Boston Red Sox owner John Henry is a little peeved about comments made by outfielder Manny Ramirez during All-Star Game weekend. Ramirez is upset that Red Sox management has been unclear about his future with the team.
“I want no more [expletive] where they tell you one thing and behind your back they do another thing,” Ramirez told the newspaper in regards to his future contract status. “I think I’ve earned that respect, for a team to sit down with me and tell me this is what we want, this is what we want to do.”
The Red Sox have one-year options on the slugger for 2009 and 2010 at $20 million each. If they don’t pick up the option for 2009, he will become a free agent.
“I find remarks that we have been anything other than completely straightforward to be personally offensive,” Henry said. “Manny has been a crucial part of two world championships. I do not believe we would have won either without him. He has never played a more important role than he has thus far this year.”
But Ramirez also said this week that he wants to stay with the Red Sox.
“To be honest with you, I don’t know, I want to stay in Boston, but I want to sit down after the season with ownership and see what my future is going to be in Boston,” he told the Herald. “Let’s see, but the ball is in my court. If they don’t pick it up, I’m a free agent and I’ll go play somewhere else. We’ll see.
“It’s not to protect myself. I just want to know what my future is going to be,” he added. “I just want them to tell me, ‘We’re going to take it year by year,’ or, ‘We’re going to do this.’ That’s fine. Just so I know what’s going on with my situation.”
Even as nutty as Manny is at times, I tend to side with the player when I hear comments about team management not being straightforward about an athlete’s future. Teams have a tendency to wait until the absolute last moment to make a commitment to a player, which is understandable given the amount of money that is usually on the table. But a player has the right to know where he’s going to play in the future and if Red Sox management is being wishy-washy with their commitment, Ramirez has the right to be upset.
Of course once again, this is Manny Ramirez we’re talking about. Conventional wisdom usually flies right out the window.
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