nba musings

I really love this column. I’m not being facetious, I really love it. In fact, I’m surprised someone out in la la land didn’t write it sooner. I’ve been waiting for someone in LA to articulate what I knew they’ve been thinking about the Manny situation:

When Manny Ramirez reported for Dodgers duty he tried to explain to us why he was so happy to be out of there.

He said he was “suffocating” in Boston, the city and everyone in it relentless in their over-the-top devotion to things that really don’t matter. I’d rather read a Dwyre tennis column than anything written by Boston’s ponderous and self-important sports columnists.

And just imagine living in a place where everyone talks funny and all they want to do is talk, talk, talk about what they think.

Around L.A. we didn’t much care what happened in Boston, but while Manny began to fit in here, the bitter no-lifers back there handled the divorce the way they do most everything else.

They obsessed. And they continue to obsess.

[From: Boston won't give up its obsession with Manny Ramirez, by T.J. Simers, Los Angeles Times]

He’s right. I am obsessed. I often wonder why I can’t let go of Manny. He was never my favorite player. Why should I act like we were married for ten years and he left me for a younger woman? The simple answer is, he was a huge douchebag. He didn’t care about the team, didn’t care about the fans and didn’t care about the city. He only cared about making the maximum amount of money he could get because he thought he was owed that. Like a spoiled celebrity, he eventually got to the point where he felt entitled to act any way he wanted. I don’t know about the Dodgers or their fans, but in Boston, we expect our players to play with passion and care about winning. I don’t know any professional athlete who thinks it’s ok to dog it.

Do Simers and his ilk really think it should be so easy for Boston fans to forgive and forget?

Never. Until my dying breath, I will hope and pray that Manny fails. I hope he never hits another home run, never collects another $45 million dollar paycheck, never gets another autograph request and is never given the opportunity to give another cutesy oddball quote to the press. Yeah, it’s like that. And do you know who you are Manny-loving Dodgers fans? You’re the 2nd wife that thinks it’s going to be different with her. You think he’s going to appreciate you and love you, but he’s really just biding his time with you until a better situation comes along. Right around the end of this season in fact.

That’s when I’ll say, I told you so.

Manny wants to be a Yankee and mark my words, someday, that’s exactly what he’ll be. Another good reason to hate him. Come to think of it.

Blah. I hate that line. But really, what is there left to say? I think the Red Sox did a great job this year. They exceeded my expectations. Another world series would’ve been greedy probably, but I had high hopes after they dodged the Game 5 bullet. I wish I had something more eloquent to say on the subject, but that’s about it. My only solace is that the they went further than Manny’s Dodgers. That’s petty, right? Oh well.

Wow! I was exhausted last night and went to bed at 10pm. When I woke up this morning, my first thought was, “Well… The Red Sox had a pretty good run. I guess they ran out of gas.” Turned on ESPN2 to watch Mike & Mike and saw the score at the bottom of the screen and sat straight up and said, “Wha wha WHAT?” How the holy hairy hell did they win this game??? Since then, of course, I’ve seen all the replays a hundred times. Still can’t believe it though. Don’t count out the Red Sox! Ever! Whoo hoo!

So there’s still a chance. Come on Josh Beckett!

I interrupted my viewing of The Rachel Zoe Project season finale to check the score of the Red Sox v. Rays Game 4 and wtf do I see on my screen right now?! 8th inning and the Rays have 13 and the Red Sox have 2. Blah. Our pitching picked a rotten time to go straight down the crapper, that’s for damn sure.

Game 1 – I was super impressed that the Red Sox were able to go into the Rays house and take a game. That’s clutch. Dice-K has been fantastic this year.

Game 2 – Heartbreaker. No other word can describe this game. I miss the stone-cold-killer Josh Beckett of old. We weren’t expected to sweep the Rays though, so this loss – while SAD – wasn’t the end of the world.

Game 3 – As I type this, Boston is down 5-0. Fk me gently with a chainsaw…

Since I can’t talk about the Red Sox without mentioning Manny Ramirez (obviously), I have to say that whichever sports reporter (and I can’t remember off-hand which one it was) on ESPN’s Sunday show, The Sports Reporters, lit up Manny and accused him of lacking character and having no loyalty… well that dude is my new hero. He very accurately and unemotionally summed up why Manny is such a scumbag. I might have started clapping, cheering and high-fiving the guy from my couch.

What a loser, er sore loser… 

Seriously though, dude needs to take his loss like a man. Congratulate the other side, accept responsibility for your shortcomings, say better luck next year, and be on your merry little way. Ok? Ok, then.

I realize that it isn’t new news to anyone that Boston fans are spoiled rotten… but I think I pretty much take the cake for spoiled rotten fans. I can barely stand to watch the Patriots this year at all. I tried to watch them play the 49ers on Sunday and I seriously thought I was going to jump out of my skin. It was entirely too painful.

Then, I had almost the same reaction to the Red Sox game later that night. Oy vey. Apparently, it isn’t good enough for me that they took 2 games in a row on the road… No. I expected them to just sweep it without breaking a sweat. Who the hell do I think I am?

I don’t remember being like this with the Celtics last season, but maybe I was. I am beginning to think I need to start lowering my standards and remember that without Tom Brady, the Patriots are any other mediocre team. And be grateful the Red Sox have already won 2 world series championships in the very recent past and stop acting like they have to win it every single year. I need to get real, right? For my own sanity, I’m thinking the answer is yes.

But still… I am expecting them to take care of business tonight and finish off L.A.! Go Red Sox! Go Jon Lester! Goooooooooo!

Man. Beating LA. It just never gets old. 

Oh and Manny, tsk tsk on torturing poor long-suffering Cubs fans. Shame on you!

I just listened to the Curt Schilling radio interview where he blasts SPEAKS THE TRUTH about former teammate, Manny Ramirez. It is truly spectacular. I read about it at WickedPissaDude.com, but hadn’t had a chance to check it out. I was reminded about it this morning, because I’m watching First Take on ESPN and it was a topic that Skip Bayliss and Rob Parker were batting around. Rob Parker always takes the anti-Boston side of any argument, so I wasn’t surprised that his take was that Schill should shut his piehole. Skip said he thought it was great that Curt was speaking out, since he’s nothing if not brutally honest. As a Red Sox fan, I love hearing the first person account of the carnival that was Manny. Everything we already knew about Manny in the clubhouse was confirmed. He was a shitty teammate who got away with murder because he was a great player. Skip compared him to Barry Bonds (minus the roids) and I don’t think that’s a bad comparison.

That being said, I miss Manny and that’s why I’ve had such a hard time letting go of him. I miss the entertainment he provided even if it drove me batshrimp crazy. It’s like having an annoying little brother who drives you completely nuts and then he goes off to summer camp and you suddenly miss having someone to yell at.

What do the Red Sox have to do to get over the hump and lead the damn division? They’re toying with my emotions and I’m getting a little jumpy. I know we’ll probably win the wild card anyway, but that just isn’t good enough for me. I am all about destroying the Rays dreams. I’d say the dreams of their fans too, but judging from the weak turnouts in Tropicana field, I’m guessing there aren’t enough of them to matter. *burn*