Vitale upset about Manny's Boston exit

Excerpted from today's Names column

Dick Vitale is to the Tampa Bay Rays what Ben Affleck is to the BoSox. ESPN's high priest of hoops is the Rays' No. 1 fan. "It's an exciting time down here,'' Dickie V told us yesterday. "I've been a season ticket holder for 11 years, and I'll tell you, people used to humiliate me because the team was so bad. My buddies at ESPN laughed at me.'' Not anymore.

The Rays have home-field advantage against the Sox, and Vitale believes that's the key to victory. "It's mandatory to win these two at home,'' he said, predicting Tampa will take the series in seven games. Vitale called Terry Francona's Sox a "classy club'' and agreed with Tim McCarver's inflammatory assessment of Manny Ramirez. (Earlier this week, McCarver labeled Manny's actions before the trade "despicable.'') "I'm very upset with the way Manny carried on at the end,'' said Vitale, who'll throw out the first pitch at the Trop tomorrow. "It's absolutely unbelievable the way he orchestrated his way out of there.'' Vitale can't make it to Boston Monday and Tuesday, but he'll be watching. "You betcha, baby,'' he said.