Don't Worry, It's Just Manny Being Manny . . . I've Always Wanted To Say That
So, I was going to do a whole review of the MLB trades that went on. You know, Teixeira, Griffey Jr., Pudge, etc. and then discuss who got the best and worst deals. Well, I'm not doing that anymore, because WE GOT MANNY! Instead, here's a quick review of my day yesterday.
Bad news: The governator terminated my job. I'm sure many of you read that 200,000 state employees are now getting the federal minimum wage and that 22,000 jobs were cut from the budget. Well, I was one of those 22,000 employees whose job was terminated, like T2 terminated. I know I'm going back to school in a couple of weeks, but for any of my fellow students out there, I'm sure you would agree, every paycheck counts. So, I was a little busy yesterday reviewing the executive order to find out with my boss if there was anyway around it for me. Short answer: No. So now I'm a volunteer. Hey Arnold, if you're reading this, thanks for using close to a quarter of a million people as a political tool. What a jerk. But all of that's ok because . . .
Good news: MANNY!!! The only thing that can go wrong here is that Andruw Jones might get bored on the bench and try to eat someone. Hopefully it's Juan Pierre's throwing arm he starts with because that thing doesn't work anyway. Or we can organize a sumo tournament and get Jason Schmidt involved this season. What's worse the Schmidt-Pierre-Jones signings or Barry Zito? Sorry Giants fans, just had to make myself feel better. Oh wait, I don't even need to bring up Barry Zito to make myself feel better because . . . WE GOT MANNY RAMIREZ!
I was talking to my friend Alex, who is a huge Dodger fan as well, and he wasn't all that excited. He said he was worried about Manny's effort and defense. Ok . . . but, when was the last time the Dodgers had a first-ballot Hall of Famer on the roster, in what arguably is still his prime, and a top-3 hitter in the game (note: the only two hitters I'd take above Manny are A-Rod and Pujols, unless it's October, then just Pujols). Alex came around slowly. As for me, I couldn't be more excited. I was getting prepared for a season without a 20 HR hitter, which was entirely possible with Matt Kemp leading the team with 12. Instead, the only thought going through my mind was, "oh crap, I better get on the phone with the ticket broker now before word spreads and prices skyrocket." Sure enough, while I was on the phone with my broker's office, the tickets I wanted went up 120%. Thankfully the woman who helped me was unbelievably nice and game me the seats for the price that she quoted me when I got on the phone. I won't mention her name because I don't want her to get into trouble even though I'm pretty positive that all 17 of you who read this won't know her (you like that, my estimate for readers shot up from 6 to 17 . . . watch out Sports Guy).
The second the deal for Manny went through, the Dodgers went from also-rans to frontrunners in the NL Worst. The Dodgers have been missing a Manny Ramirez for the last, I don't know, couple of decades. Now I know that I said that I wanted a 27-year old hitter, not some guy in his mid-30's. But, I forgot to mention that there was an exception to that request. When the guy we end up getting is a top-3 hitter in the game today, a prominent player in the most recent World Series winner's lineup, a guy guaranteed to scare opposing pitchers, a guy who does things like this:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=36e_1211288003, and we don't even have to pay him, then I will waive my previous requests for a 27-year old hitter and start jumping up and down cheering that we got the guy. Now the Dodgers' 3-4-5 is Loney, Manny, Kent. Not too shabby. Throw in Kemp, Russell Martin, Casey Blake and company and all of a sudden, our offense doesn't look half bad.
As with every season, the Dodgers just need an offense good enough to get by in order to support our pitching staff. Kind of like the Baltimore Ravens winning a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer playing QB. Even with Brad Penny out, Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley have still been lights out. The bullpen is holding up remarkably well in Saito's absence. I have no doubts that the pitching will be there when it's needed. Now, even with Manny, the question mark remains the offense. But before Manny, it wasn't even a question mark, it was what spelled the Dodgers' doom. This is the kind of guy every Dodgers fan has been praying for, a guy that can single-handedly alter the way our lineup looks.
I was listening to the radio, and the ESPN analyst was discussing how Manny would only be going for his stats. His drive to win would not be there. He might disrupt the clubhouse. Hmm . . . like when Jeff Kent alienated all of the young guys in the clubhouse? Would Manny be going for Andruw Jones type stats and creep below the Mendoza-line? If Manny just goes for his stats, he's still hitting another 15 HR and batting .300 and remains one of the top run producers in the game. Manny can do whatever he wants as far as I'm concerned. Even if he keeps to himself, drives management crazy and only goes for his stats, this is still a ridiculous upgrade that deserves to be celebrated. Not only that, but wait until you see the reception the guy gets day in and day out because nobody that I've talked to can remember a mid-season move like this by the Dodgers, a move that completely alters an entire city's way of thinking about our baseball team. I mean seriously, ticket prices doubled in less than an hour! No offense to Bobby Bonilla, but when's the last time you saw a Dodgers trade or free agent acquisition stir things up this much? Front page of the L.A. Times? Pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming. I was even texting the random guy who sits in front of me during my mini-plan games. His name's Ramon. When I went to Scott's bachelor party, I had tickets to the Dodgers-Angels game that I had to give up. My friend D.J. took them and Ramon said to D.J., "hey, where's Eric? . . . Oh, tell him the drunk Mexican who sits in front of him says what's up." Where else could that pass as ok besides at a Dodgers game? Is there any other circumstance that would make it ok for me to type the words "drunk Mexican?"
