Manny's Conduct Lowers The Bar

**ring403** · 09-01-03 07:05 AM

I'm SO happy we passed on this guy!

http://www.projo.com/redsox/content/...nny.33532.html

Manny's conduct lowers the bar
01:00 AM EDT on Monday, September 1, 2003
BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- Manny Ramirez remained out of the lineup for the third straight game yesterday, sidelined with pharyngitis (the same ailment that sidelined Pedro Martinez last week). But the Sox' slugger was spotted in a Boston hotel bar Saturday night, angering some in the Red Sox organization.

Ramirez was seen socializing with an unidentified member of the New York Yankees between 9 and 9:30 p.m. in the Ritz Carlton. A Ritz employee yesterday confirmed Ramirez's appearance Saturday night, while emphasizing that he wasn't drinking alcohol.
Ramirez lives in the hotel's condominium tower during the baseball season.

Unlike Saturday, when Ramirez came to the ballpark to see a member of the club's medical staff, he was not at Fenway at all yesterday.

"He wasn't good enough to play (yesterday) and that was my number one concern," said manager Grady Little, who held out hope that Ramirez could play before finalizing his lineup card without him two hours before game time.

What angered some was that Ramirez didn't come to the ballpark yesterday, despite being well enough to socialize in the hotel bar.

"Really? That's just great, huh?" a Red Sox player said with sarcasm after being told the news.

Some believed Ramirez should have been in uniform to support his teammates.

**OhioYankee** · 09-01-03 07:26 AM

It could be something that is just being blown out of proportion and we do not know all the story. I also believe that it would of been a great show of support for the team if Manny would of just sat on the bench for the important games. The fact is he is a awesome hitter and could of made a huge difference in this crucial series if he could of played.

**junkman73** · 09-01-03 07:55 AM

An "unidentified" Yankee?? While I agree he should have been dressed and on the bench, this sounds a bit silly.

Manny lives in the Ritz and I think the Yankees have stayed there the last two trips into town, so I wouldn't make too much of it. He could have been coming in from dinner and saw some of the Yankees and was saying 'hello.' You have to walk past the bar to get to the elevators in the Ritz so its not a stretch.

You have to love the media in Boston....anything to disrupt the great season they're having....

**b-ball-lunachick** · 09-01-03 08:49 AM

Manny lives in the building -- and he's not a drinker...he could have run into anyone and said hello to them...no biggie...

what I think is bothersome is that he didn't come to the ballpark on Sunday when the team thought that he would be there...even if he wasn't well enough to play, he wasn't contagious if he'd been on antibiotics since Thursday night, and it's good to show that dedication and support to your teammates who are in a battle with the archrival...

the star athletes in Boston have been treated differently for some time now and it's always fine when things are going well but when it's not, the fingerpointing begins and that's why that is not a good thing...

for once Lucchino had no comment, not even an Evil Empire comment...this might be a first:

http://www.boston.com/sports/basebal...checks_report/

Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein tersely offered "no comments" to any questions regarding Ramirez, including whether the team was aware of Ramirez's whereabouts Saturday night, and whether Ramirez was ill yesterday.

"I don't usually say this but no comment," president/CEO Larry Lucchino said. "No comment.

"You know, it's hard to say no comment, then comment on things you say. Let's just say that we don't know enough to comment. Let me state no comment on the entire scenario."

**b-ball-lunachick** · 09-01-03 08:52 AM

One other thing, for all that the Red Sox fans have made over how Roger "dogged" it during his final Boston years, when he was on the run for 300 this year he had bronchitis -- Grady Little is still saying two weeks later that Pedro just isn't healthy yet...I've had pharyngitis and it's nasty until you get on the drugs for a bit and granted, I didn't have to play a baseball game...but two weeks later he's still getting a pass for that? I've had bronchitis too and that lingers for weeks and all that coughing takes a lot out of you...

okay vent over.

**deranged2005** · 09-01-03 09:10 AM

I actually hear it was Willie Randolph.

**b-ball-lunachick** · 09-01-03 11:48 AM

a take from ESPN

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/columns/story?columnist=baker_jim&id=1607037

1. The Best Matchup of the Week

Boston at New York: Friday through Sunday.

Who would you rather have as your left fielder, Manny Ramirez or Hideki Matsui? By any measure of statistical reality, Ramirez is the more productive player, but he is psychologically taxing whereas Matsui is reassuring. Why is this? Because Matsui looks like he was paying attention when he was taught the game and like he wants to be there when he is playing it. He approaches the game like most people want ballplayers to: with determination and fundamental soundness. On the other hand, Ramirez looks like someone who has about 10 other places he'd rather be, that bestowing his greatness on the world for two or three hours a day is a major inconvenience.

