It's time to add another chapter to the "Manny Being Manny" saga.

The 36-year-old left fielder, as mercurial as he is accomplished, was in the Sox starting lineup on Friday afternoon, but was scratched almost as quickly when he informed Sox bench coach Brad Mills that his right knee was too sore.

It was the second straight missed game due to the knee woes after Ramirez caught Sox manager Terry Francona and the Boston training staff by surprise with the knee soreness.

Ramirez's initial knee soreness cropped up just days after Francona had professed that Ramirez was finally healthy after overcoming his hamstring troubles.

Ramirez was sent to Massachusetts General Hospital at game time to undergo MRIs on both knees, and the results revealed no structural damage to either knee. The clean test results would normally be good news, but there's no timetable on Ramirez's return to the lineup following the surprising injury.

Ramirez has gone through a well-publicized squabble with the Sox about the current state of his contract in recent weeks, and it's been a strange year full of bizarre incidents involving the Sox left fielder. The sudden knee pain -- which is hampering Ramirez despite negative test results from the hospital -- is just more log on the "Manny Being Manny" fire that seems to be starting to burn out of control at Fenway.

"We talked to him for a little while, we had a meeting and then we sent him over to get an MRI on both knees," said Francona. "The MRI came back fine. We have an obligation to talk to the player and see how he feels."

YANKEES 1, RED SOX 0: RHP Josh Beckett allowed a run over seven innings in his fifth straight quality start of the season, but suffered his seventh loss in what's becoming a bit of a hard-luck season. The Manny Ramirez-less Sox offense was held to only six hits in their sixth shutout loss of the season.

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