Well, at least one team Beat L.A.
Manny, welcome back buddy. I know plenty of fans cheered you, and plenty booed you. I just laughed at you, like I always laugh when I think about you playing left field with a water bottle in your back pocket. Or when you disappeared into the Monster because you apparently drank too much water and couldn't wait. Well, when nature calls... Anyway, I laughed when you slid for a fly ball, missed it, and proceeded to roll on the field until the ball was actually trapped underneath you. Normally I'd be mad at you for embarassing the Red Sox franchise with such ridiculous behavior... but it was part of your play style, and so really you just embarassed yourself, and I laughed. In fact, while remembering all your Manny being Manny moments, I laughed so hard that I had an epiphany of sorts. See, in Boston, we want to win. If we don't win, it better not be from lack of effort. Sacrifice your body. Leave it all on the field... all those cliches. Manny didn't believe in any of that. He worked hard at what he considered his craft, hitting the ball. Fielding the ball was not a priority. Running the bases was not necessarily his forte. No, Manny being Manny was Monster shot homeruns as much as it was RBI producing doubles. We cheered all that. We laughed at his antics. We booed his lack of hustle on the base path. If anything, Manny was the most complete and well-rounded character the Sox have ever sent to the plate. He had his strengths and his foils. Fans booed Manny because of how he left Boston. Why? He didn't want to be here any more. We sure as hell don't want players who don't want to be here. If anything, I'm glad he knew to leave when he did. Look at him now. Ortiz has more home runs, and he started the season batting around .200.
So the Sox swept the Dodgers. It was great to beat Manny, to again beat Joe Torre, and to have at least one team this year be able to sweep L.A.
On a side note...Can anyone tell me what Roger Clemens was doing in the Monster seats for Saturday's game? Did he figure that fans would be so fixated on Manny's return that they would miss his? Well, I suppose it almost worked. The truth I think is that Clemens is no longer relevant. Manny served a 50 game suspension for is PED use. The Rocket continues to deny his, and, like Barry Bonds, Clemens has been all but black-listed by Baseball. In any event, like Manny, I'll thank Roger for his performances in a Sox uniform. Actually, if anything, at least Clemens didn't quit on his teammates. Manny, Roger, we loved you, we'll miss you. Good Ridance.
Oh, and the Sox are tied with Tampa Bay just 1 game back for 1st in the AL East. Course, the Sox have played two more games than the Yankees, so if the glass is half full, we're tied.
