Manny’s gone, man.  He’s in Dodger blue now.  Manny being Manny got him kicked out of Beantown, and he’s swinging lumber in the City of the Angels now.

The dreadlocks. The dew-rags. The baggy uniforms. The cocky smile. The laid-back, “let’s do a doobie” persona. All gone to the left coast now.

I like Manny Ramirez.  I admire his non-conformity. I am in awe of athletic prowess. Maybe he couldn’t play a ball off The Green Monster the way Yaz could (Yaz owned that wall, man!), but, in spite of what others say, Manny could hustle, and throw, and HIT!

I guess what I don’t understand about Manny and other pro athletes is the mindset about the money.  Manny had a contract option with Boston for $20,000,000. TWENTY MILLION DOLLARS!!!!! Just to play a GAME!!!!! And he considered that to be akin to indentured servitude.

Well, to Manny, and to ALL major league athletes who feel that they are being abused, my heart does NOT bleed for you!  $20,000,000 is more than most folks make in their lifetimes, and you make that in a season or two because you are good at playing a game.

If you can get that kind of money, good for you! Count your blessings, and know that you are lucky! But please, please, PLEASE do not feel that you deserve it or earn it or are worth it.  You don't, you didn't and you aren't.  NOBODY is!

Nor does earning that kind of money make you a better person than anybody else.  Money is but a measure of only one kind of wealth. Who would say was the better human being - Dick Cheney or Mahatma Ghandi?  Cheney is a millionaire.  When Ghandi died, all he had for personal possessions were his glasses, a couple of tunics, a food bowl and salt and pepper shaker.  That's it! And I ask you, which human being contributed more to the world?  Which life impacted for the better the other citizens of the world?

Okay. Enough of that. Sorry about the tangent.  We're talking baseball here!

When I was a boy, back when God was a kid, my dad would take my brothers and me to Fenway Park to watch a ballgame. Paying for four tickets, Crackerjacks, hot dogs and sodas, he would spend less than thirty bucks.  Today, due to the salaries of these high-priced prima donnas, a family can’t go to the ballpark for less than $250.

So, do I feel sorry for Manny? You’ve got to be kidding!

Will I miss him? Yep.

Am I sorry that he’s gone? Uh-huh.

Will life go on in The Hub of the Universe? Of course! We’ve still got Big Papi and Mike Lowell, don’t we? And we’re still ahead of the Devil’s spawn team, The Damned Yankees, aren't we?

There ain't nuthin' more important than that!