"I wanted to show people that I play hard and I wanted to show people what I could do. I know a lot of people doubt me. Whatever people say out there, well, that's good because I came and I proved everybody wrong."

Actually Manny you proved everyone right. By putting up the numbers that you are, it just proves you were dogging it in Boston and had quit on your teammates. The following comments with my adjustments in brackets would be bang on!

"I wanted to show people that I play hard(when I want to) and I wanted to show people what I could do(when I try). I know a lot of people doubt me(because I gave them reason to). Whatever people say out there, well, that's good because I came and I proved everybody wrong(uh NO!)."

He proved everyone wrong????? I'd say he proved everybody right,that he's a big baby who quits on you if he doesn't get his way. LA better enjoy it because Manny really doesn't give a good sh$#^t about anyone but himself.

I have to tell you, I try not to let sports related topics ruin my day, but this Manny Ramirez saga makes me want to puke. He quits on a frachise, a city, a team, and a nation. I think of his plate appearances with has bat stuck on his shoulders, and it kills me. He took some heat in media, and local talk shows, but the fans always loved him. They never, I mean not once, shown him anything but love. The loudest cheers of all the players. For him to turn it on out there, just mashing, the lovable slugger who was the glue to a team, who made baseball fun again in L.A. It is despicable, he is despicable, and he should never be shown the love that Pedro got when returned to Fenway. "A new life" "A dream come true"....What an ass!

Bill Plashke, infamous on Around the horn, for his moral standing, and holier than thou outlook on the sports world is now enamored with him. With a man that represents everything that is wrong about Team, and what you want to teach your children.

Don't get me wrong, I love Jason Bay. I love the Sox, I love the TEAM we have now. Go Sox!

I apologize about the rant, I just wanted some outlet to express the puke I taste in my mouth everytime I see a Dodgers highlight.

Yes, Manny proved something - he proved he CAN when he WANTS to.

Also found this little nugget in a T.J. Simmers story and found it to be quite comical.....

A NUMBER of reporters were surprised to show up to the stadium and find Ramirez, who hasn't sat out a game with the Dodgers, in the starting lineup.

"I want to be like Cal Ripken, play every game and start a new streak," says Ramirez, who has been given the option by Torre to take off a game whenever he likes.

He wanted to show everyone that he played hard!!!!??????!!!!!! That is only because he had previously showed EVERYONE that he didn't play hard!!!! He should have proved everyone wrong while he was with the Sox....Great Hitter - no doubt about it - he will be missed for his hitting, as he can carry a team. But the TEAM he left has played great as a TEAM since he left, learning to not rely on one guy - but finally being able to rely on all 25 guys.

"When I left Boston, it was great," Ramirez said...

Yeah, it feels that way on this end, too. In fact, Francona was talking about that just the other day, except he's too classy to say "When Manny left Boston..."

Oops. Here come the haters, calling everyone else haters...

Does anybody else feel that Manny's performance since being traded only confirms the fact that he was dogging it. He has been nothing short of spectacular since leaving, only to prove that if he had been pampered and set up on a pedastel he would have actually earned his salary. Hope LA picks up his contract next year so they can see what kind of a guy he is when he's not getting his way and speaking out of both sides of his mouth.

Lots of luck to him.

Show the people he plays hard!?! Are you kidding me? This guy should be fined for dogging it all of these years with the Sox. Don't get me wrong I was a big supporter of his through the years but these last few months nearly turned me off to baseball all together. People like this make me sick. He is a piece of garbage. Glad he is on the other side of the country.

Actually Manny, you proved everybody right, that you laid down on your teammates and the fans of Boston, not to mention the Red Sox who paid you a very large salary. You proved everybody right that you were faking injuries. You proved everybody right that you are a selfish ball player and that signing your name to a contract means nothing to you. Manny being a dillweed!

On the contrary, Mr. Ramirez. You proved everybody RIGHT. That you were and are a selfish, sandbagging, spoiled professional athlete. You defrauded your former team and left your former teamates out to dry. The folks in LA will surely see the true Manny Ramirez once the honeymoon is over. You deserve each other.

"Whatever people say out there, well, that's good because I came and I proved everybody wrong." --- Manny Ramirez, 9/25/08

Actually, Manny, you proved everybody right. Everybody knew you gave up on the Red Sox in 2006 and everybody knew you gave up on the Red Sox in 2008 (when you realized they wouldn't pay you to your liking next year and beyond).