Yesterday I went from beyond pissed at the governator to a state of utter bliss because of a trade. It led to me texting words of elation back and forth with a guy I met because of a 15 game mini-plan for Dodgers games. Sometimes I think about how insignificant sports are and why I invest so much emotional energy into them. But when I think about yesterday, I remember just one of the many reasons why I love sports. Plus, again, I can't wait until I see a guy with baggy pants and dreads in a Dodgers uniform do something insane, because then I get to say, "Don't worry, it's just Manny being Manny." Yes, for those who asked, I'm happy about the trade.
What to watch for:
Tonight: Manny, of course. Dodgers battle the D-Backs at Chavez Ravine in an intriguing pitching match-up between Clayton Kershaw and his father, Randy Johnson. An anonymous source told me that Randy Johnson is actually Clayton Kershaw's father. It must be true.
Tomorrow: Zab Judah vs. Joshua Clottey. Brooklyn vs. Bronx. HBO Boxing After Dark which will also air last week's Cotto-Margarito fight in case you missed it. All you need to know about Judah vs. Clottey is that in 2004, after Clottey beat a guy named Lloyd Joseph in a decision, he said he wanted to fight Judah. So, Judah, entourage in tow, went to Clottey's gym, started talking all kinds of mess as Clottey was trying to train, got in Clottey and Clottey's trainer's faces and said he wanted to bring it outside. Judah was ready to fight Clottey in the street. Clottey says he would have taken him because he started out as a street fighter before going into boxing. That is not from an anonymous source. That is courtesy of ESPN. Watch this fight, bet on Clottey. My money says that Judah's not completely healed from punching through a glass window and requiring 50 stitches a few months back to nix a fight in which Sugar Shane Mosley would have pummelled him. Plus he'll fade in the late rounds per usual. Translation: If I actually do get down on Clottey, make sure to bet on Zab Judah to take advantage of my recent losing streak.
Bad news: The governator terminated my job. I'm sure many of you read that 200,000 state employees are now getting the federal minimum wage and that 22,000 jobs were cut from the budget. Well, I was one of those 22,000 employees whose job was terminated, like T2 terminated. I know I'm going back to school in a couple of weeks, but for any of my fellow students out there, I'm sure you would agree, every paycheck counts. So, I was a little busy yesterday reviewing the executive order to find out with my boss if there was anyway around it for me. Short answer: No. So now I'm a volunteer. Hey Arnold, if you're reading this, thanks for using close to a quarter of a million people as a political tool. What a jerk. But all of that's ok because . . .
Good news: MANNY!!! The only thing that can go wrong here is that Andruw Jones might get bored on the bench and try to eat someone. Hopefully it's Juan Pierre's throwing arm he starts with because that thing doesn't work anyway. Or we can organize a sumo tournament and get Jason Schmidt involved this season. What's worse the Schmidt-Pierre-Jones signings or Barry Zito? Sorry Giants fans, just had to make myself feel better. Oh wait, I don't even need to bring up Barry Zito to make myself feel better because . . . WE GOT MANNY RAMIREZ!
I was talking to my friend Alex, who is a huge Dodger fan as well, and he wasn't all that excited. He said he was worried about Manny's effort and defense. Ok . . . but, when was the last time the Dodgers had a first-ballot Hall of Famer on the roster, in what arguably is still his prime, and a top-3 hitter in the game (note: the only two hitters I'd take above Manny are A-Rod and Pujols, unless it's October, then just Pujols). Alex came around slowly. As for me, I couldn't be more excited. I was getting prepared for a season without a 20 HR hitter, which was entirely possible with Matt Kemp leading the team with 12. Instead, the only thought going through my mind was, "oh crap, I better get on the phone with the ticket broker now before word spreads and prices skyrocket." Sure enough, while I was on the phone with my broker's office, the tickets I wanted went up 120%. Thankfully the woman who helped me was unbelievably nice and game me the seats for the price that she quoted me when I got on the phone. I won't mention her name because I don't want her to get into trouble even though I'm pretty positive that all 17 of you who read this won't know her (you like that, my estimate for readers shot up from 6 to 17 . . . watch out Sports Guy).
