Wednesday, October 01, 2008

Manny Ramirez Should Join Tomorrow's VP Debate

...as long as it doesn't interfere with playing in Game 2, that is. I mean, looking at the quotes from the postgame news conference, I really can't think of anyone else who can be that naturally magnanimous and sincere when describing unbelievable and heroic situations, like his golf-swing-on-ball-in-dirt-turned-inexplicable-home-run at bat in today's game. Consider these answers, and remember that this is taking place at a post-game press conference, in a room full of Chicago media:

Q: There were a couple times that you fell behind in counts and the at bats kind of went on. Did you feel like they were nibbling you? Is that just taking a good at bat? Do you feel like they were trying to avoid giving you something to hit?

MANNY RAMIREZ: Well, in that situation I ain't thinking about nothing. I'm just trying to get ready for every pitch. He did make a great pitch. You've got to give him credit. But I don't know how I did it. Put a good piece of wood on the bat, and I drove the ball.

Q: Manny, on that home run, you're bent over, you're stumbling out of the batter's box, your helmet is coming off, your pants are falling down, and you hit it out. How do you do that?

MANNY RAMIREZ: First, I want to thank Joe for cutting my hair.

He did make a good pitch, and I just drove it. You've got to give that guy credit. I was just lucky just to drive it out of the ballpark.

But in that situation, like I said, I'm just trying to get ready for every pitch out there.

In both situations, he credited Cubs pitcher Sean Marshall for pitching a solid pitch. In neither situation did Ramirez allude to the fact that this 25th postseason home run further extends his MLB record for postseason homers. In one situation, did Manny even make a joke to lighten the mood.

I mean, who is this guy? And why didn't either presidential candidate pick Manny Ramirez for a vice president (people might actually watch tomorrow night's debate, for one thing)? For all the talk about "Manny approaches the game like a 12-year old kid," he certainly approaches the postgame media circus like a professional. And I can only think that his answers are nothing but genuine reflections from a man who rally loves the game. I'm in awe.

Q: Manny, you really played superbly since coming to the Dodgers. What do you think has transformed you?

MANNY RAMIREZ: Nothing, I'm just being Manny. That's it. I've been playing great everywhere, and I'm just happy that I'm here in LA. It was a great move for me, just to go and show people that that other stuff that I left behind wasn't true, that I just want to come and get a new life and play the game, play hard and show people that I still can do this.

Q: You guys have both been on winning teams. What kind of edge do you think it gives you winning the first game and kind of going into their ballpark and taking it like this?

DEREK LOWE: You know, I've seen both sides of it. I think we both have. With Boston we've had so many great match ups with the Yankees over the years. We've been up, down, down 3-0 and found a way to come back. It is only one game. We're not going to get ahead of ourselves. He's won one more World Series than I have, and again, having been part of being up one, down two, up three, down three, you can never get too excited.

We know [Carlos] Zambrano is a fantastic pitcher. So yes, it's one win, but we've got a long way to go.

MANNY RAMIREZ: Like D Lowe said, you cannot get too happy and too sad. It's only one game. We've still got to go tomorrow and play hard. We're going against the best pitcher in the National League, and they've got a great offense. But we cannot fall asleep with those guys. They're the best team in the National League and anything could happen.

Frank, SIGN MANNY RAMIREZ. Make him do your press conferences as well. I'm serious, he could be a great face of the Dodgers for years to come.

And D-Lowe, great job today. Magnificent. The fact that earlier on in this press conference, you said "DeRosa hits a home run and you're down 2-0 but it's still early. You've got to believe in your offense, that they're going to come around."--that only underlines that you too have a great sense of humor.

But you were right, the Dodgers came through with the bats big time tonight, and stole a game from the Cubs that they needed to win, with Zambrano on the mound tomorrow ready to mow us down.

The statistic that everyone was saying on the radio show was that, 20 out of 24 times, the winner of Game 1 in the Divisional Series playoff goes on to win the series.

I'm not feeling comfortable, no matter what the odds. Go get 'em tomorrow, Dodgers. And thank you for a thrilling victory in Game 1.

4 comments:

Unknown said...

"And why didn't either presidential candidate pick Manny Ramirez for a vice president (people might actually watch tomorrow night's debate, for one thing)?"


I think the only logical answer is that Manny was not born in the United States so is not eligible.

Steve Sax said...

Good point joey. Which is too bad, since he can see Venezuela from his doorstep, thereby fulfilling his foreign policy experience qualification.

Eric Karros said...

C'mon guys, they'd obviously make a constitutional exception for him. He's the all-time leader in postseason HR's for chrissake.

karina said...

Indeed Eric. maybe the whole planet earth is "Mannywood".