As a diehard Red Sox fan since the 70s, I will never forget what you meant to the Red Sox. But you're a "professional baseball player" who never really understood the "professional" part of your title. And you still don't.

On the contrary, Mr. Ramirez. You proved everyone RIGHT. That you are a selfish, sandbagging, spoiled professional athlete. You left your former teammates out to dry. The folks in LA will surely see the true Manny Ramirez once the honeymoon is over.

Still love ya Manny!!

Manny is garbage. wanted to show everyone that he plays hard. thats so dumb. thats like beating up an old lady and then going to a nursing home and not beating up an old lady and saying see? I proved everyone I don't beat up old ladies

Hey Manny, why didn't you show Boston you play hard? Oh yeah, money (extra-obscene vs. only obscene). Scott Boras.

P.S. You're right. "Wait, wait, wait." The Dodgers' NL West title would put you in 5th place in the AL East, just above Baltimore.

D Lowe as game 1 starter? Does that make him their ace ? LA won't get too far with that staff, Manny or no Manny. And Manny's hair is longer than it was on 7/31. You lost, Joe.

All the Sox had to do was pick up his option at the beginning of the year, and then Manny would have had a monster year for the Sox...but I can't blame fans for hating on him for his behavior the last month he was here, but the Sox management could have avoided all this drama from the get-go. Picking up his option would have ensured that Manny would be happy and then they could have traded him after the season...seems like a no-brainer to me.

Manny gets where he wants to go. He's happy. LA's happy. Boston has every reason to be happy. Boston fans need to relax and enjoy the game. What a player he is!

Mannywood popluation one big baby. Glad I don't live there.

I will always be a Manny fan to the day I die!!!! It is the media who pushed him away. He never said one thing bad about the fans, he loved us! He saw this as his only way out.

The only way he was outta here was to upset ownership. He did this and do I think it was his own idea, nope. I haven't heard one thing mentioned about his client, Mr. Scott "suck a fat one" Boras. It was his brilliant idea because he saw $$$$$$$$$. He's a smart agent and doesn't get the credit he deserves. In my opinion it was Manny's idea, it was Boras'.

Way to go Dodgers. I'm happy fot Joe Torre. As for Manny its hard to play hard when you hardly played in Boston this year. Now this dirt bag has 2 chances of getting a ring.

Boston is just jealous that Manny is the man right now and he is not playing for this city! Red Sox without Manny = NOTHING, NADA , ZERO!

I believe you are mistaken about who is the one big baby Caroline. Furthermore, everyone seems to have gotten what they wanted so why do all of you have to continue with your hateful spewage? Do any of you actually have lives beyond the Red Sox? Seems like NOT! Grow up and see if any of you can actually enjoy this team's success. Have any of you actually been happy about anything one single day of your lives? I doubt it. You are the ones that are making me sick. And thank you MDH for being perhaps the one voice of reason in a bunch of possessed (much worse than obsessed) fans. I say Go Sox! And I also say Go Manny!

Manny's the best. All of us Red Sox fans can not deny that.

Mr. Boras, you need to ask yourself now would anyone pay a premium for Manny to play for them. Remember, LA is not paying him at all and he is a free agent. Even if they win a WS, do you think LA will pay Manny $23-$25mm per year over a four year deal. No way. No one will. To bad really, as over the next two year if he "played hard" he most likely would have seen BoSox take each option and that would be $20mm each year. It will be interesting to see if he gets anything close to that. I would bet that the most he would see in offers is $18mm per year for three years, with many incentives to get to that amount. I think Manny is great, but he was poorly advised - kidda like Mr. Boras' other client A Rod. Just think if that ended like it almost did with A Rod going to another team for a lot less money. Also interesting to note that Mr Boras was not involved in the contract negotiations. One thing I agreed with the Yankees on!

Why can't the Red Sox sue Manny for breach of contract?

Just thinking out loud....

I'd be hitting .400 off National League pitching BFD let's see him in the AL without AAA teams. Arizona?? Padres?? give me a break....

I'd be hitting .400 off National League pitching....big deal....

let's see the jogging, injury-faking diva in the AL facing teams above AAA level......Arizona, San Diego??!! give me a break. Manny's like a kid in a candy store facing guys who'd be lucky to be starting in the AL. Look at the results of interleague play in the last few years. LARam and his schtick will descend to Earth.....unless, of course, he stays in AAA.

I still love Manny. The regular Nine in Boston these days are boring. There's no electricity. And, again, all Manny wanted to know is if he would be here next year. Theo Epstein pulled the same thing... wearing a gorilla suit.... No one remembers that, it seems.

