, who had more privacy in Cleveland. Because he was close to Carl Everett, it appears Ramirez sided with his former teammate when Everett got into a heated argument with Kerrigan in September. Ramirez left the team on the final day in Baltimore, opting to skip Cal Ripken's final game.

Kerrigan was visiting players in Florida this winter. The manager drove across the state to Ramirez's home in the Fort Lauderdale area to drop off video of his at-bats. He was never invited in. Kerrigan spoke briefly to Ramirez Monday and said he was in good spirits.

Carlos Baerga, who played with Ramirez in Cleveland, said he kept in touch with his former teammate over the winter, but they did not discuss last season.

Baerga said he told Ramirez, "I'm going to be there, but I'm going to be on top of you. I want you to be MVP."