The genius of You-Know-Who

I've always thought on Manny as a idiot savant .. Rain Man with a Louisville Slugger

Cha-ching! I won a bet saying that you would at least mention this piece in your next blog post...though technically, this is not your blog...

Anyway, thanks for the $10. Amazing writing by JoePoz as always.

Well, it proves BILL JAMES is a genius, anyway. So, go ask HIM whether the team had to get rid of Ramirez. Not somebody in Kansas City would didn't have to live with him.

Manny played a major role in bringing two titles to this Championship-starved fanbase. Nobody will ever question his prodigious talent, when he chooses to use it. He probably was a better bet to land us a third WS title than his replacement, Jason Bay...

But the dissention he caused in the clubhouse with his antics, and with everyone sitting around on pins and needles wondering if/when he might pull the plug on this season to force a trade made moving him absolutely necessary. It hurts to wave good bye to the third member of the enormously talented "primadonna trio" (along with Nomar and Pedro) - but the guys we have left on this team, while admittedly not as talented as those three, will scrap and fight and claw and give you every ounce of what talent they do have day-in and day-out - and now that we've gotten two titles, I'll take my chances with this blood and guts crew over the entitled and untrustworthy guys we finally cut the cord with.

Love ya Manny, thanks for everything, but don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya.

Oh, and if Manny is a genius in any sense of the word, I gotta go apply for Mensa immediately.

Another example of Manny's genious - tanking it so bad in beantown this year and becoming such an unbearable ass to everyone from management, Tito, and teammates that he finally got what he wanted - a trade. Now he's focusing and hitting pretty well. Too bad he couldn't have just been doing this in Boston. Oh well. He had to go the way he was acting and performing.

Another substantial piece on Manny worth remembering is the New Yorker article from last year. The one that said the guy hasn't been back home to Washington Heights. Isn't interested in giving praise and encouragement to those that have come after him, and could well very be the cheapest multi-millionaire on the planet. The whole cloth of Manny is a techni-color coat, but one thing is for sure: Had he been a dedicated ballplayer, he might have destroyed every record for hitting there is. His numerous shut downs, work stoppages and lack of interest probably has cost him a run at Aaron's record (Bonds doesn't count), not to mention the respect of many teammates.
But what we are still learning is 80 percent of Manny is pretty impressive when in the batter's box.

Hey Chad Finn,

If Manny is "not so birght" as you would have the reader believe. Then I ask, how intelligent is Boston

1. For paying the salary for one of the greatest hitters of all time to help another team get into the playoffs.

2. if the NL names him the MVP?

3. Win the world series?

Thanks for the article, just continues to show how the Boston elitist continue to mock others.

It's hard for me to remain grateful towards Manny for his great years with Boston. It's even harder to consider hit a genius. I can't get over the fact that Manny malingered his way through his last bit of service with the Sox. He went from a half-hearted shell of the future HOF, to all-out hustler in LA.... doing everything but sing and dance during his time on the field. He goes from asking to go on the DL to refusing a day off. $20 mil just wasn't enough to buy an honest effort for the Sox.

If the MLB had any fortitude at all they would show Boras and Ramirez as the rats they are for tanking it so they could force a trade.

I am a big red sox fan from boston and moved out to Los Angeles last year. I got to see that Sox play the Dodger in the coliseum in an exhibition game earlier this year , that was really cool.
I am not much of a Dodgers fan my step-son who's grown up here and he is.
on espn radio out here they want to give Manny the NL MVP, they think he's the second coming.
the say his work ethic is better than everyone on the team, this comes from people who get to a gam in the 3rd inning and leave in the 7th
I'm glad I'm a red sox fan
here's my 2 cents
I am just glad to be rid of him to much drama
yeah the guy could hit , but my grandma could do better fielding and she was quicker around the bases
I guess LA needs something to believe in after the Celtics win
LA fans have been completely demoralized there no NFL team and the sox have swept the Angels in the last post season
so their banking on Manny

I've followed Manny for years. He is very consistent., you always know what you'll get from him.

On the other hand, the press he gets is very inconsistent. Sports writers across the country dog Manny one week, the next, they praise him. You media boys are the definition of fareweather friends.

How about you guys all get together and decide which it's gonna be. Love him or hate him, pick one already. In the meantime, I'll just enjoy watching him play

boring. its not about one person, its about the team. you never played sports obviously.

whether or not the sox win it all. i can't see how you could ever trade manny and 2 prospects for 1 jason bey.bey seems to have found his niche in boston ,but he will never be a manny ramirez. manny for all the sideshows he brings ,just flat out is the biggest producer in the postseason!!!!!!! (how is that for praise coming from a loyal yankee fan )

wish manny was back here, why did we ever let him go, okay so he was a prima donna, but he hit, and anyone that says he was paid to do a job should look at the other members of the team that are paid nearly as much but don't do anything; all he wanted was a little butter

Yes AJ is correct. Manny is a hitting savant, but also a no class spoiled baby. I always thought it was the language barrier, but Manny is really stupid. He was a major part of 2 world series for Boston so I say thank you and don't come back.

