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October 29, 2005
Take My Left Fielder... Please
Yawn.
Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez has apparently asked (again) to be traded away from the Red Sox (again). This would be Manny's 28th trade request in the past three years. Frankly, as a Sox fan, I'm tired of it. It's time to give this little pissant his wish.
Ramirez' constant whining is among any number of frustrations Sox fans have with him. He's a defensive liability. He frequently doesn't hustle or run out balls -- causing should-be doubles to become long singles, letting balls fall in front of him, turning potential singles into routine ground-outs. You never know whether you're going to be able to count on Ramirez to play at any given time; I've never forgotten, nor will I ever forgive, the September 2003 incident in which Ramirez claimed to be too sick to play during a crucial three game weekend series against the Yankees... only to magically recover to feel well enough to go out drinking Saturday night with one of his pals on the Yankees, Enrique Wilson. (Says something about the man's priorities.) And the same excuse is always made for him: "That's just Manny being Manny."
You know, if it's Manny being Manny to quit on his team in order to go drinking with the arch-rivals... if it's Manny being Manny to not run out a ground ball, or to stand and watch a fly ball in the assumption that it's going out, only to find out that it didn't... if Manny being Manny involves embarrassing mental lapses from a so-called professional... if Manny being Manny means having to deal with lockerroom disruption and gossip page distraction over his bi-monthly trade whining... then Manny is not worth Manny.
No matter how talented he is, no matter his likely Hall of Fame-level of performance on offense, no matter what he brings to your lineup, Manny Ramirez is still a punk who is more trouble than he's worth -- even if his salary were cut in half. If anyone out there's a fan of a team that wants Manny Ramirez, you can have him. I'd actually rather watch the Sox have a down year while missing his offense, assuming we get some good pitching in return (even if it's young pitching that has to mature for a year or two), if it means that we don't have to deal with Ramirez' punk schoolyard antics anymore.
To paraphrase Dr. Seuss. "Manny Ramirez, will you PLEASE GO NOW?"
