Just Manny Being Selfish

Last night hurts -- if you are an obsessive, over-the-top member of Red Sox Nation who believes what happens to the Boston Nine is as important as Scott Burke, that heroic pilot in California last night. (For the record, I am firmly planted in that group.) (That is the saddest self-evaluation I have ever wrote.) The Red Sox choked last night, losing a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning in an eventual 7-4 loss in Tampa Bay. At the same time Randy Johnson was shutting down the Orioles and the 2-1 Yankee win propelled them into first place in the A.L. East by a .5-game margin. I'm going to save all the boo-hoo crap, WEEI will more than cover that today. For the record, I still believe that the Sox will win the A.L. East and advance to the postseason for a franchise record third consecutive year. My only beef with last night is with Manny Ramirez. For those of you who did not watch the game, Ramirez half-jogged to first base on a ground ball early in the game and if he had been trying at full speed he probably would have been safe because a poor throw to first was made. And this is unacceptable. The players, coaches and management need to take a stand on No. 24 and bench him for the remainder of the season. If he does not want to play at full speed in a pennant chase than he should not be allowed to play at all. End of story. No matter how much the line-up will lose in his absence, Ramirez should not see the field again in 2005.