SAN FRANCISCO On the day Fred Lewis staked his claim to the Giants left field job, the agent for left fielder Manny Ramirez used the local airwaves to sing the praises of his high-priced and still unsigned client.
Scott Boras didn't address the Giants' pursuit in the Ramirez sweepstakes during his interview on KNBR (680-AM) on Wednesday. But when asked if Ramirez would like to play for the Giants, Boras said, "Manny wants to win, and Manny wants to play for a team that wants him. The Giants are a team that has just an extraordinarily young nucleus of pitching. "... When we were looking for potential suitors, it was clear Manny felt that the Giants were a team that had a chance to go somewhere." Lewis, who was at AT&T Park on Wednesday along with infielder Kevin Frandsen and manager Bruce Bochy to participate in a "Chalk Talk" session with season-ticket holders, said he's unfazed by all the Ramirez-to-the-Giants rumors. He said his right foot is nearly healthy after bunion surgery over the winter and that he feels "like a kid in a candy store" looking ahead to the start of spring training next month.
The Ramirez rumors "crossed my mind, but it's not a big deal to me. I just have to worry about Fred, that's it," said Lewis, who hit .282 with nine homers and 40 RBI in 2008, his first full season in the major leagues.
Bochy said he expects Lewis to be his everyday left fielder. And when asked about the possibility of opening the season with Ramirez in left, Bochy said, "Manny's a great player. My job is to manage this club with the players we have. If this is who we have, we're much better off than we were at this point last year."
Frandsen is recovered from the torn Achilles' tendon that sidelined him for all but one at-bat last season, and Bochy said Frandsen will enter spring training in a battle with Emmanuel Burriss and Eugenio Velez for the second base job.
"I look at it as a big opportunity to hopefully cement myself into being a name in the lineup all the time and not being the guy who's always hurt," Frandsen said.
Notes:
Buster Posey is among the nonroster players the Giants invited to big league camp, but Bochy said the top catching prospect won't be vying for a roster spot. "It's more for a learning experience," Bochy said. ... Bochy reiterated that Tim Lincecum won't pitch for the United States in the World Baseball Classic.
Contact Laurence Miedema at lmiedema@mercurynews.com
