CLEVELAND -- Manny Ramirez wasn't in the visitors' clubhouse for three minutes when he flung a pair of sneakers across the floor and slapped on his stereo headphones.

	Manny Ramirez, right, gets reacquainted with Indians catcher Einar Diaz during batting practice before Tuesday's game.

Ramirez returned to Cleveland on Tuesday, and except for being on the opposite side of Jacobs Field and hearing a few boos, it looked like he never left.

"Manny?" said Jim Thome, who shared a few laughs with his former teammate before the game. "He's the same."

Ramirez, who signed an eight-year, $160 million free agent contract with Boston this winter, was back at the Jake for the first time as the Red Sox opened a three-game series with the Indians. Cleveland won Tuesday's opener 9-1.

But while the city and a sellout crowd of more than 42,000 fans were pumped for Ramirez's homecoming, the Manny of the hour was treating it as if he was nowhere special.

"It's going to be like a regular game," he said. "It's no big deal. I had a lot of fun playing over here, but it's over. I've moved on. "

And so has most of Cleveland.

Ramirez got a mostly positive reception when he came to bat in the top of the second before hitting a single off Indians rookie right-hander Jake Westbrook. He also singled in his second at-bat in the fourth before grounding out to third and striking out in his final two at-bats.

When he ran toward left field in the first, fans held up signs saying: "Money Ramirez" and "Show Me the Manny."

"Those idiots showed their true colors," Boston's Trot Nixon said. "The people that cheered him were baseball fans. They appreciated all he did for their team and city."

The most unexpected ovation was for Juan Gonzalez, Ramirez's All-Star replacement in right, who got a loud ovation when he came up in the first.

Earlier, Ramirez, who is having an MVP-type season in Boston, was as indifferent as ever when he was asked what kind of reception was awaiting him.

"It doesn't matter," Ramirez said. "If they want to cheer me that's fine. If they want to boo me, that's fine. My fans are in Boston now so I have nothing to worry about."

Ramirez broke some hearts when he left Cleveland last winter. Other Cleveland fans felt the same betrayal as when Albert Belle bolted for big free agency money.

"Traitor," one fan behind the Indians' dugout screamed as Ramirez took pregame batting practice. A group of fans in right unfurled a banner that read: "Manny Can't Break the Curse" but it was unclear if they meant Boston's Bambino or Cleveland's Colavito. The Red Sox haven't won a World Series since 1918, the Indians since 1948.

Ramirez rarely spoke in formal interview settings like the one he conducted two hours before gametime in the Red Sox dugout. He was late for the session because he had been taking extra batting practice in the indoor cages.

Ramirez, who homered on his final pitch for the Indians last season and his first with the Red Sox this year, said he has been impressed by the businesslike approach in Boston.

"When I played here it was relaxed," he said. "But in Boston, it's all about winning. You go into the clubhouse and you don't see nobody jumping or playing around. It's all about going out there and beating somebody.

"You go into the clubhouse and you don't see anybody playing loud music or joking around. Once you go in there it's all about business. It's all about winning."

And while all of baseball thought the Red Sox and Indians were negotiating for Ramirez's services last winter, Ramirez said he knew he was gone immediately following the 2000 season finale.

"I knew it was over because I wanted to try new things," he said. "Going to Boston was the best for me because I'm my own man. People never thought that I was going to go someplace else. People never thought I would go somewhere and have a big year. Going to Boston was a big challenge."

Ramirez said he decided to be more open with the media in Boston so fans got to know more about the man who drove in 165 runs in 1999 and batted .351 a year ago.

"When I was here I was young and immature," he said. "Now that I'm in Boston I want people to know about the kind of person that I am."

Dressed in a black suit, Ramirez arrived at the ballpark more than three hours before gametime and smiled as he greeted some reporters waiting in a corridor outside the dressing area.

"You ever been over here, Manny?" asked Boston outfielder Troy O'Leary.

"No, man," Ramirez said.

Ramirez hugged some of his former Indians teammates near the batting cage and spent a few minutes with manager Charlie Manuel, who coached him in the minor leagues and later in Cleveland.

Manuel joked that he was eager to see Ramirez.

"I've got to see if he'll float me a loan," Manuel said.