Manny dismisses dugout scuffle with Youkilis -- 'it's in the past'

BOSTON -- Manny Ramirez strolled into the middle of the Boston Red Sox clubhouse with a bat in his hand and smile on his face Friday, ready to put his dugout dustup with teammate Kevin Youkilis as far away as some the 503 career homers Ramirez has hit.

"It's in the past," he said of his brief spat with Youkilis in Thursday's 7-1 victory over Tampa Bay. "It's a new day."

TV cameras showed Ramirez and Youkilis being separated after exchanging words in the dugout at the end of the fourth inning. Ramirez pointed at Youkilis before being escorted down the runway toward the clubhouse by trainer Paul Lessard and a few players.

Later in the game, NESN, the team's broadcast network, showed grainy footage of Ramirez apparently taking a swipe at Youkilis.

Ramirez was not listed in Friday's starting lineup, saying his right knee has been sore.

But the knee was not what most of the media wanted to learn more about.

"Don't worry about it," was a phrase he repeated a few times. "It's a new day."

When asked what he might have said to Youkilis, Ramirez just replied, "what happened is nobody's business."

Youkilis took the same approach a few minutes earlier when he headed out for batting practice.

"It's good," he said, quickly walking past reporters. "It's over. A new day."

Ramirez homered and drove in five runs besides his spat in a game that included a bench-clearing brawl between the clubs.

Tampa Bay starter James Shields, designated hitter Jonny Gomes and Boston's Coco Crisp were all ejected.

The fight on the field started after Crisp was hit on the right hip by a second-inning pitch from Shields. Crisp dropped his bat, charged the mound and ducked a wild right by Shields before throwing a few punches himself.