Baseball Bitch: the no-shows

When it counts, these guys are a no-show; that would be Pedro Martinez and Manny Ramirez. Two of the most recognized and celebrated baseball citzens of the DR, and pseudo-members of my beloved Red Sox Nation.

Whenever we seem to get down to the nitty gritty, these guys just don't show up - physically or otherwise.

Manny took the 3 game series off - against the primary division rival Yankees - because he didn't feel good. Well, apparently he didn't feel that bad, he was in a hotel bar socializing with some Yankees Saturday night after a loss, one he didn't even attend. Tough to figure, tough to swallow, simply brutal.

Add in Pedro's shortest - and worst - start of the year, a 4 inning sunny-Saturday-stinker, one in which he was posted a 3 run lead before he took the mound in the 2nd. Ayy dios.

Imagine that, $32.7 milliion a year worth of no-shows.

Manny's 3 game siesta === that's a sick leave worth $318,000. Let that sink in for a minute. That's roughly 556,927 Presidente's.

Oh, and of course the series happened to be with the most "hated" rival, the NY Yankees. I really like Manny Ramirez, but after seeing him tell Joe Morgan of ESPN on Thursday how he dreams of playing for the Yankees someday (oh great, here's $125 million thanks for the laughs Manny, good luck with the Yankees) I really wonder what the hell is wrong with these two.

Above and beyond the unnerving special treatment they both get; each left a day early before the All-Star break this year, as well as last year. Pedro took 3 or 4 more days to return to S.D. for the lighting of the Pan Am torch (this is acceptable, but just another indicator of his priorities).

Pedro called in sick last week too. He was to face their chief competition for a playoff spot - the Oakland A's - after they beat the Sox in Pedro's absence, the A's took the Wild Card lead.

Both players quit and left before game 162 last year as well. Pedro is babied like no other player in the history of baseball; pitch counts, 5, sometimes 6 days of rest, early exits, no minor league rehabs, good faith contracts, and he's on the DL so much you have to wonder what this guy is made of.

Neither of them talks to the press now because they (the press) are too harsh on them. Boston's press and the yokels they stir up are harsh and ruthless, that's agreed, so I don't blame them.

However, criticism is part of the job, and these two offer a lot to criticize. These guys have some really thin skin.

In spring training, Pedro complained that if he didn't get his option year (team owned option - that means they had to pay for the right) picked up, he'd refuse to play in Boston again.

Against all common sense and diligent management, the Red Sox gave him the $17.5 million for next year in good faith, again catering to his pleas for "respect".

Soon after getting the option picked up, he said it didn't change anything and that he'd still entertain other offers. What the hell does he know about respect?

Since then he's gone on to say that he "definitely won't play in Boston after '04." Wow, what a great teammate.

How can someone with so much, complain so much? Does he ever look around and see that everyone is under the same microscope in sports? What the hell makes him think he's so special?

As I write this, David Ortiz, giving a grayish 65% while running the bases fails to slide into home and is tagged out. It shouldn't have been a close play.

Red Sox Nation doesn't take that kind of crap sitting. He'll hear about it, I'm curious to hear his response, "I'm not talking to the press anymore".

I know this, it all looks very familiar.

Focus, Mannygate and the Dishwasher

Gelmi-an said:

.........And every other person in this world who is Dominican. Ha!!! With so-called Dominicans like Golo, who needs Haitians??

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Focus Gelmidashan, focus. This is a baseball discusion.

As for the original poster, where should I begin with this guy??

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How about waking up, adding two extra scoops of some fresh ground, double the sugar and read todays papers?

-M Ramirez became sick and was in fact TOLD by his manager not to play for fear that other players might get infected.

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Gelmidashan, where did you get this information from? He was TOLD not to play yesterday too. Infected with what? MannyI'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'I'tis?

Maybe Grady Little is a genius after all, because if you had a team of Manny's you'd have to ask the national anthem singer to jump into the catchers equipment, get the groundscrew boys and put them in the infield and get a couple hot dog guys and an usher to fill out the outfield. Who's going to pitch? Pedro's probably sick too. YEAH TEAM!!!

If I TOLD you I had 5 aces would you fold? Sounds like it's worth a try.

