"Amid the inevitable he-said, she-said that results during the breakup between the Red Sox and a star player, agent Scott Boras denied a published report early yesterday that Manny Ramirez lobbied to return to the club up to an hour after Thursday’s trading deadline.

According to a published report, Boras called Red Sox officials about an hour after the 4 p.m. deadline and said Ramirez was having second thoughts about being traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The story suggested Ramirez promised to give the team an honest effort over the final two months of the season if the Sox backed out of the trade.

“Completely inaccurate,” Boras said by phone from his home on the West Coast yesterday. “I never called them back (after the trade).”

While Boras declined to address specifics, he did acknowledge the Red Sox and Ramirez discussed an array of solutions before the three-way deal that brought Jason Bay to Boston. One source confirmed the possible outcomes included Ramirez remaining with the club if the Sox formally declined to exercise the player’s $ 20 million option for 2009 following this season, an alternative organization decided against largely because it deemed the player untrustworthy.

According to Sox officials, the team ultimately decided to trade Ramirez because they could not count on him to give an honest effort during the final two months."