roomofzen: Foil in the Oven: We Love Manny

I was totally dumbfounded on Thursday as I drove around listening to WEEI. The anger and venom that callers and hosts alike were hurling towards Manny Ramirez was totally ridiculous. I'm sure by now you've all heard that the Red Sox were invited to Washington DC on Wednesday to visit the Walter Reed Medical Center and to be the guests of honor at a White House celebration. Manny Ramirez, among others, was not in attendence, which prompted President Bush to joke that his grandmother must have died again. I will say, I'm very liberal, and I haven't been one of the President's biggest supporters, but a good sense of humor goes a long way with me. His speech was full of high-quality humor. The Manny crack was great, as was his joke that he and Dice-K both "have trouble answering questions in English." Thanking Papelbon for wearing pants, that's priceless. But, I'm getting off track.....

I don't understand why these fans haven't figured Manny out yet. Fans and hosts alike always talk about what a confounding character he is. The guy isn't hard to figure out, and he's really not as unpredictable as Dennis and Callahan might have you believe. He's a great right-handed hitter. He's a serviceable left fielder. He's a guy that gets along extremely well with his teammates, but who doesn't like to be in the media spotlight. He doesn't like to give interviews, he doesn't like to make public appearances, and if you are going to expect him to be at the forefront of these types of events, you're setting yourself up to be dissapointed. Jason Varitek and Curt Schilling are the perfect guys to do stuff like this. It's just not Manny's thing.

In a perfect world, would Manny have been at Walter Reed smiling and shaking hands with injured soldiers who idolize him? Yes, of course. But, his absence certainly did not warrant the vicious protests that came from Red Sox fans. What seemed like hundreds of callers expressed their anger and dissapointment towards Manny. They called him "unpatriotic", "un-American", "ungrateful", and in perhaps the most absurd claim of all said "shouldn't he be trying to do everything he can to impress us so that we'll pick up his option for next year." First of all, I can assure you that Manny's attendance at Wednesday's festivities will have absolutely no bearing on whether or not his option is picked up. If Manny had gone on Wednesday, and then hit .200 this season with 15 home runs and 63 RBIs, he'd be playing in Tampa Bay next year. If he drives in 130 runs this year, his option will be picked up regardless of what he does or says off the field. This is the way it should be. Second, can we really call this unpatriotic? Manny never released a statement about his absence and there is really nothing to indicate that this was a political statement in any way. In fact, everything I know about Manny leads me to believe that he probably looked at the spring training schedule a few months ago and made plans to spend February 27th with his wife or with some close friends because he would want to relax. Theo Epstein wasn't there on Wednesday, and I haven't heard a single person accuse him of being unpatriotic. I haven't heard anybody say that the Red Sox should consider not extending his contract because of the absence.

I don't know why Manny wasn't there. I suspect it's because he doesn't give a fuck about anything but baseball right now. I certainly have nothing that indicates to me that his absence was an attempt to make an anti-American statement. I have no problem with it, and frankly I don't see it having any effect on the chemistry of the team. Furthermore, I wasn't suprised at all that he wasn't there. If you were suprised, then you obviously haven't been paying close enough attention over the past seven years. I love Manny, and the only thing I care about is that he's ready to hit when the season gets going. Nothing else really matters.

A wave of terror came over me when the radio announced that a former Patriot free agent had signed with the Philadelphia Eagles. I assumed the worst. My favorite player, Randy Moss, had allied himself with my most hated rival. Luckily, that player turned out to be Asante Samuel, and the anxiety quickly subsided. Samuel is a great player, and I think that he will probably be an upgrade for the wretched Ealges, but I really don't think that this move makes much sense for them.

First of all, Lito Sheppard and Sheldon Brown are scheduled to make 2 million and 1.75 million this year respectively. I expect that one of those two, most likely Sheppard, will now be cut. Samuel is most certainly an upgrade over Sheppard and Brown, but I have to wonder if this upgrade needed to be made. I've always thought that Sheppard and Brown are underrated, and I felt like the Eagles secondary was one of the team's strongest units last year. Frankly, I think that money could have been better spent adressing more pressing needs. For example, I can't say enough that this team needs an elite receiver if it is going to have any hope of competing in the NFC East. Randy Moss is out there right now, and reports are that he and the Patriots are not as close on a deal as people might think. Eagles owner Jeff Lurie said that the team had Samuel as the number one free agent on the market. There is no way that Asante could have the same impact on the team that Moss would if he plays as well as he did last year. That being said, if the Eagles sign Moss, I might go take a nap on the T tracks.

