Why The Manny Ramirez Shower Incident Is A Good Thing
by Eric Stephen on Oct 20, 2009 10:28 PM PDT
in News
69 comments
It's funny to see what little things become big stories in the glaring spotlight of the postseason. The latest molehill to be made into a mountain is the Manny Ramirez shower incident. As Jonathan Broxton was pitching in the bottom of the ninth inning last night, Manny was in the clubhouse, taking a shower. Manny was removed after the top of the ninth in favor of Juan Pierre for defensive purposes.
This is the type of issue tailor made for Bill Plaschke. Wind him up, and watch the outrage fly from keyboard to screen. In fact, Plaschke was so excited that his next column was essentially written for him, he couldn't wait, and posted a preview of sorts on The Fabulous Forum tonight:
Jonathan Broxton was sweating. Russell Martin was fearing. Joe Torre was grumbling. The Dodgers hanging on the dugout rail were clenching. The Dodgers fans watching at home were dying.
Manny Ramirez?
He was bathing.
The thing is, this really isn't a big deal. Manny always does this, so why should he change now? As Joe Torre told the NY Times:
"He’s a cool customer," Torre said. "But he certainly didn’t have any lack of respect because of that. I think the way it turned out, it probably doesn’t look good. But it’s nothing different than he had done before."
I do have a bit of an old school mind of this. I have always wondered why starting pitchers, for instance, go take a shower before the game is over, especially when they wait to see if their potential decision is still intact before departing to the clubhouse. But, I realize this is a common occurrence among many players, and if they don't have a problem with it, why should I, or anyone else?
Back in 2007, in a similar situation with the Red Sox, Manny was flippant while down 3-1 in the league championship series:
"Why should we panic?" he said Wednesday in a rare clubhouse interview. "We've got a great team."
And then, this: "It doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world."
The Red Sox came back to win the three remaining games of that 2007 ALCS, and swept through the World Series as well.
Look, it's not news that Manny Ramirez marches to the beat of his own drum. He is wired differently than most humans, let alone fellow ballplayers. Whatever he has to do to be normal Manny, I'm all for it. As Casey Blake told MLB Network:
In the position we're in, you really have to have an 'I don't give a crap attitude.' Our backs are against the wall, and there's no room for that right now. You just gotta go out and have fun and just play relaxed. There's no room for being uptight anymore.
The Dodgers need to concentrate on winning one game at a time, and the more they can keep to their regular routine, the less they have to think about being down 3-1 or having to win three straight games. No pressure, no problem.
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No Quit
Just one win away from having the home field again.
If we get this back home I think we could pull this off, not 100% guarantee take to bank kinda of thing. That should be the goal for the Dodgers team, lets just get this back to L.A. and see what happens.
Dodgers just get back to your town.
If we could beat Carpenter and survive the Wainwright game then we can beat Hamels and Lee then game 7 anything can happen and will be the home team.
by Bison27 on Oct 20, 2009 10:34 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
lets go dodgers
with all the talk about all these blown saved and bad umpring and blown oppourtunitites..
nobody has talked about how HORRIBLE rafael furcal has been…
it happened last year in the NLCS and its happening all over again…
This is a repeat of last year…
except this year we are going to win 3 straight and get to the world SERIES!
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 10:36 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
You really hate Furcal
I say we have to live with him for at least 2 more seasons. Then it’s time for:
by silverwidow on Oct 20, 2009 10:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
lol
i loved furcal in the first round…
but he has seriosly Choked this round…
what is he 1 for 17?
you will never win if your leadoff man is 1 for 17
UNLESS YOU ARE THE PHILLIES…with roollins
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
He’s on fire! :)
Plus his BB pushes his OPS ahead of Casey Blake, .292 to .267
by Eric Stephen on Oct 20, 2009 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
wow
and i thought we would have an advantage coming into this series on the left side of our infield..
blake and furcal need to step it up..
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 11:05 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
You can own one for the low low price of $75.00 (plus S&H)
by fritts on Oct 20, 2009 11:12 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I might just buy the hat
Dope hat
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 20, 2009 11:16 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
It looks like what would happen if Gander Mtn. hired New Era to do a line of hats for them
by fritts on Oct 20, 2009 11:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
hip hop version of ducks unlimited
William Doolittle at your service, a.k.a. will do.
by Ollie on Oct 20, 2009 11:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
where can i buy that?
