April 15, 2008

Manny: "Boston Never Had A Player Like Me"

Whenever Manny Ramirez decides to share his thoughts with the media, he's always smart and funny -- never dull. He may be quirky, but he never comes off like the space cadet the media loves to portray him as. He's not easily categorized, he doesn't fit into a preconceived "type" of player, and so much of the sports media has no idea how to talk about him. (Might I suggest "honestly"?)

In years past, hearing or reading a good Manny quote was as rare (and as fun) as finding a $20 bill on the sidewalk. This season, he seems almost chatty, which can only be good news. The Herald's Rob Bradford has a bunch of quotes:

On having his 2009 option picked up:
Why isn't it going to work out? Of course it's going to work out. I don't need a list of teams. Everybody knows it's going to work out. A list? For what? I'm just going to play and have fun. ... whatever happens will happen. ... I'm going to play six years, David is going to play six years and then we're going to retire.
On the pitch he hit for the tie-breaking home run in the ninth inning last night:
Like a fastball, it was something like 80. Or a changeup.
On playing in Boston:
I loved going to Boston because it was a big challenge, a big challenge that I was able to do. ... [I]t made me a better player. I changed everything [in Boston]. Boston never had a player like me. They had Mo Vaughn in the '90s, but after that nothing like me. I went there and my attitude changed everything. Everybody says Boston is a hard place to play. It's not hard to play. It's easy. It depends on what you focus on. There are things you aren't going to like, but you have to look at the good things. Two championships in a city that hasn't won in 100 years. How can you not like that? What more could you want?
On his "It's not the end of the world" statement during last year's ALCS:
I was just being honest. I wasn't thinking about any impact. We were trying, so it wasn't like we were slacking off out there. I didn't realize [the effect it would have]. I was just being honest. I told Ino [Guerrero] right after that we were going to win it all.
Bradford says Guerrero, a Red Sox coach, confirmed the story.

4 comments:

Jere said...

Manny rulez with a Z.

Also, Ino doubles as the batting practice pitcher. (Possible response to this: I no!)

Amy said...

Manny may have one of the healthiest egos out there (and I mean healthy, not biggest). He just seems to get it. Gotta love him and not only because he won the game for us last night (and many, many other times).

Douglas said...

What ever became of those 'Manny being Manny' T-shirts with his stats on the back? ....Did anyone ever run with that? And what about my avatar being hijacked? Oh well. I hope Manny keeps up the good work.

Bartman said...

"Two championships in a city that hasn't won in 100 years. What more could you want?"

Kinda long for an epitaph, but good anyway.