"I'm going to get to 600 [homers]," Ramirez said. "Why not? The sky's the limit. There's no limit."

Going into the 2008 season, which officially begins on Tuesday against the Oakland Athletics at Tokyo Dome, Ramirez is 10 away from 500. But he has no problem looking toward the number that, in history, has only been reached by Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, Willie Mays, Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa.

"I'm going to play six more years and there's no doubt I can do it," said Ramirez of topping the 600 mark. Yes, Ramirez is now on a six-year plan after this season. That would have the star slugger playing until 2014. The Red Sox hold option years on him for the next two seasons.

"I know what [lies] ahead," Ramirez said. "I'm going to get two more years here, and then I'm going to get four years, so it's going to be six years. I'm going to finish my career here [in Boston]."

The case can be made that Ramirez has never been happier. The man who once refused to do interviews now all but invites reporters to spend time with him. Ramirez knows that life has been good to him, so why shouldn't he enjoy it?