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I got nothin'.

Look, I have an enormous piece of research, enough Data Tables to choke a horse, appearing later this very day. You expect TDIB as well?


Today, I just want to refer all of you to Ben McGrath's fascinating piece on Manny Ramirez in the New Yorker. This is long overdue - Ramirez is one of the greatest players of our time, and it's not as if his light has been hidden under a bushel. He was the World Series MVP when the Red Sox finally, finally won one. But who knows anything about him?

It's not like McGrath gets close - Ramirez comes across as an amiable enough fellow, but he's far too cagey and guarded to give away anything to a reporter. But there's lots of interest anyway.

For example. Ramirez was an impressionable young player on a team where the notorious Albert Belle was the Alpha Dog. What did Ramirez pick up from gentle Albert?

Something about hitting. Belle believed that the toughest pitch for a right-handed power hitter to deal with was a hard slider, down and away. Being Albert Belle, he set up a pitching machine to throw him hard sliders, down and away, for thirty minutes at a time. (That, by the way, is just so quintessentially Albert Belle - how many guys are there who can consistently hit that spot with a hard slider, anyway?) Ramirez adopted the same practise, and brought it with him from Cleveland to Boston. Although he now says he's giving it up - he's getting old, he says, and you really can't hit everything.

The ridiculous baggy uniform began when Ramirez stole the pants off a bullpen catcher who weighed at least fifty pounds more than Manny. Ramirez, apparently, is one of those guys who thinks nothing of taking other player's bats, gloves, spikes, uniforms.

This normally drives teammates absolutely berserk - Cliff Johnson of the Blue Jays used to do it, and it almost started several clubhouse fistfights. Ramirez' teammates don't seem to mind. Some of this may be the whole "it's just Manny being Manny" but I was strangely reminded of another odd genius - the great, doomed Charlie Parker.

Maybe you've seen "Bird," Clint Eastwood's film about Parker. That movie was a labour of love for Eastwood, who is a huge jazz buff. Like many such projects, in its determination to get the gist of the story right, it let a lot of the actual film-making slide. It's very long, and drags a fair bit. But the amazing Forrest Whitaker absolutely nailed something in his portrayal of the lead. Parker was a junkie almost all of his adult life. He was a drunk the rest of the time. He was a liar, he was a thief, he was a man who could not be counted on for anything. Anytime. Ever. But there was something about him, and it wasn't just his genius as a musician - something about him as a person that made people love him, and help him, and forgive him, and give him yet another chance. Whittaker managed to suggest how that happened somehow.

Anyway, obviously there's no way on earth Manny Ramirez could be as irritating and difficult as Charlie Parker. Not even close - he's just a guy who walks to a different drummer. (According to David Ortiz, Ramirez is one "crazy m*th*rf**k*r.... he's in his own world, on his own planet.") But still, Parker was what I was reminded of, if on a far lesser scale. There's something about Manny...

That, and the fact that he can hit a little.
23 April 2007: Something About Manny | 8 comments | Create New Account
The following comments are owned by whomever posted them. This site is not responsible for what they say.
Ron - Monday, April 23 2007 @ 12:39 AM EDT (#166419) #
Andrew Eugene Pettitte has now pitched twice out of the bullpen this season. The last game he started was on Friday. I woudn't mind the Jays doing this with Doc considering he's going to be throwing in the bullpen anyways. Heck more teams should do this with their good starters. We all know the pitchers will be throwing as part of their routine, why not make their pitches count in a real game? If you do this, you could go with a 6 man bullpen.  Of course the starter should only go an inning if he comes in as a reliever.




Pistol - Monday, April 23 2007 @ 08:45 AM EDT (#166420) #
It's an interesting thought.

How hard does a pitcher throw between starts compared to how he would throw in a game?  If there isn't a difference it seems like a good idea.  If there is a difference it's a tougher choice, which is probably why we don't see it often.

Mike Green - Monday, April 23 2007 @ 09:57 AM EDT (#166421) #
Some teams in the 70s had their starters occasionally pitch an inning on their throw days.  I am not sure why the practice fell into disfavour; perhaps, the possibility of a regular program being interfered with by off-days and rain played a role.

It was a tough day yesterday for Yankee fans.  Issuing nine walks to the Sox is a recipe for disaster. The Yanks are 8-9.  Of course, they are a much better club than that, but injuries will take their toll.  Sound familiar?

Joanna - Monday, April 23 2007 @ 02:34 PM EDT (#166431) #

I think the only difference between side sessions and starts, throwing-wise, is facing batters.  The thing pitchers might not like about it is that it might mess with their numbers.  Halladay pitched in the All Star game last year on his side session day and wasn't too sharp.  I think V-Dub bailed him out with an amazing catch and a throw home to Pudge.  I don't know if Doc cares much about his numbers, but many do.

Other things like wear and tear on the arm.  A pitcher might put extra oomph into pitching to actual batters.  Also the likelyhood of a line-drive off the shin (and other such occurances) increase the more he appears.  I know that was a freak thing but I think losing a starter because he was pitching to batters on his side day would be more annoying than losing him during a start.

And that article in the New Yorker on Manny is genius.  There was an article in GQ a few years ago that covered much of the same ground, but told in a first person account style.  One that isn't featured in the New Yorker piece is from when Manny was with Cleaveland, on the same team as Chad Ogea (pronounced O-Jay).  So it was the Bronco chase in '94 on the news in the clubhouse and it's all O.J. this and O.J. that.  Manny turns to one of his teammates and says "What did Chad do?"

Flex - Monday, April 23 2007 @ 07:09 PM EDT (#166445) #
BJ Ryan's been placed on the 60-day DL. Is that to make room for Tallet on the 40 man roster, or is something else in the works?

Magpie - Monday, April 23 2007 @ 08:37 PM EDT (#166450) #
Ryan went on the DL to make room for Tallet on the 40 man. So it means Ryan is out until at least June 15 or so.
GregJP - Monday, April 23 2007 @ 08:42 PM EDT (#166451) #
Is Reed Johnson already on the 60 day DL?  If not, you'd figure he would have been a more likely candidate.  Kind of an ominous sign when it comes to Ryan.
timpinder - Tuesday, April 24 2007 @ 01:10 AM EDT (#166460) #
They're probably just being realistic with Ryan.  The Jays likened Ryan's injury to the strains suffered by Burnett and Chacin.  I never expected to see Ryan back within 4-6 weeks.  The end of June is probably more likely, and with 3.5 years left on his contract, I'm certainly not opposed to the Jays being cautious with him.
23 April 2007: Something About Manny | 8 comments | Create New Account
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