Don’t cry for Manny; he blames you
By Gerry Callahan
Boston Herald General Sports Columnist
Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Any day now, the Red Sox will grant Manny Ramirez his wish and trade away the future Hall of Famer, and millions of distraught Sox fans will moan and wail and wonder why it had to come to this.
Why couldn’t Manny just stay here and play here and be happy? Why was he so determined to flee our lyrical little baseball town and play somewhere else?
Well, if you really want to know why, I’ll tell you:
Because he hates you, that’s why.
He doesn’t hate the ballpark. He doesn’t hate his teammates or his manager or the owners or the clubhouse attendants or the guy inside The Wall who operates the scoreboard. He doesn’t hate the weather or the racial climate or the politics.

He doesn’t even hate the media, at least not the way, say, Carl Everett or Keith Foulke hated the media. He doesn’t read the papers or listen to the talk shows or even answer questions from the media, so how could their presence drive him out of the city?
No, the reason for his trade demand was, like the man himself, pretty simple. He just hates you, the paying customer and unwavering supporter of the Sox. He hates that you’re always there, always yelling and cheering and fawning all over him. He hates your very nature - your devotion, your intensity, your insatiable appetite for all things Red Sox. Hell, you could say he hates you for loving him so much.

Do you remember what Manny supposedly did inside The Wall during a game? Well, that’s what he’s doing on your head, and you act as if it’s a nice warm summer rain. It is a unique dynamic in this town - a guy who can lay down on his team time and again and still not fall out of favor with the supposedly tough sports fans.

Manny is the highest-paid player in Sox history, and yet he never is asked to show a hint of leadership or character. He can show up late for spring training, he can leave early for the All-Star break. He can dog it down the first base line or into the corner to retrieve a double. None of it matters. Sox fans will stand and cheer next time he comes to the plate. Or maybe they will kneel and worship. When it comes to their quirky cleanup hitter, Fenway Park is like a room full of 14-year-old girls, and Manny is Justin Timberlake.

Yaz got booed. Jim Rice got booed. Roger Clemens, Mo Vaughn, even Curt Schilling heard boos one night. And those guys never laid down on their team like Manny did on a semi-annual basis. And those guys combined barely made as much from the Red Sox as Manny has during the past six years.

We all know his numbers, and they are enough to put him in Cooperstown. We all know about his ability at the plate, and indeed, it is transcendent. No one will come here next year and do what Manny did offensively. If that is the litmus test for J.D. Drew, the guy has no chance.

But we’ll say one thing for Drew that we never could say about Manny: At least he wants to be here. Manny does not, and it is time for all the Manny apologists to come to grips with this: The Red Sox would not trade Manny if Manny didn’t want to be traded. This is Manny’s call. If you are upset about his imminent departure, take it up with Manny.
The Sox have tried to grant Manny’s wish in the past, but there was no market for his services. Now there is. So Manny gets his wish, and the Sox get the pitching help they need. It finally works out well for both sides, but it also opens the door to years of second-guessing and revisionist history from the Manny minions in Red Sox nation.

If David Ortiz does not duplicate his numbers from the past two seasons, if Drew struggles, if Manny thrives in Los Angeles or San Diego or wherever - all very strong possibilities, let’s face it - we can hear the cries now. How could they have let the great man go? Why did they have to trade our binky, our hero, our Manny?

Well, let’s set the record straight. Manny made this happen. He didn’t shoot his way out of town. He just kind of held his breath until he got his way. Some of his teammates, including Ortiz, already have said it’s time to move on. Manny wants to go, let him go. They don’t want to deal with a disgruntled Manny next season, nor does Sox management.
They won’t get a player with Manny’s talent in return, but look at the bright side: They will get someone with more heart and more character, guaranteed. Maybe they’ll get a guy who actually wants to be here, too. Someone who will love you back, Boston. That will be a nice change. At least now when you feel a sprinkle on your neck, you’ll know its rain.