I am beginning to grow nauseous hearing and reading about the attacks on Manny Ramirez due to his latest "incidents." Bloggers who seemingly have nothing better to write about than to attack the slugger for his antics are doing just that. I have read blogs calling him a "thug" and complaints on ESPN that the "rules" must also apply to Manny. Well I am here to defend my boy, and I will do just that. Manny's assault on Kevin Youkilis should by no means be condoned, but these are incidents that need to be dealt with and reconciled internally, rather than be turned into a public crusade against Ramirez. One aspect of baseball that has always reigned supreme in my reasons for loving the sport is the clubs' camaraderie and preference to deal with each other over creating media exploits. In the NFL, players such as Chad Johnson and Terrel Owens appear to have closer relationships with cameras and microphones than they do with their teammates and coaches. This is lesser the case in baseball, and has never been the case with the Boston Red Sox. A few players were irritated when their ritual of downing a cup of Jack Daniels between the team prior to games in the 2004 playoff runs was made public. Allegedly Trot Nixon doubled on a 3-0 count, on a pitch he should have taken because he was a little to tipsy to read the sign from third. (If that's not comrodery I don't know what is).
Athletes are often put on a pedestal that is impossible to live up to. Going back to the Youk incident, apparently Youk's temper tantrums after every out had the entire team on their last nerve. And with the tempers flaring from the Rays' brawl, Manny unleashed pent up frustration. Playing on a sports team is no different than any other work environment. You have a variety of co workers who make different contributions to the team, and personally strife often arise. Co-workers may even blow-up at each other, but the important thing is that the boss handles the situation and preserves the relationship. I have the utmost faith that Terry Francona knows how to handle this situation, and it is for him to decide how to do just that, not the media. I will keep the anecdotes brief because what I am asking is that we don't take these recent incidents by Manny Ramirez and allow them to overshadow the light hearted, often goofy, and sometimes just plain weird dynamic he brings to Boston. I wouldn't trade Manny for the world, and I fear if Boston media begins to turn on Manny his personality will grow distant and Manny will stop being Manny.
Keywords: Incidents, Kevin Youkalis, Manny Ramirez
