More about Manny

Note from Cyn: Longtime readers and friends of the RSC know “Tru” very well! He’s graciously offered to occasionally contribute to the blog in times when the spirit moves him. Below is his latest offering. Where I’ve been avoiding the subject of Manny, Tru tackles it head on!

Photo of Youk and Manny taken by Kelly O’Connor on July 12, 2008

Thinking through the recent turn of events, including comments from everybody that thinks they have the inside track on what is really going on between the Boston Red Sox management and Manny Ramirez, I’m struck with the idea that the feelings of the fan base is one of shock, disgust, surprise and fear; assigning these emotions to all parties.

It’s a wonder that we need to assign blame, as if by doing so helps cope with what we think it is we want. We have to choose, opting for one side or the other. And even in this, it’s not so clear cut. Sure, we could say that we’re for Manny; we want him to stay. The other side is who exactly? Would that be the other team players? Is the other side the Red Sox management? It’s a mess in so many ways, trying to discern who gets blame and who gets praise.

But if people look deeper into this, setting aside the press mongering, what we really have is two parties that have to shoulder the blame for where they find themselves.

Manny has a long history of doing eye raising things. Some of his past actions include things that make you scratch your head and wonder if he’s not some aloof, unfettered soul who is simply amused at where he finds himself. It’s as though he does not take himself too seriously. And then again, there is that long standing debate about unfulfilled talent that goes past his ability to smack baseballs out of the park. His sloth coming out of the batters box, a long standing knock on a guy who has been guilty of costing his team opportunity grates at fans who believes he could be so much better.

Yet, for all that Manny is, the Red Sox allowed him to do this, to be what he is. There is that unspoken undercurrent of letting the entertainer have a wider berth, a free pass that others would be disciplined for, if they tried to get away with. Even Grady Little expressed his greatest regret as the former Sox skipper was not benching Ramirez when he headed for the dugout rather than leg it out to first. The idea that regret for not doing what some believe should have been done seems acceptable, including at the highest levels of the organization.

The Red Sox have found ways that let Manny be Manny and have paid the price for this, as it costs them potential problems elsewhere in the organization. Not until recently have we seen Manny act so out of sorts that he mixed it up with his teammate, and then getting into a tussle with the team traveling secretary. These outbursts are not orchestrated by the Red Sox management, clearly, and there was no way to manipulate hiding it from the press; too many people were around, including the viewing audience when he and Youkilis mixed it up.

People speculate that the Red Sox owe Manny word about his future. They think it’s only fair the mercurial slugger know what’s in store, what his future looks like in Boston, or perhaps someplace else. The war of words between Ramirez and the Sox elevated to the point of mutual disdain; they both seem intent on getting the divorce that they both seemed intent on having all along.

Baseball purists who are looking at the season and the chances to make the post season understand that the ability to do that rests considerably on what happens by Thursday’s trade deadline. No one really is certain if emotions are guiding the team towards these decisions. The costs levied here span beyond the two involved parties. There’s all of the fans, who often need to take sides, feel their anger, or delight and then life will press on, and tickets will be sold and new heroes will emerge, while like all things Red Sox, those who are gone make for lively discussion and debate.

But no matter how any of us try to gauge or analyze the situation, there is one basic premise that should not escape anyone’s note. And that is that both Ramirez and the Red Sox are responsible for where they are. The hope in me is that they can, yet again, find a way to co-exist, at least for the balance of the season, and get back to the task at hand.

If after that they file for divorce, so be it.

But also know that no lessons are learned here by the Red Sox, or Manny. Each will continue to do exactly what they’ve done, while the press has a free for all. It’s baseball in the modern age. And for an older guy like me, it’s amusing, because amid a hot pennant race, we are once more surrounded by Red Sox controversy. Somehow that seems just about right.