BOSTON -- Manny Ramirez apologized Wednesday for his behaviour with the Boston Red Sox in his first public appearance since being hired as a minor league player-coach with the Chicago Cubs. His apology came before a pregame ceremony in which the team honoured its 2004 team that won Bostons first World Series championship since 1918. "I realize that I behaved bad in Boston," Ramirez said. "The fans were great. I also played great when I was here, but I realized I behaved bad. I apologize for that. Im a new man." He said he has been attending church for almost a year. During seven-plus seasons with Boston, Ramirez hit .312 with 274 homers and 868 RBIs before being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2008. While with Boston, he often jogged to first base and after fly balls, had a physical altercation with travelling secretary Jack McCormick and exhibited quirky behaviour that led to the phrase, "Manny being Manny." Ramirez was the last of more than 30 members of the 2004 team introduced before Bostons game against the Atlanta Braves. He was the MVP of that World Series sweep over St. Louis. He threw the ceremonial first pitch, but Johnny Damon cut it off, rolled to the ground and relayed the ball to catcher Jason Varitek behind the plate. It mimicked a play in 2004 when Damon fielded a ball off the centre-field wall and threw toward third base. But Ramirez inexplicably dove and cut it off rather than let it go through, allowing Baltimores David Newhan to get an inside-the-park homer. Ramirez received a warm reception as he entered the field through a door on the left field scoreboard in the Green Monster. He occasionally would use the door to go into the cramped area behind the scoreboard during pitching changes. On Wednesday night, the crowd chanted "Manny, Manny," when he was introduced and walked toward the infield. Current designated hitter David Ortiz is the only Red Sox player remaining from the 2004 team. "Now that I see David and the rest of the guys, I wish I could have done better," Ramirez said. "I wish it turned out better than it did." Now he hopes to make a good impression on players in the Cubs farm system. "Im looking forward to that," Ramirez said. "I can go over there and meet those kids and teach them what to do in the field and what not to do off the field. Its going to be a blast. Were going to have fun out there." Other players from the 2004 team who received loud ovations where pitchers Pedro Martinez and Curt Schilling and outfielder Kevin Millar. Schilling, who has skipped other Fenway Park events this season while being treated for cancer, was accompanied by his son Gehrig as they walked in together from left field. Keith Foulke, who was on the mound for the final out of the 2004 World Series, carried the championship trophy as he made his way to the infield. "You work your entire career and you always dream of being on top for at least once," Foulke said before Wednesdays game. "Were honoured to be a part of something that, unfortunately, had been set up by a lot of failure. Were proud to be a part of it, Ill tell you that." Ramirez appeared with a haircut in which the sides of his head were shaved, leaving hair only on top. "Its Manny," Foulke said, with a laugh. Cheap Jordan Shoes Paypal Accepted . Bjoergen pulled away from Swedens Charlotte Kalla on the final straight to win in 38 minutes, 33.6 seconds and defend her title from the 2010 Vancouver Games. Kalla was 1.8 seconds back. Heidi Weng of Norway took bronze. Brand Name Shoes Wholesale China . JOHNS, N. http://www.brandshoescheaponline.com/who...rance-sale.html. Bouchard went down to a 1-6, 6-1, 6-2 defeat at the hands of Svitolina in her opening match at the Sony Open on Friday. Bouchard got the rivalry going two years ago when she won the junior Wimbledon title over Svitolina. Vapormax Plus Wholesale . Instead, Nonis and Kessel were sorting through the fallout of a wild melee with the Buffalo Sabres, one that saw Kessel suspended for the duration of the pre-season. Air Max 270 React Discount . