Two days before the Dodgers and the Phillies kick-start the NLDS, Fox broadcaster Tim McCarver told the Philadephia Inquier that Manny Ramirez was “despicable” in Boston. It’s been over two months since Manny’s trade and it appears as if the slugger’s being criticized now more than ever. Leave it to the confounding McCarver to give his two cents to a major Philadephia newspaper right before the Championship Series. His comments have been getting a good deal of attention, but Joe Sheehan over at BaseballProspectus.com has come to Manny’s defense.
In July, when Ramirez was supposedly “refusing to play,” the Red Sox played 24 games. Ramirez played in 22 of them. This was tied for fourth on the team with J.D. Drew and Jacoby Ellsbury. He was sixth on the team in plate appearances (AB+BB) in July. Not quite Lou Gehrig’s numbers, but he helped out a bit more than David Ortiz (six games), and was in the lineup somewhat more often than peers such as Moises Alou (one game). Oh, he didn’t get three days off in the middle of the month-Ramirez played in the All-Star Game.
When he played, Ramirez killed the league. He hit .347/.473/.587 in July. His OBP led the team, and his SLG led all Red Sox with at least 25 AB. The Sox, somewhat famously, went 11-13 in July. Lots of people want you to believe that was because Manny Ramirez is a bad guy. I’ll throw out the wildly implausible idea that the Sox went 11-13 because Ortiz played in six games and because veterans Mike Lowell and Jason Varitek has sub-600 OPSs for the month.
Four days before he was traded, Manny Ramirez just about single-handedly saved the Red Sox from getting swept by the Yankees, with doubles in the first and third innings that helped the Sox get out to a 5-0 lead in a game they had to win to stay ahead of the Yankees in the wild-card race.
If all of the above is “refusing to play,” I would sincerely like to see what “trying” looks like. It would be entertaining to see a player post a .600 OBP or .800 SLG.
The entire article is worth reading, whether you can’t stand the beating Manny’s taken or if you just can’t get enough of bashing Tim McCarver. It’s funny how prominent Boston and Philadelphia publications are augmenting their unfavorable portrayal of Ramirez right as the Dodgers make their push towards the World Series. If Manny had floundered after his signing with Los Angeles, keeping the Dodgers out of the playoffs, this cruel opposition would have stopped a long time ago. I never heard the media give Manny anything but love when he was in Boston. Manny gave Bean Town seven great years and two World Series championships. Yet, in two weeks their relationship turned sour and he’s subsequently been blacklisted by a good chunk of sports analysts.
Be that as it may, no athlete’s career is without its gaffes. It seems to me like the pundits are criticizing the same behavior and play they used to adore. Sheehan backs up this statement with statistics and a well-researched opinion.
The Phillies played a great game yesterday, and I think it’s a fair assessment that both series will be neck and neck. Even so, Bud Selig is hoping the Dodgers meet the Red Sox in the World Series. If this happens, Manny will likely perform as he always has—phenomenally—regardless of the uniform he’s wearing.
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