Baseball Musings
Baseball Musings
July 18, 2008
Manny Being Petulant

Bob Lobel provides more information on what is going on between the Red Sox and Manny Ramirez. He was fined six figures for pushing the traveling secretary and didn't like that one bit. Manny's way of answering?

"The thing that most people are forgetting and haven't talked about is the strikeout in Yankee Stadium," Lobel said. "The bat on the shoulder for the three pitches from Mariano Rivera. That was a big [expletive] to the Red Sox after the fine. I'm just telling you ... there are things in the front office that are perceived ... I'm saying that there is a strong feeling that that [three-pitch strikeout] was the message to the Red Sox and it's a strong feeling that that's unacceptable ... there's a feeling that he didn't give it his all, let's put it that way ... I'm just saying the front office has not forgotten that moment. It's akin to Nomar sitting on the bench [in a game in which Derek Jeter dove into the stands at Yankee Stadium in 2004]. It's the same thing. It's an at bat that resonated very strongly in the front office."

I'd say the probability of Manny being around next year just dropped.

Update: Industry sources say the fine was was an order of magnitude lower.

According to industry sources, Ramirez, in addition to apologizing to McCormick, paid a fine of between $10,000 to $15,000, with the money going to an agreed-upon charity. The fine is at the lower end of that range.Reports that Ramirez had been assessed a six-figure fine are not true, and Red Sox officials have not raised the issue that Ramirez's strikeout against Mariano Rivera in a pinch-hit appearance July 6 was in any way related to the discipline administered.



Posted by David Pinto at 01:12 PM | Baseball Jerks | TrackBack (0)
Comments

Maybe I missed it, but I never heard Bob Lobel say that he heard any of these thoughts from a member of the Red Sox front office.

Posted by: Bob at July 18, 2008 01:34 PM

And the idiot echo chamber rolls along...

Rivera put 3 nasty pitches right on the corners. Tip your cap, sit down.

This is not a story except in Hack Lobel's mind and in the minds of people who don't understand pitching/hitting.

Posted by: Matt Davis at July 18, 2008 01:39 PM

There may or may not be anything to the Lobel story, but there's also the matter of Manny's back-and-forth with the front office over his contract status for next year. He's basically accusing the club of lying to him, and John Henry stated that he took Manny's remarks as a personal insult.

Henry is enough of a businessman to overlook this if he decides that Manny is a good investment, but it certainly isn't a positive development.


Posted by: jvwalt at July 18, 2008 01:44 PM

When the club needs them, there's always a reporter that will suck up to a billionaire and print what they want.

The Red Sox management is preparing the public through their sources that Manny will be gone, just as they let Pedro, Damon and Lowe depart.

Posted by: Bob Tufts at July 18, 2008 02:01 PM

I watched that at bat and remember thinking to myself, "What is Manny doing!" Rivera is great but he's never been unhittable for Manny.

On the other hand, as a Mets fan, I know a team in NY that can use a power-hitting corner outfielder for a couple of months.

Posted by: Tom Andersen at July 18, 2008 03:20 PM

That AB just looked suspicious. Manny will usually foul off a couple of Mo's pitches, but he's always swinging away.

Posted by: rbj at July 18, 2008 03:28 PM

If that at bat looked suspicious to you, then you don't understand baseball. It. Is. That. Simple.

Posted by: Matt Davis at July 18, 2008 03:48 PM

I went to a game a few years ago at Fenway. Manny's first AB, he watches three straight strikes and sits down. His second AB, he watches three straight strikes and sits down. His third AB, he's getting booed as he comes to bat, and watches two strikes in a row, before smacking a ball. 8 straight strikes watched, without even a ball mixed in. Sometimes he goes up guessing, and it's always possible to fool him.

Posted by: Mike at July 18, 2008 03:59 PM

There are already reports on boston.com that the fine was $105-$15k and that the club hasn't even raised any concerns about the at-bat.

I am just shocked to learn something said on WEEI might not be accurate. here's the article: http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/

Posted by: Tom at July 18, 2008 04:19 PM

Yes Matt Davis I do understand baseball. For instance, a pitcher of Mariano Rivera's capability is going to throw strikes. If you do not swing at strikes you are going to be out on three pitches. Manny is too good of a hitter to not even offer at one of those pitches.

Perhaps you should go back and look at that AB and look at his body language. At first I thought Manny was upset at having to pinch hit on his day off, but now it seems to be something larger.

Posted by: rbj at July 18, 2008 10:03 PM

Congratulations Matt Davis. You win the Mr. Snarky award for the month of July.

Manny added fuel to the fire tonight in LAAnaheim. He's acting like he IS the Bosox.

Posted by: Mike-n-Ike at July 19, 2008 01:26 AM

Is there a bigger bunch of inbred morons than the Boston sports media? They've been urinating on their biggest stars since Ted Williams was young, at least.

Posted by: M. Scott Eiland at July 19, 2008 01:29 AM
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