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order.Hands up if you remember the last trade made by the Blue Jays. I admit, I actually had to look it up. It was back on December 14th when the Jays sent reliever Brad Lincoln to the Phillies for 33-year-old catcher Eric Kratz and 24-year-old lefty reliever Rob Rasmussen. It has been a quiet winter hasnt it? Of course we were spoiled in the off-season a year ago, when Alex Anthopoulos pulled off that monster 12 player deal with the Miami Marlins and then followed up with that seven player swap with the Mets that landed R.A Dickey. Off-seasons like that come along every 10 years or so, if that. Over the weekend I was curious to see, which team had been the Blue Jays most common trade partner. I can tell you it wasnt the Yankees, though they have made 23 deals with the Pinstripes. It wasnt Cleveland either, though the Jays have made 23 swaps with the Tribe. No, the team the Blue Jays have made the most deals with over their 37-year history according the BaseballReference.com is the Oakland As; thirty to be exact. Going over them one-by-one, I could see only one that the Jays outright lost. That one went down on Dec. 8, 1984. The Blue Jays dealt left fielder Dave Collins and shortstop Alfredo Griffin to Oakland for Bill Caudill -- the guy who was supposed to be the closer who would push them over the top. Of course that didnt happen, and by June of 1985 Tom Henke became the ninth inning guy and the Jays did in fact go on to win their 1st division title. Eventually Griffin found his way back to Toronto and as a utility infielder became part of the World Series teams in ‘92 and ‘93. The Jays very first trade with the As came on February 24th of 1977, when their original roster was still being formulated. The Jays dealt infielder Mike Weathers to the As for veteran outfielder/first baseman Ron Fairly, who had played with the Expos in their early years as well. Fairly provided a sense of veteran leadership and class in the Jays clubhouse that 1st year. On July 31, 1993 at the non-waiver trade deadline, Pat Gillick was trying to put together a deal for lefty Randy Johnson to help make a run at a second straight World Series title. When he couldnt get the arm he wanted, Gillick turned around and dealt lefty Steve Karsay and a player to be named later (outfielder Jose Herrrara) to the As for all-time stolen base king Rickey Henderson. Though he turned out to be a rental, Rickey helped ensure a World Series win over the Phillies come October. J.P. Ricciardi pulled off a deal with the As on December 7, 2001 that helped both teams. He sent closer Billy Koch to the West coast for third baseman Eric Hinske and right hander Justin Miller. Hinske became American League rookie of the year in 2002. The Jays made two more deals with Oakland that they clearly wwon.dddddddddddd On November 18, 2003 they picked up lefty Ted Lilly for outfielder Bobby Kielty, and then on November 18,? 2007 -- exactly years later -- they acquired SS/2B Marco Scutaro from the As for a couple of prospects who never made it in Kristian Bell and Graham Godfrey. The Jays mistake was not keeping Scutaro around longer as he went on to help the Giants win a couple of World Series titles. If you were wondering, the team the Blue Jays have made the fewest deals with is Tampa Bay. Since the Devil Rays/Rays came into the American League, the two teams have only gotten together on three deals and none of them were really memorable. The last was over nine years ago on December 12, 2004 when the Jays sent catcher Kevin Cash to the Rays for right-hander Chad Gaudin. On December 14, 2003, the Jays pulled off a three-way swap with the Rays and Colorado; the Blue Jays getting reliever Justin Speier from the Rockies and sending lefty Mark Hendrickson and Sandy Nin to Tampa Bay, while Colorado received lefty starter Joe Kennedy from the Rays. The only other deal between the Jays and Rays was supposed to improve the Jays pitching depth for a playoff push in 2000. The Jays sent 2B Brent Abernathy to the Rays for lefty reliever Mark Guthrie and right-hander Steve Trachsel. The deal didnt really work out for the Jays as Guthrie went (0-2) with a 4.79 ERA and in 11 starts, the slow-working Trachsel went (2-5) with a 5.29 ERA. Both were gone at the end of the season after the Jays missed the playoffs under Jim Fregosi. To Trachsels credit, he did revive his career over the next six years with the Mets winning 66 games, including 16 in 2003 and 15 in 2006. The Tampa Bay Rays since 2008 have made four playoff appearances and have been to one World Series (2008). On their roster today, they have only four players who were with that team in 2008: Reliever Grant Balfour, who was just re-acquired as a free agent, lefty David Price , star third baseman Evan Longoria and super utilityman Ben Zobrist. The Blue Jays over that same span have only three players who were with them in 2008: Dustin McGowan, who hardly pitched at all do to injuries, Jose Bautista whos been injury plagued the last two seasons, and Adam Lind, coming off a solid season who nevertheless, over the years has been plagued by inconsistency. Technically Casey Janssen has been with the team that long as well, but he missed the entire 2008 season with a torn labrum. A teams core players tell you a lot about the team. Its not hard to see why the Rays have been contenders the last six seasons and the Blue Jays have not. ' ' '