Still loving Manny.

There should be some way that Sox could get back $$$$ because Manny refused to try to do his best right before the Trading Deadline.

None of us "ordinary people" would have gotten away with it at our jobs.
Mine happens to have been teacher. ( retired now but still subbing)

Manny is a quitter; the LA crowd will find out sooner or later......that is, if he stays there beyond this year. Hope he and the Dodgers get knocked out early, even though I would just love to watch the Red Sox dismantle them in the World Series. Humiliating Nomar and Manny would be worth it, don't you think, just for that alone?

Above all else, you just can't function as a team when you have a dog in your lineup. It is imperative to rid yourself of the dog before it affects your purpose. You can live with idiots, cowboys, loudmouths, and jerks, but dogs will ultimately bring you down.

The Manny story has a long way to go. He's enjoying his new environment now, and playing hard; wait til next year . He'll be fine for 4 months with whoever signs him; (Dodgers, Yankees, whoever) then will fake another injury and leave them hanging down the stretch. To the pea brain that said the Sox were Nada: We're in the playoffs.

The Manny story has a long way to go. He's enjoying his new environment now, and playing hard; wait til next year . He'll be fine for 4 months with whoever signs him; (Dodgers, Yankees, whoever) then will fake another injury and leave them hanging down the stretch. To the pea brain that said the Sox were Nada: We're in the playoffs.

"all Manny wanted to know is if he would be here next year" Ben, are you freakin' kidding me??!!?

Manny has no idea where he'll be next year. He had the two option years that Boston held on him dropped, otherwise he wouldn't agree to a trade anywhere.

Boston had the chance to pick up the options (at $20 million per) a year at a time. But that wasn't good enough for Manny because he got a new agent in Scott Boras who will now demand a $100 million 4 year deal. Not bad for a guy that will be 40 in the fourth year...if he gets it.

I wonder if his two months of phenomenal play in LA will make all of MLB forget about Manny being Manny and jogging to first, or demanding days off, or chuckling as a routine fly ball winds up in his ass. I know Boston won't forget.

Manny has wanted to be traded for at least the last four years. How can the Manny apologists be happy with that. He always wanted preferential treatment, like Pedro did. His teammates voted 24-1 that he should be traded, how do the Manny apologists feel about that? It seems to me like the Apologists are blind to these things and are loyal to just one player and not to the team, thus they are not Red Sox fans - they are Manny fans. If they find the present team boring then switch the channel to the Dodger game, we don't need disloyal fans in our Fenway seats or on our blogs.

Well stated Pike

Well stated Pike

Baseball players are like cars..they come and go, but the Sox are still there and Fenway is still the most exciting park in baseball night in and night out. I strongly disagree that there is no electricity in the Sox anymore.... Did you forget we have the AL's stolen base leader, Pedroia !!, Youk, Paps , Beckett, Big Papi, a kid who had CANCER and threw a no-no, the Captain and his 4 caught no-hitters, an excellent young SS, Coco, DiceK, the all-star game MVP, and so on.
As far as Manny goes, who cares ?--he was fun and very valuable while he lasted, but the 2008 Sox are better without him. The truth is, he can't handle elite fastballs like he used to, and he isn't worth the 20 mil they would have had to pay him. it will be interesting to see how he does in the playoffs.

WOW! Get on with your lives folks. We have serious issues in this country and whether or not you like Manny isn't one of them.

"His teammates voted 24-1" ..... Darn Lugo could have made it unanimous!!

HELLLOOO, all you Manny suck ups STILL. Manny is the face of what is wrong with sports. Jason Bay, on the other hand is the face of what is right. Manny QUIT on his teamates, us fans and the game of baseball. He is a highly paid athlete who is supposed to have some kind of ethical responsibility to the sport that he plays. He doesn't give a crap about anything but himself. I loved Manny, now I hate him, If he comes back here, I hope the fans boo the crap out of him.

Gee...Hard to imagine why Manny would want to leave all this.

Manny REALLY lets it all hang out in an article by Simers today (Sunday, Sept 28) in the LA Times. Although he acknowledges the good fans of Boston 'always had his back' (and still do, I might add), he lets loose on Boston's sick puppy scribes and infers Schilling is a 'punk'.

I don't think you can post links here, but I trust Chad will quote this latest excerpt in the Manny saga .

You GO, Manny! You're the best!

You GO, manny! :)