The Eagles rarely splurge in free agency. Javon Kearse and Terrell Owens are really the only other examples of guys that got deals this large from Philly. So, maybe they are seeing something I'm not. Certainly, Samuel's nose for the ball will prove a key element in Jim Johnson's schemes that are built around pressuring the quarterback in many different ways. But, at 5'9 Samuel isn't a guy that's coming in to shut down Plaxico Burress (6'5) and Terrell Owens (6'3, about 215 pounds, known to cry in post-game news conferences). So, the Eagles really haven't changed much. They will continue to have a good defense, and Brian Westbrook will be their only weapon on offense. If this team wants to scare me or anybody that plays in New York or Dallas, they need to bring in a big-time receiver. Until then, I'm unimpressed.

Plax is a big man, so is TO

Speaking of the Giants, they are going to need to take serious measures to add depth to the linebacking corps. The G-Men lost two key contributors this week when Kawika Mitchell and Reggie Torbor moved to the AFC East (Mitchell with Buffalo and Torbor with Miami). Mitchell was a key starter for the Giants all year long, and Torbor has been a valuable backup for several years. Torbor proved particularly valuable this season after Mathias Kiwanuka went down. Lance Briggs is still available. However, I'd like to think that we can find ourselves a better deal out there. Kiwanuka should be much improved at LB this year, but I'm skeptical as to whether he'll ever really end up being a solid all around player at that position. The guy made it to the NFL as a passrusher. I don't know if you can instill in him the instincts that a player gets from playing linebacker for many years. However, he is a great athlete, so we'll have to wait and see. All I know is, we're thin there at the moment, and I hope that need will be addressed either through free agency or in the draft.

Good piece by Jason Whitlock. I especially like his ideas about Strahan. I agree with him that Strahan, much like he did last year, will "contemplate" retirement until training camp ends. This is fine with me. Michael Strahan doesn't need training camp anymore, and frankly I'm willing to put that aside if he suits up next year. I know a lot of people don't give the G-Men any chance at repeating, but I can't understand why. Let's assume that Corey Webster, Aaron Ross, Michael Johnson, Osi, and Justin Tuck are all one year better. That means our defense overall will be better than it was last year. We will most likely be without Gibril Wilson, but he generally misses the majority of the year with injury anyways. Furthermore, a much more confident Eli Manning, a healthy Plax, a healthy Shockey, an improved Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw, and finally an intact offensive line. I'm not saying that it's a lock. But, the pieces are certainly there. But, Strahan is the key, and I'm willing to concede anything that he wants in exchange for his return.

I know that I've been talking about the Lakers a lot lately, but I can't help it. I'm terrified of them, and I'm just glad that the Finals are the earliest the Celtics can possibly see them in the playoffs. Look, they have missed Andrew Bynum for parts of the year and they just recently got Pau Gasol, and they still only have 18 losses! In the West! Last night was their first loss in 11 games in the West. This team is scary. The fact that they have three strong inside presences (assuming Bynum is ready to go come the postseason), a very solid bench, and an experienced point guard means that Kobe Bryant is going to be able to fully showcase his greatness for the first time since Shaq was dealt. So yes, I'm afraid of them. I'm also excited to watch them, particularly come playoff time.

Wednesday night confirmed to me that the Cavaliers are no longer a threat to the Celtics or Pistons. Certainly, they will come together more before the playoffs, but there is no way that team can matchup with Boston or Detroit on defense. That game Wednesday night was much more lopsided than the score indicates, and what stuck out to me the most was, much like the analysts predicted, the Cavaliers gave away their perimeter defenders. Ray Allen abused Wally Sczcerbiak, who is not quick enough to stay with anybody that the Celtics or Pistons have at the 2 spot. Wally was always missing time in Boston with chronic ankle problems. Those shaky ankles were on display Wednesday night, and unless he goes down again and the Cavs find another answer, I can't see them as a realistic threat to go far in the East.