Manny Being....

As seen in a small Red Sox discussion group: Was it Manny being Womanny?

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TEENAGERS!

Thanks to Sports Illustrated (12/29/08) for this nugget from Tito:

TERRY FRANCONA, RED SOX MANAGER, when asked who was tougher to handle, his 14-year-old daughter, or petulent slugger Manny Ramirez: "I plead the eighth." (Aug. 4)

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Ken Rosenthal is an ass. Manny's OK by me (so far.)

Ken Rosenthal is an ass. That he opines for Fox is more proof of his mediocrity as a journalist or sportscaster. I'm sure the NY Daily Fish Wrap will snap him up once his tenure at Fox is over. This is not the first time I've read some of his garbage and said, 'wtf?'

That article of his serves absolutely no purpose at all other than to stir up shit in Boston. (Is he from NY?) There is no new information in that article, there are no new revelations about what Manny said or what could happen to him. Nothing. Nada. Zippo. Zilch. Zito.

Rosenthal writes, "It's mostly pointless to analyze the comments of a player who demonstrates the maturity and attention span of a 12-year-old." So why is he even writing this?

As for having "the maturity and attention span of a 12-year-old", we already know that Manny marches to the beat of a different drummer. Manny is one of those guys, to quote Jimmy Buffett, who is "growing older, but not up." I know. I'm also one of those guys. As for growing older, Manny is doing it, but at a much, much slower pace than the rest of us, that's for sure. Thirty-six is not that old anymore for a well-conditioned ball player. (At 36, I was still going on 30 mile, 2500' elevation gain mountain bike rides, and skiing down double black diamonds at Tahoe. At 46, I was still playing drums in 6 hour jam sessions.) His work ethic and conditioning have been well documented. His production at the plate has been well documented. His performance on the field is much better than most realize. He is virtually guaranteed a spot in Cooperstown. Yes, he is a clown and a buffoon at times, but ask me if there is a stronger 3-4 combination in MLB. He's had his transgressions, but he has also apologized and paid for them.

Baseball fans all over the country love to dump on Manny, as they did to Barry, but I know their feelings would be much different if either had been clubbing all those taters at their team's park.

As for his most recent comments that po'd John Henry, how about letting the dust settle so you can see exactly what is happening before starting to spew?

I read what Manny said, but I have not heard a recording of it. (Much can be lost or changed from spoken word to printed word.)

I think this could be another photo of Rosenthal when he was taking a break from writing that hit-piece.

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The Manny Rewards Program

Increasingly baseball contracts are filled with incentives. Recent contracts have included clauses providing extra cash for making the playoffs, staying healthy, or reaching statistical milestones.

Manny has taken it upon himself to augment the Red Sox contracts with his own incentives program. We'll call it "Manny Rewards." The primary beneficiary of the Manny Rewards program is 2nd baseman Dustin Pedroia. Manny felt that Pedroia needed some bling to go along with his Rookie of the Year trophy, so Manny bought Pedroia a Rolex watch.

Manny told the ProJo: “He’s a great kid with a great heart. I love him. He’s got a great personality and I don’t care what he does on the field because, as a person, he’s such a great guy. You can talk to him and he’s always happy and working hard.”

“If he hits .300 this year, I’ll give him something else,” Ramirez said. “I want him to keep it going.”

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Manny's "Secret" Weapon

Jeff Horrigan of the Herald reports seeing Manny Ramirez in the clubhouse reading the New Age self help book The Secret with a highlighter. It must be required reading for the Scott Boras Agency book club. Manny may also be loading up the Ipod with Yanni to get him through the long innings in left. Here is a quote that Manny may have highlighted: "You are the most powerful magnet in the universe . . . so as you think a thought, you are also attracting like thoughts to you." Could this make us all finally understand Manny? File this one under Manny being......well, Manny I guess. Manny as a New Ager is not the image most people arrive at when they think of the self described "Bad Man."

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Manny Being Manny No Excuse For Dissing Veterans

Everyone seems to have a take on Manny missing the trip to Washington.

Jim Donaldson sports writer for the ProJo was unforgiving:

"He doesn't want to visit with the president? Fine. That's his prerogative. It's not inconceivable that a few of those wounded veterans might not want to shake hands with the president, either.
And, while it's interesting that Ramirez clearly considers himself to be special, that he obviously believes his obligations to the team are not the same as those of his teammates, that's a problem for the Red Sox to deal with in the clubhouse, and as an organization. But turning his back on hospitalized veterans? That's inexcusable and unforgivable. "

The satirical newspaper The Onion says, Manny actually was in DC, he just missed the big events: "Although Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez was present for the official team visit to the White House, he did not meet the president due to being preoccupied with rolling on the Rose Garden lawn and playing tug-of-war with Barney, the Bush family's Scottish terrier.

Bill Burt writes in the Gloucester Daily Times that Manny being Manny is good enough for him:

"The only place Manny is expected to be is the No. 4 spot in the Red Sox lineup from late March through late October. He can leave trips to Washington, D.C., to the important people. "

I have to say that I agree with Donaldson. Missing the White House visit is one thing, but slighting the veterans is really disappointing. That's Manny being Manny. Sometimes it makes you laugh, sometimes it pisses you off.

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Manny Being Manny

It was only a matter of time. Sooner or later Manny was going to talk about his future with the Red Sox. He gave a glimpse into his thinking about his '09 plans yesterday.

His statement is vintage Manny:

"I don't know. We're going to see. They want me to stay, I stay; if not, I want to move on. My meaning is I want to become a free agent after '08 and move on. It don't matter. If I be here, I be here, if not, I'm fine. If it's not here, it's someplace else."


...now that clears it up.

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Is Manny OK?

Manny is not being Manny. There are no trade demands, no bad headlines, no worries for Red Sox fans. Manny Ramirez usually injects some kind of downer for the Nation at the wrong time. He has demanded to be traded several times after getting unconditional love from the fans. His comment about the possibility of not winning the World Series this year made headlines across the Hub. But since that moment Manny has been a different person; he appeared on Leno, he talked to the press, he wants to stay in Boston. Yes he sold his car on Ebay but it was really a dealership taking care of it and it was not like selling a grill. Manny seems too content and as a Red Sox fan I need something to worry about. If Manny is not in the lineup Big Papi doesn't get good pitches to hit, the offense tanks, and the Yankees catch up. Alright, this may be a bit much but Manny's silence is not normal . The new reality for Boston fans may be that everything is ok: after all, we are world champs and that is something we can all learn to live with. On a side note, a friend of mine thought Manny would be a good name for a dog. That way if the dog chewed up something or pooped in the house you could just say, "that's just Manny being Manny."

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