Hall of Fame closer Dennis Eckersely (before Mariano Rivera, there was….Ecks) had this to say about Manny Ramirez complaining about wanting a contract extension, and about how ownership misled him:

“It’s upsetting to me, and not as an ex-player and watching this from afar. I’ve had guys that used to talk about their contracts all the time, Rickey Henderson, and it’s just bothersome, even when I was there. And now I’m not there. I don’t know the temperature of what’s happening over there but I’ve watched what’s been going down, and nobody at home … and there’s people scuffling, not making very much money and this guy’s dropping a $20 million bomb like it’s no big deal, I’m in the driver’s seat, this, that … that’s bothersome to me, to watch this go on like that with Manny. I respect the guy.

“He’s one of the greatest players ever, but this is tired, to me. The players put up with it because they have to. I don’t have to. I can come on this show and tell you I don’t like it. And I don’t like the way Manny plays this game, not so much the way he plays it, but the way he’s playing his act with his contract. I don’t want to hear about it to be honest with you. He’s making a lot of money. He’s been making a lot of money a long, long time, eight years, all of a sudden he starts chirping about the last year, it’s because all of a sudden it’s money time again. That’s about all I can say about that right now because I don’t want to go too far.”

As a former player, I can see Eck’s viewpoint.

My take:

Manny has made headlines this past month. He may be skipping his bi-polar medication, I don’t know.

• He took three straight pitches from Mariano in a pinch hit appearance without lifting the bat from his shoulders. My wife and I believed he didn’t swing because he was promised a day-off.
• He attacked the Boston Red Sox traveling secretary, and may be seeking anger management.
• He has joked and showboated with fans while jumping for catches.
• He sat on a triple and laughed.
• He said Red Sox ownership lied to him.
• He was lectured by a Boston police officer for walking in the street with his headphones on. The cop didn’t even know who he was.

Yeah, it’s “Manny being Manny”, and truthfully it’s the RED SOX’s problem. Therefore, I’m not going to lecture about him or criticize him because it’s a CLUB problem only.

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