Posnanski's wife was beautiful, but he had to divorce her after she grew disinterested, sullen and argumentative. She's still gorgeous, but she's banging someone in LA.

Maybe you mean Curt Gowdy, rather than Schilling.

...and this, ladies and gentlemen, is why I will forever and fervently proclaim GO YANKEES.

Not that it matters because you guys are going to get bounced from the playoffs by the Angels while the Rays walk to the World Series.

So take your beloved Sawx and shove 'em

As a long time Red Sox fan, I'e had a love-hate relationship with Manny, the thing is, while he has talent, he is unfortunately not a team player. He's only out for himself. He is greedy, lazy, will deliberately play badly as a means to blackmail management. He has consistently refused to show up for charity and children's events. If there's no money in it for Manny, he can't be bothered. I say, good riddance.

I think the truly great ones need someone to love them the whole day through. They don't like to be second guessed. They create situations where they purposely do things to fall out of favor with those who hold them in high esteem as a litmus test of their unconditional love. Then they come riding back in at the precise moment where the scales could be tipped permanently. This year, Manny didn't get back in time. It wasn’t long until he found a new group to love, fawn and adore him. That’s his narcotic. It’s no different than Wade Boggs’ sexual addiction.

How smart is it to damage your reputation as a professional baseball player just to earn another large contract (especially if you already have >$50M in the bank)? Is he ever going to spend the $160M (less taxes) he earned from the first contract? The thing Jeter learned but ARod and Manny did not is that what people say about you and what they think of you is more important that how many extra dollars you have in the bank (after the first $50M). Manny is an idiot who can hit a baseball very well when he wants to. I would rather have someone on my team with less talent who wants to win and will do whatever he can to improve the chances to win.

Hey everybody - don't forget!!! It's contract time for Manny and Boras....of course Manny's gonna give it his all - looking for a landing for a big fat contract again. He'll play that way until he gets annoyed about something and then the games will begin! Mark my words!

He's a great hitter, but his mood swings have cost him in many ways.

He's a moody quitter, who placed his personal greed above team accomplishment. He showed himself willing to sink to any low to get out of his option years. If he was in boot camp, there'd be a blanket party. If he was a working stiff, he'd be fired. Either way, he won't be missed.

hi is a genius in Baseball

When David Ortiz was in a slump earlier this year, Manny said something along the lines of "that's ok I'll get hits for him"

Manny was a gem, you guys are just bitter.

I won't dispute the fact that as a hitter, Manny is one of the best and most intuitive of all time. He is a hitting savant. But that is where the praise ends. Because if he was such a "hitting genius" then why did he take the pipe on 3 straight pitches from Riviera earlier this year? You know for a fact that he did that deliberately because the Sox brass called his bluff. That "sore knee" sure as hell disappeared real fast once the trade to LA was made and his option years were dropped!

I don't care if the Sox get eliminated in the first round of the ALDS this year; I'd rather see them go down as a team that plays hard and plays to win. Manny served notice this year that he wanted out of his contract. And in his 7+ years here, he also made it clear that it was only about Manny and never about anything else but Manny. Team player? Hah! Had he been playing with Yaz and Fisk and Rice, those guys would have finished the job that Youkilis started in the dugout. We finally got rid of the last of the prima-donna headaches/idiots/Cowboy Up jackasses. PedroMart hasn't won 30 games total in 4 years as a Met; Nomar has played 50 games this year....and he's injured again. All those 'roids were hell afterall, eh Nomie? Damon? Lucky if he ever sees a playoff again.

Let's all get off the ManRam watch. We all know that if he stayed on the Sox, they would be in 3rd place and out of contention by now, and everyone in the media would be screaming for Theo and Tito to be whipped and scourged in public. I don't give a rat's backside if he hits .400 the rest of the year; he's looking for a new contract next year, and here's some news for Colletti & McCourt: you better open your wallets wide, because the Mets are coming after him. Meanwhile, we have Jason Bay, a real team player who will make Boston and his teammates proud for years to come.

"The race doesn't always belong to the swift nor the battle to the strong. It belongs rather to those who run the race, who stay the course and who fight the good fight." ....Yaz at HOF Induction.

Red Sox don't need Manny any more than he needs another $20 mil. We'll win without him. Now let's end the story and move on!

I thought of a great name for a bbq joint- "Ray's Pourque". I'll be starting my rehab blog in a few weeks...Layin' heavy on Buffalo this weekend, Kiffin will be fired on Monday.

