October 18, 2007

Manny Speaks

Manny Ramirez said maybe 25 words to the media during the regular season -- and most of those were "no, thanks" to an interview request -- but in the playoffs, he's becoming quite a chatterbox:
We're confident every day. It doesn't matter how things go for you. We're not going to give up. We're just going to go and play the game, like I've said, and move on. If it doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like the end of the world or something. Why should we panic?
Some people have been bothered by the "who cares". That's understandable. We want the players to care about winning as much as we do. But that isn't always going to be the case. I've been a Red Sox fan since Manny Ramirez was three years old -- six of the nine guys in the lineup were not born yet -- of course I'm going to have a stronger connection to the team that he does. And if a player allowed himself to experience the extreme highs and lows that we do as fan(atic)s, he'd be a mental wreck, institutionalized by mid-August.

So that might not have been the choice of words? It's Manny. I'm grateful every time he opens his mouth. He's entertaining. He often avoids the cliches that almost every single player regularly spouts. And there is absolutely no question that he works his ass off for every single game -- hitting as well as fielding. And there is also no question of how he feels about Red Sox fans. That is obvious from earlier comments as well as his actions.

Manny cares. But he also knows that someone has to lose and it may be Boston. Winning is not a given -- 29 of 30 teams go home empty-handed every year. You simply come back next spring and try again. If there is any group of fans that ought to understand that, it's us.

About the team's hitting woes, Manny promised:
It's going to happen. It's going to happen. We've got a lot of confidence in our teammates. They've been good all year round. Now, because we're down, three games to one ... that's what we have to do. We have to keep grinding it out and see what's going to happen. ...

We're just going to go have fun and play the game. That's it. If we go play hard and the thing doesn't come like it's supposed to come, we'll move on. We'll come next year. Why should we panic? We've got a great team.

As the Bad Man (or the gangster) once said, you make your own destination.

13 comments:

gojohn said...

Leave it to Manny to keep the team loose! He does make some sense, wish he would talk to the media more often.

allan said...

Jack Curry of the New York Times gets wind of this.

SoSH lurker Shannon3 says:

"Mike and Mike have spent all 4 hours taking about this.. Its absurd... No wonder why Manny doesnt speak to the media, neither would I. ... what makes Manny so good is his carefree attitude and his ability to not dwell on things."

Brian the Red said...

Its MBM. Or maybe he is better than we give him credit (like for his fielding) and this is his way of loosening up the 4 or 5 guys who have been trying to "give 110%" and it has been causing them to under perform in the playoffs compared to the regular season.

Lighten up and things will fall into place.

Jim said...

So Manny is the child-like savant? In his own world? When he crushes the ball, he sometimes gives his normal exaggerrated follow-through a little extra mojo. His fans and some opponents go beserk. He speaks to the media once or twice a season and no matter what he says, they go beserk. Who's getting played here? Who needs to go to their room for a time-out?

Gambrinus said...

The fact that Manny acts like such a big kid all the time - going out there and enjoying himself, goofing off, and then somehow wins - is one of the things that I've always loved about him. You get the feeling that this is exactly what pisses off some people about him. I don't think there's anything wrong with having a little fun on the field as long as you're still playing hard, and I don't think baseball is such serious business that people can't afford to laugh at it once in awhile.

laura k said...

Excellent post, Allan. Thank you.

Who's getting played here? Who needs to go to their room for a time-out?

Ha! Good point!!

laura k said...

I just took a quick peek at the Jack Curry post and the comments. Did you know Manny is an attention-hungry jerk? Funny, you'd think if someone was attention-hungry, they'd yammer to the media all the time, the way... certain attention-hungry players do.

Well, what am I doing reading comments on Jack Curry's blog anyway? Back to work for me.

allan said...

SoSHer BosoxLady said that Lucchino "was on 'EEI earlier and was asked about Manny's comments. LL's contention is this is why Manny is one of the greatest hitters in history. He's relaxed and ready to hit. Manny doesn't panic. He will be the person least affected by the media shit storm that's been created by his comments."

allan said...

BoSoxLady again:

"OMFG...I'm watching the tape of Mike and Mike and they have Wade "me first" Boggs on to discuss Manny's comments. He's crapping all over Manny. He's saying that there's "no more fight in the dog." Manny has "rolled over." This from the guy who knew his own BA before he approached the plate. This from a guy who refused to hit HR because he was more concerned about his BA. Boggs was never a team player, yet he's on the program to offer his opinion on what kind of teammate Manny is? I'm ready to vomit."

***

Go ride a MFY horse, ya chicken-eating tool.

allan said...

The password is sprezzatura.

Thanks to SoSHer InsideTheParker:

"The meaning of sprezzatura in art and life in the High Renaissance is difficult to determine. Part of the trouble stems from the contradictions inherent in the word itself; it is paradoxical, closely related to grace, but with slightly different connotations. Castiglione's Book of the Courtier elaborated on what the word meant for social interaction. A character in the book, Count Ludovico, explains the meaning of grace, and in it he mentions sprezzatura. "It is an art which does not seem to be an art. One must avoid affectation and practice in all things a certain sprezzatura, disdain or carelessness, so as to conceal art, and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it ... obvious effort is the antithesis of grace." The most important aspect of sprezzatura is its two-layered nature: it involves a conscious effort which is disguised by a concealing act. Things which require effort are to be performed casually. Count Ludovico seems to be saying that grace arises out of sprezzatura. Anthony Blunt interprets it this way: "It will vanish if a man takes too much pains to attain it, or if he shows any effort to attain it. Nothing but complete ease can produce it. The only effort which should be expended in attaining it is an effort to conceal the skill on which it is based; and it is from sprezzatura, or recklessness, that grace springs." In High Renaissance life, the courtiers wanted to put on a kind of performance, a subtle one, without allowing anyone to know it was self-conscious and deliberate behavior."
link

tim said...

I think that the mere tabloid headlines coming out of Boston and New York speak volumes about the teams, fans and cities as a whole.

New York down 0-2 to Cleveland

Sox down 3-1

The general positive attitude coming from the Sox compared to the asshole attitude from NY ("Earn your pay!") and light-heartedness really shows how awesome we fucked 'em up in 04! It's great!

thatdietcokegirl said...

i love what he said :)
i think i remember him saying that he gets his nature from his mom. like he just lets things roll off his shoulders--let's things go right away. i was so envious of that.
in all these fretful, worried red sox moments over the last few years i always try to imagine how manny is feeling inside and how he is just so....chill. i don't think he meant anything to the effect of what the media are spinning it to be. tho i guess if you are a future-hall-of-famer millionaire, things prolly get a little more lax ;)

still tho, don't you just step back sometimes and think 'yeah i want them to win, but...honestly. how does it affect me? what's in it for me? what is the point of all this? who cares?'
i suppose the same can be said of all the fun little distractions humanity has created for itself over the centuries, but sports...? c'mon ;p
the whole emotional complexion behind it is competition, war, oneupmanship; a constant power struggle rather than cooperation with the 'enemy'. so it's kinda great when manny says 'who cares?'

but fuck i want them to win so badly tonight..win win win a;lsdkfjas

thatdietcokegirl said...

lol its such a big story. i just went to yahoo, and there it is...the featured story, haa ;)