Because when I think of Boris Diaw, I think of Beethoven and the age of Romanticism....
by shaqfor3 on Oct 20, 2009 11:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Please find another scapegoat
Dodger 2009 Post-season
Dodger Team .252 .319 .376 OPS .695
Furcal .286 .313 .357 OPS .670
by Dodger Dude on Oct 20, 2009 10:47 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
hello dodger dude
i dont think you understood…
I said NLCS
last years NLCS and this years NLCS
hes been plain out HORRIBLE
yes i admit he was GREAT in the first round but its the second round now
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 10:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Look, you just don't pick apart the team and point your finger
Especially based upon incredibly small sampling sizes. This is baseball.
Plus there is absolutely no one to replace him so its a pointless argument.
Its a team now. They stand or fall together.
by Dodger Dude on Oct 20, 2009 10:54 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
um ok
just pointing out that furcal has once again choked in the nlcs… when he performs well, the dodgers perform well.. when he sinks the dodgers sink.. he is the engine that runs this team and he needs to turn on
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 10:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Yeah
Hard to draw conclusions from 4 games, but pretty much 6 of the 8 starters are struggling.
Furcal’s BABIP is only .133 too.
by Eric Stephen on Oct 20, 2009 10:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
yea
phils know how to pitch to him.. same thing happened in the regular season..
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 10:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
only a .222 average in 27 at bats in the regular season
despite striking out only 4 times.. i dont know what the babip would be..
but it seems to me they have a good scouting report on furcal unlike the scouting report we have on ruiz lol
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 11:03 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Just means the whole lineup is due to get hot in elimination games.
by Bison27 on Oct 20, 2009 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
50 hits in 3 games should do :)
by Eric Stephen on Oct 20, 2009 11:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I really hope they don’t put on too much pressure on themselves and I’m sure they shook off the game 4 loss. They should do some meditation :) . That helps.
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 20, 2009 11:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Hahaha I remember in '07...
When Manny said and everyone was flipping out on him. I guess you could say this is a good thing?
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 20, 2009 10:39 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
He pretty much just took the pressure off the team and put it squarely on his shoulders because if we lose some media will completely forgot who sucked and will asked more questions about Manny to Manny and to his teammates.
If he leads us to wins in the next 3 games not one person will care about this shower story.
by Bison27 on Oct 20, 2009 10:42 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I see you implemented the 2-day wait period before joining rule
I changed my name and quickly added TBLA. Then, well, you know..
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 20, 2009 10:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
It sure was.
However unlike last year I think we could come back. I didn’t felt like last season we could come back, maybe because Hamels was pitching lights out then if we did win we would have to win 2 games in Philly.
This year is different, we can beat Hamels this year and if we win game 5 this year then it comes back to L.A. and I mean their has been some crazy positive moments at Dodger Stadium this year.
by Bison27 on Oct 20, 2009 10:56 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I think he meant that a lot of trolls bombarded TBLA
But yeah, your point too :(
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 20, 2009 11:00 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Albert pujols Elbow
Wow.. what would his numbers have looked like if he had a healthy elbow?? or do you guys think his elbow didnt affect his season?
by matthewmafa on Oct 20, 2009 10:52 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
There was talk about his injured elbow before the 2008 season.
It’s hard to make an argument that the elbow injury has had a significant effect since he has posted wOBAs of .458 and .449 in 2008 and 2009 respectively. I don’t think it’s common for elite players to have their 2nd and 3rd best offensive seasons while injured.
by fritts on Oct 20, 2009 11:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I'm Optimistic about Tomorrow's Game.
Why?
Because I’m just going to worry about the Dodgers winning tomorrow, that’s it, and our chances are good to win tomorrow.
I really think Manny and Matt’s attitude are the way to go. Matt has really impressed me with the maturity he has exhibited on his blog.