Read Jim Baker five days a week on ESPN Insider:

Even though the smart fan knows that Ramirez helps a team more than Matsui does (he's fifth in the league in runs created per 27 outs while Matsui barely cracks the top 50), having to experience him on a day-to-day basis has got to be exasperating. This past weekend Ramirez missed the entire Yankee series with a soar throat. Here's something that should be written into the contract of every major-leaguer making more than $10 million per year: you are not allowed to use the same excuses to miss ballgames that kids use to skip school. It was like Manny's own remake of "Ferris Bueller's Day Off" in that he reportedly showed up at a hotel bar on Saturday night before and after being unable to report for duty.

Look, maybe he was in too much pain to play; what do I know of another man's suffering? But if you're healthy enough to meet a buddy at a bar, you're healthy enough to show up at the ballpark and lend your teammates emotional support. If it hurts too much to cheer them on, make a banner or something. Let folks know you're doing everything you can to earn your $17 million a year.

What if Ramirez had Matsui's demeanor to go along with his own talent? What would we make of him then?

**ACPS** · 09-01-03 12:06 PM

Great news. Don't think that the higher-ups and some of Manny's teammates aren't a miffed. Grady will personally address this matter, and I hope it leaves some bad blood between them.

Oh, and he's not in the lineup again today...

**NYYFAN** · 09-01-03 02:43 PM

Originally posted by ACPS
Great news. Don't think that the higher-ups and some of Manny's teammates aren't a miffed. Grady will personally address this matter, and I hope it leaves some bad blood between them.

Oh, and he's not in the lineup again today...

Brings the statement "Winners never quit and quitters never win", to a whole new level...

**yecul** · 09-01-03 04:56 PM

Well, obviously none of us have all the facts, but if Manny is sick then all the "he should sit in the dugout" talk seems silly to me. Pedro already got one teammate sick, why have Manny come in with the sole purpose of cheering if he'll potentially get more players sick?

Until the organization say Manny is doing xyz that is wrong or bad (say, if he were out and about for a while (bar) or refusing to get in a game or the like) it's hard to get on his case. If he's sick and contagious it's probably a good idea to keep him away from other players.

Also, Pedro has had two bad starts since the illness. Now the first wasn't "bad" but he wans't his usual self -- velocity was down, he was hittable, etc. He just didn't give up the runs. Same thing happened the next time, but the Yankee offense is much better than Seattle's and he got hit. He's been weakened by this and perhaps Manny has as well. I sure don't know, but it'll be interesting to see how this unfolds.

**YankeeFan00** · 09-01-03 05:31 PM

"This past weekend Ramirez missed the entire Yankee series with a soar throat."
A "soar" throat? Who writes this stuff, soar is something you do through the air, what Manny had was a sore throat. Sorry, stuff like that annoys me, you'd think someone would read it before they let it out. Anyway, for most viral things you're not contagious after being on medicine for 24 hours, so if he's on medicine he's probably not contagious. While he may not feel well enough to play, in my opinion he could certainly sit in the dugout and support his teammates.

**ACPS** · 09-01-03 05:53 PM

Didn't Grady Little say he would be able to PH on Friday? Maybe it's more serious than we thought.

***silverdsl*** · 09-01-03 06:03 PM

If Manny was out on the town in a nightclub drinking and dancing like a maniac when he was supossedly too ill to play then it's one thing. But it sounds like he happened to run into one of the Yankees in the same building where he lives and hang out with them pretty innocently for a while. If it really was Willie Randolph that he was with then I highly doubt he was up to much other than talking which doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

-Deborah

**ACPS** · 09-01-03 06:12 PM

Maybe Manny is deliberately trying to pass the virus to the Yankees?

***silverdsl*** · 09-01-03 08:01 PM

Apparently the reports of Manny hanging out with Willie Randolph in the bar are false. Willie says he never talked to him that night. Manny did however chat with Enrique Wilson, who was teammates with him on the Indians, for about five minutes between Enrique's hotel room and the hotel lobby. Still doesn't seem like a big deal to me.

-Deborah

**junkman73** · 09-02-03 06:58 AM

The whole thing just shows how much the Boston media wants this team to fail so they can write "I told you so" articles for the last 2 weeks of the season.

The fact that the Yankee was unidentified and that the Boston player who commented was not named is ridiculous. Reminds me of when some "unnamed" Mets were commenting about Roger's start at Shea. Who can blame the Red Sox for not talking to the media with crap like this.

**smr15** · 09-02-03 07:29 AM

It also is absurd that the fact that Manny LIVES at that hotel is thrown in there as an after-thought......

I'm no Manny apologist, but this story has absolutely no legs to stand on.

**DkNNy79** · 09-02-03 08:20 AM

Originally posted by smr15
It also is absurd that the fact that Manny LIVES at that hotel is thrown in there as an after-thought......

I'm no Manny apologist, but this story has absolutely no legs to stand on.

ITA. Wow, I wouldn't want to play in Boston either, if the media seems to look for ways to attack a player.

**Carissa** · 09-02-03 08:46 AM

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