Just Manny Being A Baseball Player
Sunday Paper (Year 3, Volume XV)
I'd love to get all high and mighty and assault the character of Manny Ramirez and say that he is everything that is wrong with the game of baseball.
I'd love to think that the shame faced by Ramirez for another drug violation led him to retire - and that every other ballplayer will now watch their every step because they won't want to follow the same fate.
I want to believe that Manny Ramirez is the exception rather than the rule.
But I have a hard time convincing myself that there aren't more Manny Ramirezes in Major League Baseball.
I never really bought the "Manny Ramirez is a complete buffoon" act. I thought he was somewhat buffoonish, but there was a large part of his act that was an act...and he kind of realized there was some charm to the "see-ball-hit-ball" innocent approach to hitting. But I was never sure.
What I thought I was sure about was that Manny Ramirez was just a great pure hitter.
Looks like I was wrong on both accounts. To be caught a second time in this day and age violating baseball's drug policy means Ramirez must be an idiot. And now every one of his accomplishments will be called into question in my mind, because obviously there is a pattern here.
And it makes me wonder if the personal pattern of Manny Ramirez is reflective of a larger pattern within Major League Baseball.
If Manny Ramirez is dumb enough to still be using performance enhancing drugs, what other substances are being used by other players who think they won't get caught? How many players am I watching and rooting for in the beginning of the supposedly "clean" era that really aren't clean?
And then it makes me think again of all those who I've rooted for in years past, and whether or not they were clean. I have my suspicions, and this recent development with Ramirez just makes it harder and harder to put those suspicions out of my mind.
And with Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens still casting a dark cloud over the game, it's clear that the storm has not yet passed over the game of baseball..and there are still more clouds to come.
*Sure, the Mets had a 3-3 road trip to open the season, and last year they couldn't win on the road early in the season, so there's certainly been positives to open 2011. But I am a little alarmed by:
-Too many strikeouts in key situations by Mets hitters
-Too many runners left in scoring position - wasted scoring opportunities (that was a huge problem in 2010 and doesn't look to be improving this year)
-Even after the Mets came back from a 7-0 deficit in Philadelphia Wednesday night, they still lost the game. That was reminiscent of last year's second game of the season against Florida, when the Mets came back from a 6-1 deficit to lose in 10 innings. They're still losses, no matter how exciting.
-Friday's home opener, when R.A. Dickey couldn't command his knuckleball, shows just how precarious it can be to depend so heavily on a knuckleballer in your rotation, no matter how well he is capable of pitching.
Man, my new objective view of the Mets sure does make it easier to analyze things.
*What is it with the rash of appendix and stomach issues? During spring training it was random line drives off of people, now it's stomach/appendix issues. I feel like appendix stuff comes in waves - a few years ago with the Mets it was Xavier Nady and broadcaster Gary Cohen...and I feel like there was at least one more in the league.
*I saw the Rangers' win over the Devils Saturday afternoon - pretty exciting. I was out Saturday night, but was thrilled to come home and see the Hurricanes had lost, meaning the Rangers were the 8th seed in the Eastern Conference. I may not get as excited about regular season hockey these days, but playoff hockey (rare though it's been for the Rangers in recent years) is still very exciting - I'll enjoy watching that the next few weeks. (And hopefully I'll be able to catch some games on Versus in the coming weeks...playoff hockey needs a better TV deal so I can watch my team.)
*I know I'm gaining new readers - I'd love to be able to interact...check me out on twitter @200miles_citi or on the 200 Miles From The Citi Facebook page. Thanks for reading.
