Howzat! Manny Ramirez Plays Cricket

In the seven and a half seasons that Manny Ramirez played for the Boston Red Sox we witnessed a myriad of Manny Moments -- but none of them involved cricket. Manny took a few swings of the paddle today to promote Direct TV's "Cricket Ticket." Behold the video evidence:


Manny Being Manny: Cricket Edition from Big League Stew on Vimeo.

Nomar Could Retire (Boo)

It's too bad that Nomar Garciaparra is pondering retirement. Ken Rosenthal tells us that the Oakland A's are the only team interested in signing him. He would end his career on a better note if he could play one more injury-free season. Plus, if he signs with an American League team, he will (finally) get to play at Fenway Park one more time and get a well deserved ovation. The A's play at Fenway July 6th. Standing room tickets are still available for $25/$20.

On the subject of former Red Sox:

What is Manny thinking? He turned down a two-year $45 million offer from the Dodgers today. He is just waiting for spring training to end so he doesn't have to go.

Trot Nixon may play for the Milwaukee Brewers in 2009 if he can make the roster.

Alas, Baseball!

The rain has subsided and the Red Sox are playing. It's time to stop watching the Great Turtle Race. (Yes, there is a turtle race being tracked on the web.)

Check out Ben McGrath's profile of Manny Ramirez which appears in the latest issue of the New Yorker. It's a long-winded piece (7 pages) and for those of us who read the Boston Globe sports section on a daily basis, it doesn't offer a ton of additional insight into Manny's elusive personality, but there are some interesting tidbits:

• David Ortiz says: "Manny is a crazy motherfucker. That guy, he’s in his own world, on his own planet. Totally different human being than everyone else."

• "Ramirez chose to name both of his first two sons Manny, Jr."

• As a youth, Manny left his Washington Heights apartment every morning at five-thirty, to run up Snake Hill "with a rope tied around his waist attached to a spare tire that dragged on the pavement behind him."

• In Cleveland, "Ramirez raided his teammates’ lockers, borrowing their bats and clothes—even their underwear—for luck. The baggy-uniform look, now popular across the league, can be traced to his swiping the pants of Dan Williams, a bullpen catcher in Cleveland, who outweighed him by at least fifty pounds."

• Manny "once requested a trade to Pawtucket."

• Manny watches the History Channel.
  

• Manny likes to travel "just to learn about different cultures." At the top of his list of places to visit is the Forbidden City in Beijing.

Hat tip to Baseball Musings for the link to "Waiting for Manny by Ben McGrath."
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Not Manny's Grill / Goldfish Crackers

Kudos to Amalie Benjamin over at Extra Bases who was able to a) extract a player to media comment from Manny Ramirez for the first time this spring and b) get the scoop on the JENN-AIR grill that is on sale on eBay in Manny's name. Evidently the grill is owned by a neighbor and Manny posed with it to help the guy out. (Nice.) The eBay listing states that the grill was originally purchased new for $4000 but the bidding is already up to $195,100.00 (as of 8:28 pm PT) with seven days left in the auction. You've got to be f***ing kidding me. It's a grill. If Manny posed with my Swingline stapler how much would it sell for?

*completely unrelated subject*
Has anyone else tried "Flavor Blasted" Goldfish Crackers? I thought that old skool Goldfish were good as is, but now that I've tried the "Flavor Blasted" variety (specifically Xtra Cheddar), regular old "Cheddar Flavor" just doesn't do it for me anymore. Sigh. Goldfish are a very underrated snack by the way.

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Manny Reports!

Photo from Boston.com

Manny Ramirez reported to training camp today, essentially ending the media induced "controversy" surrounding his absence. To the great chagrin of the press corp there will be no stakeout-style March 1 deadline drama -- "It's 9:01 am and there is still no sign of Ramirez!" Remember last year?

A couple of Manny-related tidbits from today:

• Manny reported to camp with spiffy red "highlights."
  

I had a hunch that Manny would arrive "clean cut" after sporting the shaggy look for a several years. You know, circa 1992...

...but I was dead wrong.

• Manny did not speak to reporters, but his agent, Greg Genske, did hold a brief press conference. Via Extra Bases:
  

Manny is 34 now. Do you think it's time for him to be more accountable instead of being babied like a 12-year-old?

Genske: "Well, I wouldn't accept your characterization of his behavior to begin with, and again I'll just say he's reported to spring training here, he's happy to be here he's here before he's required to be here, either by the team or the mandatory report date. He's happy to be here and ready to go."

Do you think since he's your meal ticket, you should try to help him grow up?

Genske: "Again, I wouldn't agree with your characterization, either of Manny's behavior or of whatever else you're talking about."

"Babied like a 12-year-old?"..."meal ticket?"...and we wonder why Manny doesn't speak to the press?
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