Francona happy to see Ramirez 'is in a good place'

Francona happy to see Ramirez 'is in a good place'

Published Jun. 2, 2014 6:21 p.m. ET

CLEVELAND -- There's not as much drama this year as Terry Francona prepares to face his former team but as the Indians and Red Sox got ready to begin a three-game series on Monday, there was a little bit nonetheless stemming from last week's reunion in Boston of the 2004 World Series Champion team.

Manny Ramirez apologized to many for the way he acted during his time in Boston but stopped short of saying why he took himself out of a series against the Yankees in 2008. Ramirez said he had a knee injury but the MRI came back clean. Less than a week later, Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers.

A Boston reporter asked Francona what he thought of the comments by Ramirez, who took a job as a player/coach with the Cubs Triple-A team in Iowa. Francona at first said he didn't want to comment, saying that 2008 was a long time ago, and then gave a pretty good explanation.

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"It seems like Manny is in a good place. I'll never root for someone not to be in a good place," Francona said. "Manny for the most part is a really lovable guy. When you are in charge of a team and along with that comes discipline and doing things one way you can be in a precarious spot sometimes with Manny. Sometimes we bumped heads."

Francona also noted that facing the Red Sox this year isn't as weird because of his comfort level in Cleveland. He also said that the Red Sox did tell him about the reunion of the '04 team during Spring Training but knew that he wouldn't be able to attend because of his duties with the Indians. That does bring up the question as to why the Red Sox just didn't decide to do it the weekend of June 13, when the Red Sox host the Indians.

McALLISTER GETS READY FOR WEDNESDAY: Zach McAllister said he is feeling better in his comeback from a lower back strain and that he didn't know how long he would pitch on Wednesday in a rehab game for Lake County against Dayton.

In his first four starts, McAllister was the Indians' best starting pitcher. The right-hander was 3-0 in mid-April and had an ERA of 2.28. In his past six starts, McAllister is 0-4 with a 9.51 ERA.

"It's something I felt for awhile. As a pitcher you don't want to make excuses and you want to take ownership for what you do. The best way was to go on the DL," McAllister said. "There was no way to skip a start. Give it some time and help the bullpen and starting pitching."

INJURY UPDATE: Carlos Santana took some ground balls on Monday and could be on track to return on Friday when the Indians begin a 10-game road trip in Texas.

Also on Monday, Nick Swisher began "land-based" drills.

ROSTER MOVE: The Indians recalled Nick Hagadone and optioned Mark Lowe to Columbus. Hagadone made 18 appearances with the Clippers and is 2-3 with a save and 3.09 ERA. The left-hander has not allowed an earned run over his last seven outings (9 1/3 innings pitched).

"Nick has gotten on a real good roll in AAA and we think the time is right for him," Francona said. "The way Boston is situated they are so left-handed we wanted to get a little bit more balance in our bullpen."

The Indians also announced that Blake Wood was claimed by Kansas City on waivers.

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