Manny Ramirez lives for his four or five plate appearances every night. The rest of what makes for his major league employment -- the necessity of having to wear a glove in the outfield, the need to run the bases (haste, however, not required), the infrequent intrusions from the media -- simply fill the time until the next occasion he can attack another at-bat the way John Nash might a thorny equation: with equal parts genius and joy.

He devotes tremendous work to his hitting craft, which is why, as he turns 36 next month -- the age at which Joe DiMaggio played his last season -- Ramirez still ranks among the most dangerous hitters in baseball, with an athletic body that hasn't changed much over the years and has much more left in it.