Manny Ramirez wants to re-join Cleveland one day, he said in USA Today. And he talked to Jim Thome about doing it together — after this season. "I would like to play for Cleveland one more time, to go back where I started," said Ramirez, with the Dodgers playing their home opener Monday against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. "I have so many good memories there, why not?"
But will he do it for $3 million a year?
What a buffoon. How does anyone take this airhead seriously? Could you imagine Tribe stars, like Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore, publicly stating: "We'd like to go back and play for Montreal, back where we started." Ramirez is just a blithering idiot who will say or do anything to keep his fat face in the headlines. As long as we're talkin' about YOU, eh, Manny? But at least we can see thru the facade to realize one truth: With this jerk, it is–and always has been–all about the manny…errr, money. And there's only one idiot team willing to meet his current ransom…and, by the way, let me be the first to predict: The Dodgers won't even make the playoffs this year.
Cliff Lee and Grady Sizemore aren't going to be 37 after the season in the twilight of their careers, nor did each of them spend 10 years with the organization at the beginnings of their careers. I don't know what kind of example that was supposed to be.
I mean, it's just plain dumb to attack Ramirez. Baseball is, for all intents and purposes, an individual game, not really a team game. How many power hitting, home run hitting, RBI machines have a career batting average of .314? He does his job, and he does it better than just about anybody out there. He earned his money.
And ironically, he talked it over with Thome. Two former Indians who are all about the money. But for some reason, it's always Ramirez who finds himself the target of the dopey criticism.
Does anybody know it what context he brought it up? Obviously, he was asked the question. If a reporter walked up to him and asked him, "Manny, would you ever consider going back to Cleveland after your contract is up?" then he answered the question. He didn't publish the question or the answer. He didn't act like an idiot and twitter everybody around the globe that he wants to go back to Cleveland. Why the venom?
When was the last time Manny was on a team that didn't make the playoffs? I wonder how many playoffs he's been in over his career, versus number of years played.
He's an odd duck and a lot of it seems contrived but it's hard for me to take the 'clubhouse cancer, team killer' argument seriously.