Slumps

Several beat writers are focused on the hitting slumps of Manny Ramirez and Edgar Renteria. ... David Heuschkel on Manny:

Of the nine regulars in the Red Sox lineup, Manny Ramirez [has] the lowest batting average 42 games into the season. His .229 average after going 1-for-5 Saturday is 87 points below his .316 career average coming into the season, and his .347 on-base percentage is 62 points lower. ... He has hit .181 (8-for-44) since he was beaned May 9 ... Over his last 24 games, Ramirez was hitting .202, dropping his average from .294.

However, Manny has hit 10 homers and driven in 36 runs, which puts him on pace for season totals of 40-137. ... After his 18-game hitting streak ended, Johnny Damon went ice cold on the road, but now that he's back home, he has reached base safely eight times in his last nine at bats coming into today's game. Damon has hit safely in 33 of his 39 games.

Tito gets letters. ... Garry Brown of the Springfield Republican writes about the joy of the 1-0 game. My favorite 1-0 game? August 23, 1989: Los Angeles 1, Montreal 0 (22 innings). I was lucky enough to be one of the 21,742 fans at the Big O.