Manny
I'm reposting my weekly Bostonsportsreview.com column here. Click on the link if you'd like to check out the rest of the content on the site.
I've made one editorial change to this piece since it ran on BSR. I've eliminated a reference to Trot Nixon chewing tobacco. Once the piece went up on the BSR site last night, a colleague pointed out to me that Trot actually quit using chew in 2003. I respect Trot for quitting, and if I knew this beforehand I absolutely would not have made the reference.
Anyway, here it is ...
Manny-Bashing Is Misplaced Anger
By Dave Doyle
Contributing columnist
Well, here we go again. Manny Ramirez misses one game — a matinee against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, no less — and all the usual suspects have their panties in a bunch.
This would be the same Manny whose 95 games played so far this season is tied with Johnny Damon for the team lead in appearances by a position player (second to mostly-DH David Ortiz with 99). The same Manny who played in a team-high 152 games last year. The same Manny whose 154 GP in 2003 was second only to Nomar Garciaparra (156). The same Manny who hasn't been on the disabled list since breaking a finger in 2002, and missed just three games the rest of that season after returning on June 25.
But no, if Manny misses one solitary game, even a matchup against the worst team in the American League which the Sox still won handily, all of a sudden the anti-Manny faction has to club everyone over the head with Ramirez's massive salary.
Never mind Ramirez has put on the uniform more often than anyone on the team over the past three seasons. Never mind he was the 2002 AL batting champion; led the league in on-base percentage in 2002 and 2003; led the league in home runs, slugging percentage, and OPS in 2004; and leads the majors in RBI this season.
Never mind all that. They're going to flog Manny, no matter what. Maybe Manny should go sell popcorn in the stands between innings as penance for his big contract. Then again, if he did, we'd hear about how he doesn't yell loud enough when making his sales.
And that's the thing — it is all about the perception. There's another player on the Red Sox prone to all the same errors and lapses as Ramirez: Trot Nixon.
Maybe Manny's detractors missed the game in Baltimore a few weeks back where Trot got caught napping and was picked off second base with the bases loaded to end the inning. Maybe they forgot about that Saturday afternoon game against the Angels in 2003 where he threw the ball into the crowd after making a catch for the second out. Or any of a number of fielding miscues in right field.
But you don't hear much about any of this. Maybe it is because Trot gets his uniform dirty and has pine tar on his helmet, therefore he is a "gamer." Possibly it is because Trot unfailingly gives reporters everything they want to hear. Either way, his foibles aren't placed under the same microscope.
(This isn't meant as a knock on Trot. Nixon is obviously a valuable part of the club. It is just interesting that he makes all the same mental errors as Ramirez, but for whatever reason, doesn't get held accountable).
There seems to be a concern that if Manny isn't handled with kid gloves, he'll quit on the team when it counts. Granted, Manny has his Manny Moments. It comes with the territory. No doubt about it. Manny didn't exactly bathe himself in glory loafing down the first-base line on Tuesday night.
But when has Manny quit in the clutch, exactly? Oh, I remember. Last year's World Series. No, scratch that, he was World Series MVP. How about the 2003 ALDS? Whoops, no, again, Manny was the one who hit the game-turning home run in Game 5. I know! He must have let the team down in the 13th inning at Yankee Stadium last July 1. No, wait, Manny hit the home run to give the Sox the lead; it was the bullpen that then fell apart. Hey! maybe it was that game at Yankee Stadium on that Sunday last May when Pedro Martinez went up against Javier Vazquez? OK, I know, it must have been ... well, never mind. I could rattle off about 50 more such intstances. You get the point.
Be careful what you wish for if you want to see Manny get run out of town at the trade deadline this weekend. Management better have something pretty crafty up their sleeves if they want to go through the last two months of the season with Manny and David Ortiz in the lineup back-to-back. This isn't like trading an obviously downtrending Garciaparra.
So let's review: Manny Ramirez has played more games in the past three seasons than anyone else who has put on a Red Sox uniform, come up with as many clutch plays as anyone on the team and has earned a boatload of accolades. If the people haven't turned on Manny the way his detractors desperately seem to want, maybe it is because they see Manny as more than just a big contract, accept he has his flaws, and focus on the results.
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