But Manny's in L.A. has been even better! In one week, he is 13-for-23, with four home runs and nine RBI. And he's wearing number 99 (he says he doesn't know how he ended up with it) and wore gigantic blue shades before Saturday night's game while giving an indoor interview. Despite his assurances to manager Joe Torre he would cut his dreads, he hasn't one week later. Manny is incapable of going corporate.
After talking with several friends about the trade, I've learned there's really no way to win an argument defending Manny. What he did off the field in Boston the past month trumped what he did on it. In the end, the Sawx had to trade him (and Bay is a more-than-capable replacement). But this column by Charlie Pierce, Globe writer, Slate contributor and general funny man of "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," is the best summation of I've seen anywhere: Sawx management effusively blamed all the team's late-July woes on Manny and the Boston press was more than happy to follow along. How does Jason Varitek's .220 batting average hurt the team any less than Manny's off-the-field antics, especially considering Varitek's average will be even worse next year, when he'll again be requesting an even more undeserved $10 million? And Peter Gammons claiming Manny's "disrespect" of the game rivals Mark McGwire's steroid use? How could a man so unequivocally do that while naturally being one of the best players of his generation? Get a clue, Gammons.
Last weekend was a rough one for me, with both Manny and my girlfriend heading to the West Coast. Thankfully, one of them returned. It's been a perplexing week in Boston, as everyone is ecstatic with the 5-1 post-trade record, but incapable of leaving Manny behind; it's all anyone wants to talk about on WEEI. Rooting for a sports team is often a romantic struggle, but Manny seems to take it to the Nth degree.
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