He's a genius! He's the best hitter I will have seen in my lifetime. He had to leave Boston for so many reasons and not just what he did to the ball club. Lets be a little more realistic... those guys in the club house all want their pay day. It's one of those dreams we all have thinking how this guy and that guy just wants to win. A few years in the majors and a few large paychecks and your perspective changes. I don't think playing baseball for 6 or more months out of the year and being away from your family 50% of the time is all that glorious in and of itself. I won't take away from many the hard work he put in to get to where he is, I wont' say he isnt' worth the money he is paid (speaking inside baseball) but I will say that he worked the system to get himself a trade so he could make more money in the long run. I can't blame him, I would have probably done the same thing. Bottom line, Manny is the best hitter I've seen in my lifetime and that's all I really think about when I think about Manny (Rob from Boston). For all of you thinking what about ARod... well, Arod statistically yes, but ARod has to start hitting in the clutch to get himself into the same discussion as Manny. Sorry NY!

To Rob Cluett

man you hit the nail in the head. All this people talk about hating the guy that was part of 2 WS team(hello we Sox fan haven't won anything before 04 and 07 so show some appreciation) They want to blame Manny for Tanking it when facing Rivera,Then the entire MLB is full of tankers since we consider Rivera a gem of a closer...So hello there mindreaders and future casters can you tell me what numbers are coming up on the powerball?. Ooh yeah mindreaders and futurecaster if Manny is so bad then how come our boy Bay was 0-7 during the series with the Rays at fenway? I doubt Manny would ever tank it that bad...LOL. But seriously stop reading this clowns that only turn us against our beloved players(Remember Teddy once he left the media portrait him as the worse and yet came the All star game on 99 and the house camedown showing the love for Teddy..samething will hapen to Manny someday I hope).

LETS GO PATS!!!

Hey Rays fan from Worcester, I got news for you... THAT RAYS TEAM IS INEXPERIENCED AND WON'T GO FAR! GET OFF YOUR HIGH HORSE AND COME BACK TO REALITY FOR A CHANGE! THEY'LL BE BOUNCED IN THE FIRST ROUND AND THE RED SOX FANS WILL BE LAUGHING AT YOU AND YOUR S**T RAYS! GO SOX!

I would rather have a losing Red Sox than win with a clown like Manny. If my star players think it is ok to knock a 64 year old guy to ground in a tempertantrum over not enough tickets than I don't want the stars. Jason Bay plays honest baseball in the end he will prove a better member of the team. Genius? No, but teenage intellect with amazing hitting abilities, yes.

I have always thought that Manny was just a 10-year old boy. That is the best way to see him. He plays ball like a 10 year old boy. He loves it, he's having fun, and he shows some real exhuberance sometimes (Hi-5 over the wall) but sometimes he's daydreaming when he's standing in the outfield. Unfortunately, as much as I loved to watch him play ball for so many years, and I successfully set aside the "quirks", it got too much for me at the end and it was time to move him. Pushing an old guy to the ground cause you didn't get your way? Maturity level of a 10 year old boy too.

Man-Ram being Man-Ram ... Dude can hit ... period. Dude can slug. I did find it odd however, that his favorite meal is peanut butter & jelly with slices of Italian meatballs inserted in the sandwich ... but hey, a guy should eat what he wants. Man Ram being Man Ram! Just because he likes to wash his "Man-Ram Sandwich" down with milk and honey doesn't mean he isn't the best and most feared hitter in the majors and has been for the last 2 decades. I'm out!

Ice Storm
That is hilarious!
Matt James

Many was great when he WANTED to play but a pain in the a** when he didn't want to. He was becoming such a distraction with his truly selfish and childish antics that I'm actually relieved he is gone. At least now the team knows what they are dealing with.

He quit on his team - end of discussion.

I don't understand you guys who keep defending Manny "because he could hit." Once he decided he wanted out of the Red Sox, he stopped hitting - he faked injuries, barely troubled himself at the plate, refused to play in key games...what kind of ballplayer is that? How were the Sox going to win the pennant or WS with someone like that on the field (or slumped in the dugout)? I loved him as much as anyone when he played honestly, but what he pulled this year, it was a disgrace.

SoxfanlivingintheBX wrote: "...Bay was 0-7 during the series with the Rays at fenway? I doubt Manny would ever tank it that bad..."

Well, Manny was 0-11 at TB from 6/30 to 7/2.

Your team no longer includes Manny. Get over it.

So many of you people are just disgusting. Manny was the best. He could hit, he could play the Green Monster like nobody else, and he could entertain you and make you laugh out loud. I for one would rather lose with Manny than win with Bay. T. Alexander I think you better go back and look at Manny's last games before you say he didn't hit. You are full of it. You people make me ashamed to be a Red Sox fan. I never tell people that don't know me that I am a Red Sox fan anymore because most people think we're a bunch of loud mouth idiots. So many of you obviously are. I don't need to "defend" Manny...he doesn't need defending to a bunch of ingrates.

Dear Beth,

You obviously know nothing about Manny, the Red Sox, or baseball - end of discussion.

manny is nothing but a great baseball player
and thats all we should want to know
at least he isnt jacked full of drugs-
manny pedro and nomar- red sox legends!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!