Maddon: Manny 'disappointed in himself'
Slugger Manny Ramirez has spoken to Tampa Bay manager Joe Maddon since retiring while facing a 100-game drug ban, but stopped short of apologizing for his abrupt departure.
''He was disappointed in himself, but he was also very kind to the organization,'' Maddon said Monday.
''He just said he was disappointed. He didn't apologize. I wasn't looking for an apology necessarily. I wasn't. He spoke to me kind of like, man to man, person to person, manager to player. So I didn't think he owed me an apology.''
Maddon did not say when the conversation with Ramirez took place. Ramirez walked away last Friday after testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. He previously served a 50-game ban for violating the drug policy.
As for Ramirez's drug involvement, ''you'd have to take that up with him,'' Maddon said.
''We had a good camp, very good camp. I was looking forward to working with him,'' he said.
Tampa Bay played Monday night at Boston. The AL champions went into the game with a 1-8 record that was the worst in the majors.