Well well, Red Sox Nation. He’s at it again.
It turns out that the Manny Ramirez Show is a travelling act. And ladies and gentleman, the show is no longer playing in Boston.
If there was an award for the most hamstring injuries in Major League Baseball history, I can’t imagine anyone even challenging Ramirez for the prize. It was announced in mid-March, only two weeks after finally, mercifully signing with the Los Angeles Dodgers for two years. Although Ramirez did stick to his one-week time frame - playing his first post-injury Spring Training game on March 25, eight days after stepping out with sore 
hammy - he’s beginning to make some noise.
After leaving the Dodgers’ final Spring Training game this afternoon, Manny complained, of all things, of not getting any fly balls in the game. Who are you, and what did you do with the Manny Ramirez who played in Boston? It’s not typical Manny to gripe about a lack of playing time, but it is typical Manny to gripe, period.
This is only the beginning. Manny and his agent, Scott Boras, openly sought a deal of at least four years and $100 million. They got neither. Shortly after the 2008 season ended, Ramirez announced that the price of gas had gone up, and so had he. Apparently, this metaphor was more accurate than he probably would have preferred - when the price of gas bottomed out, so did his. So sorry, Man-Ram.
We all know Manny was loafing with the Red Sox in order to dissuade them from picking up his option year so he could instead hit the free-agent market, which he assumed would bring him more money. That plot didn’t exactly work out, and may have been the biggest backfire since Richard Nixon thought it might be a good idea to see just what those Democrats were up to.
Even though Manny’s request for more playing time may seem benign, this is only the beginning of the deterioration of his relationship with the Dodgers and manager Joe Torre. It was clear through the statements Ramirez made to the media that he thinks he knows better than Torre how often and for how long he should play. Using the media as a weapon is a new tactic for Ramirez, but if history holds true, it won’t be the only weapon.
If Manny, and presumably his agent, Scott Boras, were low enough to hold the Red Sox hostage by refusing to give effort, why should we assume he wouldn’t do the same to the Dodgers? Ramirez and Boras can’t be happy that they didn’t get the deal they want. The Dodgers made concessions, but concessions aren’t enough when dealing with that pair. Ramirez and Boras expect no less than fervent worship, and they throw a tantrum when that’s not what they receive.
Now that Manny is somewhat settled in with his new team, his true colors are going to start to show. Right now, it’s only a request for more playing time. But that’s a sign that he expects to run the show, and will later turn into demands for days off, mysterious injuries, grandmothers who die multiple times, and so on. If Ramirez and Boras are unhappy with the length of the deal they signed one month ago, they are going to show it.
Was there ever really any doubt?
You made some good points there.