-Wrong about the "socializing" hotel-bar thing. M Ramirez lives in this hotel(Carlton Ritz?). Should he be eating his luch/dinner inside the bathroom?. by the way, that yankee with him was Enrique Wilson, a former teammate and current pal.

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Wrong? It was reported in all the major newspapers, MLB.com, on the news and on the airwaves?

If he was doing anything short of mime exercises in the corner by himself, I'd say he was socializing. Thoroughly contemptible. If you debate this point then it's useless to go on. You clearly don't "get it".

Of course, Manny can eat wherever he wants and socialize with whomever he wants. However, the power of perception in this case - when he's been calling in sick for the biggest goddamned series of the f'n year - is so incredibly lopsided to blatant and incomprehensible ignorance, it's completely unfathomable to me that someone could come to his defense. But some people just have to wave their freak flag someplace where it can be seen. Thanks DR1.com

-Yes Pedro had a bad game, but this is the only time this season that he lost a game like this while been healthy. also the man had NADA runs support in all of his previous games.

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WHAT? If we were at a bar talking sports I would have left to talk to the dishwashers by now.

They just scored 13 runs for him in his previous two starts. That's a run per inning pitched. How old are the newspapers your reading? Make sure they say 2003 on them.

Go back three weeks ago and Pedro goes 5 decent innings against Oakland and loses, not bad. 2 of 3 starts before that were losses, healthy losses. Listening to him whine and complain all the time you'd swear he's never really healthy, but whatever. Menstrual cycles will do that kind of stuff. But I swear, if I hear he misses his next period and misses a start because of morning sickness, I'm coming to Washington Heights to find you, and then you're in real trouble fella.

-Manny is from Washinton Heights,New York. a life long Yankees fan who even while playing for the Indians made no secret of some day playing in his beloved New York.

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(Dolores, if you somehow made it to here, please STOP reading and click "Atras".)

I don't care if Manny's mom perched her ankles on the Stadium's bullpen fence and Mickey Mantle is the fater. I don't care if Yogi Berra delivered the bumbling bundle of ignorance on home plate and Steinbrenner is his hetero man servant. If you play for the Red Sox, you don't "wish" to play for the Yankees. On planet Manny, there has to be a recording chamber that took down the address of where he is, who he is playing for and who are his arch enemies - in business at least.

-Daivy Ortiz is your best clutch hitter this season period(you lucky dog); it's fair to mention that Ortiz is doing all this while getting pay the minimum salary. At 6'4" this dude is a toletero, not a base stealer. [/B]

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I should leave David Ort'ez' alone because he's been a great addition, as you pointed out, for nothing. However, there's a reason people weren't kicking his door down, and it showed in this case - first time all year in my notice; he doesn't hustle and thinks he's better than he is. Even I could tell that by watching him play for Cibao.

Nomar is the best clutch hitter this season, last season too, and probably a few before that as well. Ortiz is having a great year and I'm thrilled to have him.

However, the fact is that he's been hitting mistakes all year. Sliders that don't slide, cutters that don't cut and curves that don't curve. He CAN hit a fastball for sure, but there isn't a major leaguer that can't. I'm not really knocking him though, it's his job to hit mistakes.

Understand, I don't want to take anything away from him, but if you'd take him over Nomar in a clutch situation, well, then I'm going to have to excuse myself and see if that dishwasher wants to play dominoes again.

Re: Re: Mr Negative meets Mr negative

Gelmi-an said:

-Wrong about the "socializing" hotel-bar thing.

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From Tuesday's Boston Globe:
"In Toronto, Yankees infielder Enrique Wilson, who played with Ramirez for the Indians from 1997 to 2000, told New York reporters he socialized with Ramirez Saturday night after the Yankees pounded Pedro Martinez and the Sox, 10-7, in the afternoon."

This horse is glue.

Settle down

I bashed Mo Vaughn and John Valentin relentlessly, Clemens too.

Go to CT1.com (connecticut), NJ1.com (jersey) and Bush1.com (texas) and you'll see my rants there

Curses are for people of rank, and tea sipping old ladies with too much time on their hands - or miserables like us who post on message boards.

I guess it's the boogey man that's passing strep throat around?

LONG LIVE DAVID ORTIZ!!!
(he's due for the case of the sniffles any moment now)