I have to wonder if someone slipped something into a drink of Manny Ramirez in the past few days. He is suddenly speaking to members of the media instead of speaking to thru Julian Tavarez, which he has been doing recently. Here is what Manny had to say to the media on Thursday.
Manny: “Hey, did you check out eBay this morning?”
Reporter: “No, did you?”
Manny: “I just got to sell the grill and that’s it. I don’t need this game. I don’t have to play anymore — just sell the grill.”
“That’s all right. Don’t worry; you don’t miss anything.”
Reporter: Weren’t you suppose to travel with the team to Clearwater?
Manny: “I know. But you know, when you start getting old like me, sometimes you have to stay behind.”
Reporter: How are you feeling this spring?
Manny: “Good, nothing different, the same — everything’s the same for me, just enjoying my life and hanging with this guy right here,” he said, as he nodded toward team assistant Ino Guerrero sitting near an adjacent locker.
Reporter: How do you feel about all the attention the team has been receiving from the Japanese and international media?
Manny: “I don’t know. I don’t pay any mind to it.”
Reporter: How is your new Japanese teammate fitting in with the team?
Manny: “Who? I don’t know.” saying he has not yet spoken to pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka.
Reporter: How is your Japanese?
Manny: “I don’t know Japanese”
Reporter: Are you bothered when it is said or written that you don’t care or your not a team player for reporting after his teammates to Spring Training?
Manny: “No, it doesn’t bother me. I’m not mad. Who cares?”
Reporter: How does you see the team’s chances this season?
Manny: “I don’t know. The only thing I worry about is me getting prepared for the season.”
Reporter: And are you ready?
Manny: “Like always, just doing my thing and trying to get ready.”
Reporter: What did you do in the offseason?
Manny: “The same thing I did for seven years, just travel and work out.”
Reporter: Who is the team to beat this year?
Manny: “I don’t know. I’m just trying to beat everybody — just trying to have a good season.”
Reporter: Are the Yankees the team to beat?
Manny: “I don’t know. The Yankees? For what?” I don’t worry about the Yankees. I just worry about us. I worry about who we’re going to play — that’s it. I don’t make it a big deal. I live my life simple, a day at a time — one day at a time.
Manny: “OK, got to go now.”
After his session in the cages, he added a footnote to the conversation.
Manny: “Oh, the thing I forgot to tell you about the grill. The grill people called my agent; they want me to do a commercial for them.
Where is the new found talking to the media coming from? I can’t answer that. But to me, it is nice to see Manny open up a little bit. I highly doubt that you will see Manny speaking too much during the season just as he always has done. I am sure he doesn’t want the distraction as he continues his work of becoming the greatest hitter of all time.
