Yuku free message boards

BennyBaseball,

Great post in regards to the fact that any brush stroke paints too broad a stroke. Just the same the media in Boston can be hyper aggressive and Op-Ed is no excuse for bad behavior. Sure it is part of the business and "that comes with making the big bucks" but just the same if we look at the subject's perspective with empathy, it is not fun.

There are some very caustic personalities that cover the RS. And they have historically singled out the team's best players. Most have not been as insecure about how they spoke the language as Manny. I speculate when I say some cared less about what was said about them or had a better ability to put into a compartment. But many retreated into themselves, most notable was the signature player of the franchise TS Williams. I think if the era was different Teddy Ballgame may have asked for a trade.

But there is no doubt about it that the Boston media community has a long tradition of finding the soft under belly of the team's biggest stars with a few notable exceptions and even when what they say is true it is said with a sharp and cutting manner that few of them would like to be treated to.

I sort of started this media and Manny chat so let me say that I did so because I think it appears Manny may have put some of his sensitivity to less than glowing media in a compartment. That was because I think it will be relevant to his on field performance. Not because I think he has not shown an ability to play through a less than perfect place (according to him) but becaues there has never been a season of "peace" for the player here. His fault or not, that seems obvious, Boston has never been "Happyville" for Manny for 162 games. I got blasted for this but a big part of that appears to be his mediation. But a part is the fact that the national media destroyed him for his we will win in 7 but if we don't so what comment during the ALCS. He took the heat, his team won and in that I think maybe he found peace.

At any rate IMHO, the media market has always been his single biggest issue with being a RS. By all reports he enjoys his mates and by in large they enjoy him. He loves the buzz, the dude is a hot dog who watches his HR (as in he lives for the theater of it all and Boston is a huge stage).

As we look at Manny once you determine his head is in place the rest falls in place. It is amazing how well this guy has done in turmoil when we think about it and it looks like there will be none. He looks great at the plate and for his age once we read through the baggy uni, he looks totally toned.

He is getting the age where injuries stick so in terms of predicting that is a variable. But it seems to me baring that this is a guy who write enough legacy numbers that the RS probably will find $20M and only one year a bargain.

It seems likely that Manny came into 2008 with a determination to be a little more argumentative about umpires expanding the outer and inner edges of the K Zone than he has been in the past. Certainly that tact had served Ortiz well for many years. He certainly has been more vocal about sharing his interpetation of the K Zone with umpires in the early stages of 2008.

As for his being run yesterday, umpires have become hyper aggressive at moments ever since MLB did not deal with the Alomar spitting incident a number of years ago. Nobody knows what was said except those at the plate, but it looked like Ramirez went to have his say, the umpire shot back aggressively at the critique and Ramirez did not back off. When a player is in the middle of an argument I doubt he is going to be calculating tomorrow's line-up card.

What can be said about the quick toss is that at least Ramirez did not compound the issue by continuing to carry on as another player may have. I know Remy got on Manny during the telecast but heat of the moment will be just that and we have seen other players do worse.

tjrooster wrote:

---

My take on it was that Manny headed straight for the dugout but said something back over his shoulder on his way out. My guess is he said something that really rubbed the ump the wrong way. You and voice some displeasure to the ump, but you need to be careful with what you say. Papi has had much bigger arguments and not gotten tossed.

My take was similar to yours with one variant. Ramirez told the umpire off as he was walking away. Whatever he said angered the umpire enough that he shot back something at Ramirez. Whatever the umpire said was enough to make Manny turn around and the second he did the umpire ran him. To me it look like Ramirez made the umpire made enough that the ump sort of called him out and as most as soon as Manny turned around he was gone. Ramirez took the bait, but on the surface the umpire appeared to bait him.

Now I don't begrudge umpires BTW for being quick to nail guys who disrespect them or even for being somewhat confrontational back. Once Robby Alomar spit on an umpire in an ALCS and only got a nominal suspension to be delayed until the next season, there was no turning back. Umpires prior to that understood that argument was part of the game and that emotion would run high. They showed great patience only ran guys who went one too long.

But since then umps have sort of taken the law into their own hands since the spineless MLB offices would not protect them from abusive behavior. That is why sometimes hooks are so quick and for a guy like ramirez who isn't a professional complainer, he probably had little idea how fast that very brief encounter could escalate to an ejection.