And I just want to say for the record that Broxton is awesome and the best relief pitcher out there. No pitcher is un-hittable. If Troy from West Virginia can be a huge fan of Joe Beimel, then there is no way that every Dodger fan on the planet could not be a huge fan of Jonathon Broxton. He may have shown his age yesterday, but with his talent, his age really doesn’t matter. His confidence may have taken a hit, but as soon as he realizes that confidence is the only thing he needs (What would every other pitcher trade for his stuff?), his execution will be as automatic as his talent.
Even for the casual fan, get used to being on the bandwagon, because this team is going to be around for a while and this team is going to make a lot of noise.
No matter what happens tomorrow, be proud of your team, because they have performed great this year, and for you as a fan of the Dodgers and the game, this is what you love.
by Dodger Dude on Oct 20, 2009 11:25 PM PDT reply actions 1 recs
Totally forgot about Matt's blog
Shame on me
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 20, 2009 11:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Lol
Everyone in those comments were cheering for Matt till Xei shows up and tells him the odds of winning the series is 9 percent. Way to go Xeifrank! haha
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 20, 2009 11:36 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
9.2!!!! :)
Put one foot in front of the other….
vr, Xei
by Xeifrank on Oct 20, 2009 11:41 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Haha
Our mood is good, man. I’m going to check out a haunted house tonight, supposed to be pretty scary. Can’t sit in the room all night and just think about last night’s game. Sleep in a little bit tomorrow, get some food, chill out. Same routine, nothing’s going to change. Everybody has faith in us. My friends tell me to keep your head up. This is the right team to come back from 3 to 1. I’m good. I’d be way more looser if it was 2-2 going into tomorrow, because we hit Cole pretty good the first time we played him. But this is just something we have to deal with and fight through it.
by shoothoop on Oct 21, 2009 12:40 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Manny should not have been in the shower
and even if he wa, he shouldn’t be bragging about it to reporters. One game away from being elimnated? Act like you care….or maybe its not a act.
by Dodgerfan 34 on Oct 20, 2009 11:55 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
He wasn’t bragging about anything. He just answered a direct question about the last play of the game.
by Eric Stephen on Oct 21, 2009 5:37 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
I'm usually Polly Positive
Almost obnoxiously so. Today is no exception, which is surprising because of the way I felt last night. I am sure I speak for everyone, and am probably putting it lightly, when I say that I feel like I got punched in the gut really REALLY hard. In fact, I’m not gonna lie, I even cried a little. But I went to bed and tried to forget about it. When I woke up this morning, I went about my daily routine and got to work about 9am, as usual. It was around 9:45 that I realized that I had forgotten that 10am was the time that pre-sale world series tickets went onsale for mini-plan holders. Omg. I’m not sure why the light went off inside of me, but it did. Maybe because of the pure excitement that I was about to purchase tickets to the world series? Not sure. But I mainly attribute it to the action – that I was buying world series tickets. My team had made it far enough to the point that I was lucky enough to even consider the fact that I could witness them play live in the world freaking series. I mean, wow! Some fans have never seen this, and I’ve been lucky enough to see my beloved baseball team clinch a postseason spot in 4 of the last 6 years. Now, don’t get me wrong, I would love to see them win a world championship, I mean, who wouldn’t? But come on, we are so lucky to be fans of Dodger baseball, who are now almost regulars in October, it almost isn’t fair! With that said, I have a really great feeling about tomorrow. I just do. Teams have come back from a 3-1 deficit and we can do it too. If we pull it off tomorrow and bring this back to LA, some magic can happen. That’s how we do it – with loads of drama and a Hollywood ending. Of course I would prefer the easy route, but we haven’t done it that way all season, so why should the postseason be any different. At any rate, I gotta feeling we are going to win tomorrow and tomorrow will lead to 2 more wins which will lead to 4 more. Maybe I’m wrong, but having this hope inside of me is a lot easier to deal with than the pure dread and despair I was feeling last night and into this morning. LET’S GO DODGERS!!!!!!
Sent from my iPhone
by DJDodger on Oct 21, 2009 1:16 AM PDT via mobile reply actions 1 recs
I could not have said it better my self I feel just like you about the Dodgers and there chances for game 5 let’s go doyers
by Dodgermanramon on Oct 21, 2009 1:48 AM PDT via mobile up reply actions 0 recs
What a letdown
If you told me a week ago that people would be writing about a “Manny Ramirez Shower Incident” I would’ve expected something much more exciting than this whole thing.
by Billy Boy on Oct 21, 2009 1:33 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Seriously....... Who would not want to shower first?
