the smell test

i grew up going to mets games but really didn't become a fan of baseball until '95 when the 'iron man' saved baseball. he certainly did for me. then in '96 the yankees won the series and although i was/am not a yanks fan i am from new york so it brought baseball to the forefront. then in '98 i got pulled into the mcgwire/sosa hr chase and was hooked. the mets were finally competitive in '99 with their "best infield defense ever" and in '00 with their world series appearance. i read moneyball sometime in '04 and my love/interest/respect for baseball has grown exponentially ever since. fantasy and the rays have kept my interest level high even while my mets disappointment year after year.

i present my short history of fandom simply to say that i have not followed baseball closely for all that long. but in '95 when i started to become a true fan, manny ramirez had his first full season of abs for the cleveland indians. since then he's been an offensive force,with a career triple slash of 312/411/585. we don't need to go into his career accomplishments or shortcomings in great detail because others have done that with far greater success. i simply believe that based on the smell test (and i've been told i have the power of super smell - true) manny is one of the greatest hitters i have ever seen and is a clear hall of famer.

my list, off the top of my head, includes bonds, arod, chipper jones, pujols, and frank thomas as the most feared hitters in the league over the past 15 years. whether it was getting on base, driving in runs or hitting in the 'clutch' these players could do it all at the plate. you dont' need to be a sabermetric nerd or a jeter-intangibles nut to appreciate their value. it was never a question of whether they were great but of how great...and this is a sign of a hall of famer. when you start comparing players to jimmie foxx is there really a question of their candidacy?

i don't fault anyone who feels cheated by those caught using peds (i have neutral feelings) but i don't believe that the clear cut hall of famers (bonds, clemens) should be left out for suspicion or even failed drug tests. plenty of players used and never put up numbers like they have. players like manny were too good for too long to be simply dismissed as a ped enhanced cheater. for the rest of time i will think about manny and be reminded of his ferocious bat, disinterested look and 165 rbis in 1999 (the most since the aforementioned jimmie foxx in 1938).

youkilis being manny?

apparently the red sox love to fight. they fight the opposing team and they fight each other. last night, reports are that manny ramirez and kevin youkilis got into it and had to be pulled apart. supposedly manny took a swing at youk. understandably this happens in sports... there's a lot of testosterone involved and emotions/competitiveness are high.

what makes this story interesting to me, however, is why the fight supposedly started. apparently, the red sox had a team meeting some time ago where the players complained that youk's behavior was selfish and didn't reflect team unity. youk? really? youk is known for throwing his bat, helmet and whatever else he can get his hands on after he has a bad at-bat. well, this doesn't sit well with his teammates. especially not with manny it seems, who approached him after youk displayed such behavior in last night's game.

the question, and i hope it's obvious, is in what universe does manny ramirez think he has the right to opine on someone else's baseball habits? i have no hatred for manny, i actually find him quite amusing. but we're talking about one of the more flashy, arrogant ballplayers in the game. talk about selfishness! this is a guy who catches a ball and then jumps on a wall to slap some guy's hand (i loved it too!). this is a guy who takes bathroom breaks in the middle of a game... IN THE LEFT FIELD WALL!!!!!

don't get me wrong... i love manny. and many people will probably defend him by saying that it's manny being manny and that he's not selfish or arrogant, he's just clueless. i disagree. his actions (and i'm not saying i don't support it) are very selfish. it draws attention to yourself and draws attention away from your team. isn't that exactly what he's complaining about with youkilis? granted that youk's actions are quite different than manny's, but don't they come from the same basic place inside (your brain that is)? i would say yes.

i don't think this is that big of a deal of course. i just found the story amusing is all. i don't normally make big deals out of such things, but i do ask for some consistency... and this screams inconsistent.