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CHICAGO -- Manny being Manny has been a positive so far for the Chicago Cubs. President of baseball operations Theo Epstein praised Manny Ramirez on Friday for his work with the Cubs minor leaguers in Arizona, and said the former major league star could join Triple-A Iowa next week. Ramirez signed a minor league deal in May and reported to the teams facility in Mesa to get some at-bats in extended spring training. When Ramirez moves to Iowa, he will be a player-coach for Chicagos top farm club. "Ive gotten unsolicited emails and texts from a lot of the staff down there saying that hes been a breath of fresh air and the best thing that ever happened to the kids down in Mesa," Epstein said before the Cubs 6-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Pirates. "So Im really pleased with the impact hes making on the organization. "Probably sometime next week that hes ready to go to Iowa, but were not in a rush because hes making an impact with the young kids down there who are getting their first taste of pro ball as well as guys like Jorge Soler, who are there rehabbing. Mannys been a really nice influence so far." The 42-year-old Ramirez is a .312 hitter with 555 home runs in 2,302 games covering 19 major league seasons. But the Cubs brought him in to serve as a mentor for some of their young players and insist he is not a candidate for a promotion to the major league club. The addition of Ramirez was a bit of a gamble for Epstein, who was the general manager in Boston when the enigmatic slugger helped the Red Sox win the World Series in 2004 and 2007. Ramirez was suspended for 50 games in 2009 while with the Los Angeles Dodgers after testing positive for a banned drug. He retired in April 2011 instead of serving a 100-game ban for a second positive test while with Tampa Bay, but later agreed to a reduced 50-game suspension and played in the minors for Oakland in 2012. He also has been criticized in the past for lackadaisical play, but Epstein thinks he can be a valuable teacher for Chicagos rich minor league system. "Hes been meeting with the young kids there daily, pulling them aside, talking about hitting, talking about not making some of the same mistakes that he made off the field, really keeping them focused on working hard and having a passion for the game and doing things the right way," Epstein said. When Ramirez gets to Iowa, he will get a chance to work one of the majors best prospects in third baseman Kris Bryant. The No. 2 overall selection in last years draft hit .355 with 20 homers in 68 games with Double-A Tennessee, and then belted a two-run shot in his debut with Iowa on Thursday night. The promotion to Triple-A means Bryant is just one step away from joining the Cubs, but Epstein made it sound as if that would be next season at the earliest. "I dont forsee a scenario where hed be up this year," he said. "I dont think its the right thing to do for someone in his first full professional season, barring extraordinary circumstances both in respect to the player and whats going on at the big league club." Epstein also is pleased with what he has seen so far from this years first-round pick, Kyle Schwarber. The No. 4 overall selection from Indiana University was quickly promoted from Chicagos short-season Class A affiliate in Boise, Idaho, to Single-A Kane County. There is some question about whether Schwarber will play catcher or left field in the pros, but it looks as if that decision can wait for now. "We decided this year, his first exposure to pro ball, were going to have him see a lot of time in left field, let him catch about once a week, maybe twice a week, so he can stay fresh with his catching, DH some so that he can keep his bat in the lineup when he needs a day off," Epstein said. "Then were going to sit down at the end of the minor league season and see whether its an appropriate time to make a call." Uchenna Nwosu Jersey . Bryce Harper? He also came into Wednesday without a long ball and hadnt driven in a run. He was hitting .160, had nearly three times as many strikeouts as hits and was dropped to seventh in the batting order. Caleb Sturgis Chargers Jersey . A wide-eyed 18-year-old visiting North America for only the second time in his young life, Caboclo immediately noticed the "big tower" his new home is best known for. http://www.chargersauthenticofficialonline.com/authentic-justin-jones-jersey.html . The match, billed as a "next-gen" encounter between two of the sports rising stars, lasted two and a half hours. The loss kept Raonic, from Thornhill, Ont., from reaching a third fourth-round spot in Melbourne over the past four years. Derwin James Jersey .com) - Whew! North Dakota States reign as the three-time FCS national champion was pushed to the limit by South Dakota State on Saturday, but freshman R. Custom Los Angeles Chargers Jerseys . But its also a smart game. Theres more to the Kings than banging bodies. They take a toll mentally on their opponents.MINSK, Belarus -- France clinched a spot in the quarterfinals of the ice hockey world championship with a 6-2 victory over Denmark on Monday, while Finland kept alive its hopes of advancing by beating Kazakhstan 4-3. In the late matches, host Belarus reached the quarterfinals for the third time by edging Latvia 3-1 and Gustav Nyquist led defending champion Sweden with two goals in a 5-1 win over Italy. Stephane Da Costa scored twice as France netted four unanswered third-period goals in a span of less than six minutes. The game had been tied 2-2 after the second period. France, which stunned Canada in its first game of the tournament, reached the quarterfinals for the first time since 1995. "This is huge for French hockey," France coach Dave Henderson said. "Its been a long time since it last happen. Im totally happy with the team." Julien Desrosiers, Antoine Roussel, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Antonin Manavian also scored for France. Jesper Jensen and Kim Staal scored for Denmark. The result means the Czech Republic also advanced to the quarterfinals from Group A together with defending champion Sweden and Canada. The first four teams advance from both groups. France has also beaten Slovvakia and Norway in Belarus.dddddddddddd It will meet the Czech Republic on Tuesday in a match to decide who finishes third in the group. The loser will face Group Bs winner -- high-scoring Russia -- in the quarterfinals. Sweden leads Group A but Canada can reclaim the top spot with a victory over Norway in its last group game on Tuesday. Geoff Platt and Mikhail Grabovski scored 33 seconds apart in the first period for Belarus and Sergei Kostitsyn put the puck into the empty net with one second left in front of a roaring crowd. Captain Olli Jokinen scored to put Finland 3-2 ahead when his shot hit defenceman Alexei Litvinenko in the face before deflecting into the net, and also set up the winning goal for Jarkko Immonen as Finland stayed in contention. Belarus has 12 points in Group B, with Finland one point behind. Latvia has nine but can still advance if it beats Switzerland on Tuesday. The United States already qualified for the playoffs from the group along with Russia. "Well probably be watching the games later and hoping that we can continue in the tournament, Juuso Hietanen said. 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