"This Is Like Deja Vu All Over Again"

With every Sox season comes a special time. Not the playoffs, not the World Series, not even opening day. Nope, one of the most memorable times every Sox season seems to be the Manny Media Madness. Let me explain...

Every year there comes a point where Manny makes a mistake, and then "leaked" media reports come out that suggest that management is slightly upset about said mistake. Then uppity curmudgeons like Dan Shaughnessy, Bob Lobel, and others who don't like Manny decide to throw gasoline on the fire, creating Manny Media Madness. Take for example Bob Lobel. He is a now disgraced sports anchor who was let go after many years in the Boston television market. So what does Lobel do? He decides that he can say whatever he wants, and takes the first shot right at Manny, suggesting Manny's at bat against Mariano where Manny went down on three straight strikes looking was Manny's way of protesting being put in the game. He comes out and makes these allegations while giving no sources whatsoever, and other media members give him the credibility he so clearly is actually lacking. He then says the team fined Manny a number in the triple digits. Notice no specifics here, it could potentially be anywhere from 100,000 to 999,999. Pretty big range, no? And despite the fact that multiple reports surfaced later stating Manny was fined around 10,000 for the incident with the traveling secretary (a much more realistic amount), people still believed Lobel.

Then enters Dan Shaughnessy. His hatred for Manny is well known, and he is by far one of the crankiest old stiffs to ever cover sports. I'll admit that I severely dislike him as a disclaimer, but Shaughnessy likes to think he is above and beyond anyone else out there, when frankly his ego is way over-inflated compared to his actual ability. He almost single-handedly ran Nomar out of town, and I'm sure he will throw a party the day he succeeds at doing the same to Manny. Here is what he wrote recently...

"Manny has punched his ticket out of town. It's over. O-VA. Adios, amigo. Good night, Irene. Turn out the lights. Last night's 1-0 loss to the Yankees (think they could have used Manny?) was the proverbial last worthless evening."

You can read the full article right here, and after you can watch his video in which he also rips on Manny, reminding me of the Crocker kid protecting Britney Spears. Or you could try to "hide a pencil" in your eye like the Joker. Personally, I'd go with option b. Anyway, idiot (Shaughnessy is too long to type, and I can't use the words I really want to use to describe him, so idiot will have to do) announced that the fans and team are fed up with Manny. No sources other than this one...

"Former state treasurer Bob Crane happened by the EMC Club, pregame, and spoke for many fans when he said, "Manny's got to go. Enough's enough. Fans are finally sick of this guy.""

So one guy is now the voice of the fans? Personally, I like having a 300 hitter with major power that is one of the best right handed hitters ever to play, but that's just me.

I understand some people consider themselves "baseball purists", and you know what, that's fine. If you want to think your a better person for hating Manny then go for it. But me, I'll take the guy that will go down as one of the best players in Sox history, that was a major factor in the Sox finally breaking the 86 year slump and winning two in the last four years.

And even if we wanted to trade Manny, we can't get equal value. The names out there normally are Josh Hamilton and Matt Holliday, both who we can't get for Manny straight up. Plus, they do their work at home in hitters ballparks, with Coors ranked fourth in ballpark factor and Rangers Stadium sixth. And if you look at their splits, they both bat around 260 with considerably less power on the road compared to at home. And before you say Fenway is also a hitters park, don't be so certain. Fenway is actually just about even in ballpark factor between hitters and pitchers, and is twelfth overall. So not only will you have to give up more than Manny to get them, they also have numbers that are inflated by home ballparks, both in average and in power numbers.

Manny came out today and said he would accept a trade anywhere if the team truly thinks they are better off without him, which they aren't. He even went as far as to say that he thinks the Sox should trade him if they consider him a distraction as he doesn't want to hurt the team. To me, that shows a lot of class, definitely a lot more than idiot and his goons.

When Manny was asked about his knee problems, which by the way he has had over the years, he said this...

"I'm a ballplayer with more than 500 home runs and almost 2,000 RBIs. I'm a professional. I don't know how anybody can say I could be making it all up."

And he's right. He is getting older, and he has had a history of knee injuries. Why wouldn't we believe him if he says his knee hurts? The baseball season is a long one, and giving the guy a couple days off isn't the end of the world, despite idiot thinking that the game was "the biggest game of the year." Really? A game in July is the biggest game of the year? Personally, I like to think the games in October are slightly more important, but you're the "professional writer", not me. You must be right idiot.

And finally, Manny said this today during the same interview as before with ESPN Deportes...

"The Yankees are getting closer and getting stronger, while we haven't done much," said Ramirez. "I could say that right now there's a strange atmosphere in our team."

And you know what, he's right once again. The Yankees could tie us for second place with a win today, with the Sox having one more win on our record and the Yankees having one less loss.

Something has to be done, I'll agree with idiot on that. But what needs to be done is him shutting up, along with his fellow goons. Let Manny do what he does. He stays out of trouble off the field, he puts in great performances year after year, and when it comes time to play in October he's one of the best. He may make the occasional mistake, and he's not Trot Nixon, but you're fooling yourself if you think he doesn't care about the Sox and baseball.

Now that the Sox have started to win regularly, idiot curmudgeon needs something new to complain about. He doesn't have his beloved curse anymore, so he attacks Manny. It's unfortunate, but in the end Manny always stays, he always performs, and eventually idiot gives up until next year. And with the Sox really starting to struggle lately, I hope that is exactly what happens this year. Because if the Sox get rid of Manny, in the famous words of Yogi Berra, they could be making a "wrong mistake."

~Aaron Jackson