I can not blame Manny at all. This is truly no big deal.
by delias man on Oct 21, 2009 8:06 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I think cleanliness is a good thing.
And I heard this was “a big deal” in the LA papers on DP this morning and knew immediately it would be Plaschke. I seriously have not read one of his articles in over two years. The guy is a total douchebag.
I also think that a 3 game winning streak by out boys in blue would be a very good thing right now.
by KellyStephen on Oct 21, 2009 8:59 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
WS tickets?
anyone know the password for Series tickets?
by MammothDodger on Oct 21, 2009 9:20 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs
never mind
i guess they are using unique passwords for the WS
by MammothDodger on Oct 21, 2009 9:54 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Plaschke vs. Simers
You know, I just read Plaschke’s column on Manny. OK, not that he doesn’t make some valid points, but, he just pisses me off the way he writes. It’s sad that I’m coming to like Simers more than Plaschke.
by TopDeckTrueBlue on Oct 21, 2009 1:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Manny shower stories appear to be far more boring than Greg Maddux shower stories.
by David Young on Oct 21, 2009 3:06 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
mannys shower?
WGAF!?….SO WHAT?…..really? sorry to say but i kinda wish broxton was in the shower instead of manny… he went up there scared against matt stairs.. 4pitches! i love the dodgers. always have and always will but maybe broxton just cant cut it in big games… let sherill close in the post season
by fonzarellic on Oct 21, 2009 3:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
Yes, Sherrill has been quite dominant this postseason.
[vomits]
by Eric Stephen on Oct 21, 2009 3:21 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
ya but cmon… broxton blew it last yr the same way… pressure got to him and he choked… how many times is he gonna have to do this to us before they realize he cant close big games.. sherill can at least hold runners on!… i want to believe in broxton so bad…i really do… but ever since he gave up 5 runs in the bot of the 9th in SD two years ago (maybe 3), i just get nervous when he comes in
by fonzarellic on Oct 21, 2009 3:31 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Sherill gave up a three-run homer in the 8th in game one to turn a one-run deficit into a four-run deficit. If you’re going to judge solely on playoff work, why would you want Sherrill to be your closer? You are inconsistent.
by David Young on Oct 21, 2009 4:07 PM PDT up reply actions 1 recs
You guys are taking the troll bait . . .
if only there was a funny gif for that …
by Seanny Rotten on Oct 21, 2009 4:11 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Oh, SD, you mean that game with all the errors and gaffes by Kent and Garciaparra? Yeah, that was all Broxton’s fault, sure. Get your facts straight.
by David Young on Oct 21, 2009 4:08 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
I would put Sherrill in the 7th inning spot, actually.
by PHAT JULIO on Oct 21, 2009 3:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
Manny caught hell in Boston '07, too.
Hey didn’t the Diamondbacks blow two games they had won due to Kim’s inability to not give up a home run to Brosius? It’s not the end of the world.
Can we chip in and buy Plasskey a ticket outta town?
by Seanny Rotten on Oct 21, 2009 3:20 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs
I'll throw in my 2 cents
both for a ticket out of town for the entire times columnists staff
and on this Broxton “should have been in the shower” drivel. He is the CLOSER whether you like it or not. Far better baseball minds then ours put him in this position and to come out and say he should be removed from his position based on this incredibly small sample size is insane. Baseball is a game where shit happens. I agree that walking Stairs was not good pitching but it was not the thing that decided that game. The game ended when a journeyman lead off hitter happened to get his bat around on a 99 mph fastball, shit happens!! I will take Broxton, in that situation every time. I would want him over everyone including Mariano Rivera. He is only 25 (or is it 24) years old and has come along way from just 2 years ago setting up Saito, who if I recall blew some saves as well. He has a + fastball and a +++slider, will only get better over the next few years and will learn form adversity (last one is obviously an opinion, but I state it as fact).
by MammothDodger on Oct 21, 2009 3:43 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
whatever… none of this shit really matters now…. god i hate the phillies
by fonzarellic on Oct 22, 2009 10:01 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs
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