Of Manny and Motormouth

Manny Ramirez arrived in Red Sox camp yesterday morning at 9:02 am, sporting a Raiders jersey and looking considerably slimmer, lending legitimacy to the reports he was finishing a workout regimen with one of the toughest personal trainers around. When asked about the trade rumors and whether or not he was happy to be back in Boston, Manny just gave ambiguous responses or deferred to his agent, Greg Genske. The fact that Ramirez is so vague about his happiness in Boston says a lot, but the fact that he showed up on time and when he said he would says even more. As a fan, you'd like for Manny to be happy to be where he is, but we all know that to most of the players (save the Arroyos and Ortizes) this is just a job, and as long as you can go out, play, compete, and get paid, it really doesn't matter all too much where you are. Manny knows he signed a contract and knows he is obliged to play, and so he will. It's good to see him in such great shape, and hopefully it'll be a nice, full season of the #24 v. 2 in left field.

Elsewhere in the baseball world, specifically up the road from City of Palms Park, a man is digging a hole. A very. Big. Hole. Johnny Damon continues to spout off to the media about the death of "The Idiots" and the decline of the Red Sox franchise.

Christ, Johnny, get over it for God's sake.

His latest remarks are about Manny and his desire to leave Beantown, and Johnny just continues to tell anyone with a set of ears that he's sure everybody he liked on the Sox would just love to play in pinstripes. Personally, I was ok when Damon left. It was a surprise to be sure, especially after he stated on May 5 that he could never play for the Yankees and that top dollar wasn't the most important thing for him. But I was ok. He did what he needed to do, and the FO at that point in time was in such seeming disarray that nobody could really argue with the claims of disrespect.

But then, Damon started talking about "we" and "us" and "the Yankee Way"... and that was before he had even had his physical. More and more, Johnny sounds like a jaded girlfriend, one that keeps trying to tell everyone around her that she's better off without the guy who dumped her. He's talking so much that it's getting under the skin of even the Yankee fans. Yap, yap, yap, all he's doing is making himself sound like a dumber version of Gary Sheffield. I wonder how he's going to fare once the season starts and those runners score easily from second on the base hit to center field.

Johnny, in the words of the ever-entertaining Mike and Mike: Just shut up.

NOTE: MLB '06: The Show is without a doubt the absolute best baseball game I've ever played. It combines the minor league/organizational depth of MVP Baseball with the best graphics I've ever seen on a PS2. I'll never play MVP again.