Monday, July 28, 2008

An Open Letter to Manny Ramirez

Dear Manny,

This letter is a response to your statement that the Red Sox are sick of you and you are sick of them. First of all let me say that I have always defended you. As long as you smoke line drives to the gap and jack balls over the monster, it is easy to forgive the occasional, shall we say, miscalculation in the outfield. I for one never disapproved of your cell phone calls inside the scoreboard or your baggy uniform as some purists such as my father have. I understand; you don't like being controlled, micromanaged. You figure as long as you do your job, no one should care. I appreciate that and agree with you to an extent. But why on Earth are you sick of being in Boston?

Let's break it down. You've earned approximately $20 million per year over the past seven and half seasons. You have millions of fans in Boston who not only tolerate Manny being Manny but celebrate it. They celebrate it in spite of your rather casual approach to base running, not to mention the constant, ambiguous whining about being unhappy in Beantown.

Like I said, it's easy to look past certain things when you're having a typical Manny season, and 2008 is shaping up to be another solid one. But is it really up to Manny standards? Let's look at the stats. If we assume that you manage to suit up for 150 games (that could be a big assumption if you decide to pout and not play through a hangnail or something) you're on pace for 29 HR's and 100 RBI. If you play around 130 games as you have the last two seasons, that's 25 HR's and 87 RBI. All that for the bargain price of $20 mil. Corner outfielders put up those numbers in their sleep. I'm sure we can find a younger more productive version of yourself, say Mark Teixiera, for that same scratch.

Maybe you're right. Maybe it's time for both you and the Sox to move on. It was pretty good while it lasted. One thing I've always liked about you is that you seemed like the kind of person who would find a way to be happy no matter what. It wouldn't matter whether you were banging doubles off the monster or if you had stayed in Washington Heights and worked 40 hours a week like the rest of us. Your inability to be gracious and your displeasure with the Red Sox that you've never explained paints a different picture. There will be no trade, but I think the four spot in the line up will be and should be filled by someone else in 2009.

4 comments:

Dennis said...

Now they are saying he might be moved. Gammons absolutely rips Manny to shreds in a piece on ESPN.com. He essentially says all Manny cares about is money, and that the Red Sox should send him home and move on.

Peter said...

I have always hated that Manny killed the Yanks, but I think would rather deal with a player like Arod's issues than Manny's. At least Arod looks like he is always giving everything he has in every aspect of the game.

Dan said...

I don't fault Manny for wanting his money. How many more years can he play at a relatively high level, four or five? He wants make the most of his time. Every player has money pretty high on the priority list. I fault him for being a malcontent when Boston and the Red Sox have given him everything he has.

Joe said...

What if the sox trade manny to the d-backs for prospects and send the prospects to hotlanta for the gold glover who is a monster at the plate and send youk to left field. If theo said, "youk if you are willing to play left we can get rid of manny and get texiera." youk would volunteer to help manny bubble wrap all the jars of mango salsa papi has given him over the years. i know its a long shot but it smells like another "nomar-esque" deal.