The second the deal for Manny went through, the Dodgers went from also-rans to frontrunners in the NL Worst. The Dodgers have been missing a Manny Ramirez for the last, I don't know, couple of decades. Now I know that I said that I wanted a 27-year old hitter, not some guy in his mid-30's. But, I forgot to mention that there was an exception to that request. When the guy we end up getting is a top-3 hitter in the game today, a prominent player in the most recent World Series winner's lineup, a guy guaranteed to scare opposing pitchers, a guy who does things like this:
http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=36e_1211288003, and we don't even have to pay him, then I will waive my previous requests for a 27-year old hitter and start jumping up and down cheering that we got the guy. Now the Dodgers' 3-4-5 is Loney, Manny, Kent. Not too shabby. Throw in Kemp, Russell Martin, Casey Blake and company and all of a sudden, our offense doesn't look half bad.
As with every season, the Dodgers just need an offense good enough to get by in order to support our pitching staff. Kind of like the Baltimore Ravens winning a Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer playing QB. Even with Brad Penny out, Derek Lowe and Chad Billingsley have still been lights out. The bullpen is holding up remarkably well in Saito's absence. I have no doubts that the pitching will be there when it's needed. Now, even with Manny, the question mark remains the offense. But before Manny, it wasn't even a question mark, it was what spelled the Dodgers' doom. This is the kind of guy every Dodgers fan has been praying for, a guy that can single-handedly alter the way our lineup looks.
I was listening to the radio, and the ESPN analyst was discussing how Manny would only be going for his stats. His drive to win would not be there. He might disrupt the clubhouse. Hmm . . . like when Jeff Kent alienated all of the young guys in the clubhouse? Would Manny be going for Andruw Jones type stats and creep below the Mendoza-line? If Manny just goes for his stats, he's still hitting another 15 HR and batting .300 and remains one of the top run producers in the game. Manny can do whatever he wants as far as I'm concerned. Even if he keeps to himself, drives management crazy and only goes for his stats, this is still a ridiculous upgrade that deserves to be celebrated. Not only that, but wait until you see the reception the guy gets day in and day out because nobody that I've talked to can remember a mid-season move like this by the Dodgers, a move that completely alters an entire city's way of thinking about our baseball team. I mean seriously, ticket prices doubled in less than an hour! No offense to Bobby Bonilla, but when's the last time you saw a Dodgers trade or free agent acquisition stir things up this much? Front page of the L.A. Times? Pinch me to make sure I'm not dreaming. I was even texting the random guy who sits in front of me during my mini-plan games. His name's Ramon. When I went to Scott's bachelor party, I had tickets to the Dodgers-Angels game that I had to give up. My friend D.J. took them and Ramon said to D.J., "hey, where's Eric? . . . Oh, tell him the drunk Mexican who sits in front of him says what's up." Where else could that pass as ok besides at a Dodgers game? Is there any other circumstance that would make it ok for me to type the words "drunk Mexican?"
Yesterday I went from beyond pissed at the governator to a state of utter bliss because of a trade. It led to me texting words of elation back and forth with a guy I met because of a 15 game mini-plan for Dodgers games. Sometimes I think about how insignificant sports are and why I invest so much emotional energy into them. But when I think about yesterday, I remember just one of the many reasons why I love sports. Plus, again, I can't wait until I see a guy with baggy pants and dreads in a Dodgers uniform do something insane, because then I get to say, "Don't worry, it's just Manny being Manny." Yes, for those who asked, I'm happy about the trade.
What to watch for:
Tonight: Manny, of course. Dodgers battle the D-Backs at Chavez Ravine in an intriguing pitching match-up between Clayton Kershaw and his father, Randy Johnson. An anonymous source told me that Randy Johnson is actually Clayton Kershaw's father. It must be true.
Tomorrow: Zab Judah vs. Joshua Clottey. Brooklyn vs. Bronx. HBO Boxing After Dark which will also air last week's Cotto-Margarito fight in case you missed it. All you need to know about Judah vs. Clottey is that in 2004, after Clottey beat a guy named Lloyd Joseph in a decision, he said he wanted to fight Judah. So, Judah, entourage in tow, went to Clottey's gym, started talking all kinds of mess as Clottey was trying to train, got in Clottey and Clottey's trainer's faces and said he wanted to bring it outside. Judah was ready to fight Clottey in the street. Clottey says he would have taken him because he started out as a street fighter before going into boxing. That is not from an anonymous source. That is courtesy of ESPN. Watch this fight, bet on Clottey. My money says that Judah's not completely healed from punching through a glass window and requiring 50 stitches a few months back to nix a fight in which Sugar Shane Mosley would have pummelled him. Plus he'll fade in the late rounds per usual. Translation: If I actually do get down on Clottey, make sure to bet on Zab Judah to take advantage of my recent losing streak.
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