10:51 AM EDT on Wednesday, May 12, 2004

BY JOE McDONALD
Journal Sports Writer

AP photo Manny Ramirez, who was sworn in as an American citizen Monday, runs onto the field at Fenway Park, displaying his new sense of patriotism.

A day after Boston manager Terry Francona pulled Byung-Hyun Kim from the club's starting rotation, the Red Sox optioned the submarining right-handed pitcher to Pawtucket last night. PawSox right-hander Jamie Brown will be called up to Boston.

Kim is fine physically, and Francona has hope the right-hander will have an impact on this year's staff at some point.

"Obviously, we've talked about it," said Francona. "But we want to do the right thing for everybody."

In two of his three starts for the Red Sox, Kim's velocity has been low and his command off. In fact, the Cleveland Indians did not have a swinging strike against him on Monday.

"They were taking some pretty good swings on him, and you usually don't see that," said pitching coach Dave Wallace. "I remember last year when he was coming in at the end of games for us you would see a lot of guys swing and miss. There was no contact, but we haven't seen that yet this season, and it sends up a red flag that something somewhere isn't right. He's not quite where he should be."

Brown is 3-1 with a 2.84 E.R.A. in six starts, including 27 strikeouts and only two walks. He'll likely be the long relief guy for the Sox.

A proud U.S. citizen

Manny Ramirez pledged his allegiance to the flag prior to last night's game when he sprinted out to his position in left field while waving a miniature version of Old Glory.

The Boston Red Sox slugger became a U.S. citizen on Monday during a two-hour ceremony at the Miami Convention Center in Florida. The organization was very supportive and gave Ramirez an excused absence. If he had missed the appointment on Monday, he would have had to wait another 6-12 months and begin the process all over again.

"I'm very proud to be an American citizen," he said last night. "Now, I'm going to be hitting better."

He received a standing ovation when he ran onto the field, and again during his first plate appearance. With the urging of his parents, Ramirez began the naturalization process last year, but couldn't finish it because the Red Sox were in a close pennant race.

Ramirez took his citizenship test six months ago and recently received a letter telling him May 10 was his day to be sworn in.

"Everything went so smooth," he said. "I wasn't nervous because there were about 2,000 people from all over the world. Everything went fine. I never planned on it, never thought about it, but my dad and my mom did it a long time ago."

Not only did he receive the support of his family and fans, but also of his teammates.

"I was so proud of Manny," said Pedro Martinez. "Taking the flag out there made me feel proud of him. We all know what America represents to us and the opportunity we got in America. To actually let us be citizens of this country is a great honor. I was very happy Manny took that flag out, saying thank you America for giving me the chance.

"Some people don't know Manny all that well, but Manny's really smart and he knew what he was trying to say when he came out with that flag. Especially having some members of the Army (during the national anthem) out there. Those people have gone through a lot to protect this country. Nothing better to do than to actually show our support."

Beautiful sight to see

When Red Sox players arrived at Fenway Park yesterday they witnessed Nomar Garciaparra and Trot Nixon taking part in a simulated game, facing live pitching. General manager Theo Epstein and a group of players, including Derek Lowe, Curt Schilling and Cesar Crespo, watched as Garciaparra and Nixon crush balls all over the yard.

"Geez," said Francona. "This just in: they're good hitters. Man, I don't know how somebody could hit that ball that good and not be playing -- both of them. Balls were flying all over the ballpark, and it was nice to see. I bet they feel good, because we did."

Nixon (lower back and quad) and Garciaparra (right Achilles tendinitis) belted pitch after pitch off Double-A Portland pitcher Eric Glaser.

"It was good to see some pitches," said Garciaparra. "I'm going to need to see some more. That's the first step -- going out there and seeing some. We'll see how it continues and how it progresses."

It's still too early to decide a timetable for a rehab assignment for both players, but they looked in midseason form yesterday. While Nixon said he felt fine, Garciaparra woke up yesterday morning a bit sore from a heavy workout on Monday.

"I woke up and (the Achilles) was sore, which I expected," he said. "Nothing surprised me, which is good. Now it's just a matter of it recovering."

Before a decision is made on a rehab assignment, he's hoping to put a string of healthy days together before taking the next step.

"Today was good to see some live pitching," Garciaparra said. "It was good to get a feel for that.

Around the horn

Troy Brown of the New England Patriots took batting practice at Fenway Park yesterday. . . . Red Sox first-base coach Lynn Jones underwent four hours of eye surgery on Monday, and the doctors are cautiously optimistic. Jones seriously injured his eye with a screwdriver while working on a water softener at home last week . . . Cleveland right fielder Jody Gerut singled in the first inning last night to extend his hitting streak to a career-best 14 games . . . The Indians have scored two runs in the first inning against Boston in six straight games . . . With his fifth strikeout of the game last night, Martinez recorded his 1,500th career "K" as a Red Sox pitcher, and now is second all time behind Roger Clemens (2,590).