More Manny Haiku
Manny Ramirez is continuing to issue prophetic statements in the guise of media interviews. Adding to our collection, we now present the latest quotations, taken directly from the lips of His Mannyness and arranged by yours truly into a series of short poems and haiku:
Pimp Jobs
I am trying to
get a hit against you. You
show me up, that’s good.
The Rivalry (Come On)
That’s the game.
People like to compete.
Just because you play
For the Red Sox
And they play
For the Yankees,
You’re going to go and kill each other?
Come on.
I Haven’t Thought About 500
I just love the game.
I just like to compete.That’s
it. To be honest.
Plate Discipline
Wait.
Wait.
Wait.
All I Want (or Whatever)
After all this is over
All I want
Is for my kids to go to college
And to be their best friend.
That’s all I want.
I don’t care about home runs
Or whatever.
It Can Only Hurt the Ballclub
I don’t think much.
I love my job.
I love to compete.
Causation
He gave me a good pitch to drive.
So I drove it.
Mantra: Hitting Well in Yankee Stadium
I don’t care.
I don’t play here.
I can’t tell you why.
I wish I knew.
First Stolen Base Since 2005 (Why?)
Contract year…I thought
I was out. I was going,
‘Yeah, I got a break.’
If you want to see
The car, sometimes you have got
To let the car go.
It made me feel like
I was back in high school…Yes,
I went on my own.
March 31st, 2008 at 5:53 pm
As you say, Pierre has been exactly what the Dodgers were looking for, someone with speed and can hit for good average. Seems best to try to find a trade out there for Pierre at this point. His salary will be tough for many teams to take on, but should be able to get good quality for him…maybe an up and coming third baseman would be in order
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April 1st, 2008 at 8:52 am
Coley, I agree that Pierre has a right to be pissed. This situation somewhat reminds me of the fix Julio Lugo may well be in by the end of this season. The Red Sox have a perfectly good shortstop prospect and I’m sure they’d prefer to give him the job. But the ridiculous contract they gave Lugo makes him very difficult, if not impossible, to move. But what are players like Lugo and Pierre to do? Turn down the money? “Sorry Mr. GM, you are way overvaluing me with that offer, and if I accept it, I’ll be impossible to trade once you realize your mistake and want to replace me with someone better.” Somehow, I can’t quite picture it.
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April 1st, 2008 at 10:45 am
What do you mean by, “..he doesn’t want to break the contract he tried so hard to land”? How can Pierre “break his contract”? He will show up and collect his money regardless of whether or not he plays, he’s not going to retire or allow the Dodgers to void the contract. I don’t understand how a player has a right to complain because a better player is on the field. What the Dodgers are doing here is uncharacteristic, they are playing the better player regardless of the players’ contracts. Shouldn’t fans be glad the Dodgers aren’t compounding their mistake by burying the young player? Pierre is getting paid huge money, I understand he wants to play, but he should keep quiet about it, show up ready to do his job and wait for a trade or injury. That would be the professional thing to do. You are exactly right that Pierre has been consistent and they shouldn’t have expected him to be anything more than that but the contract did not stipulate that they “owed” him playing time as well. There is nothing preventing the Dodgers from eating part of this contract and trading him to a team that could use him as a starter. If the Dodgers want to keep him as a fourth outfielder at what they are paying him, then he should deal with it. The White Sox are a team that might be able to use a guy like Pierre and they have an extra third baseman. He could get dealt, in the meantime it would be nice if he acted like a professional about it. Pierre has always come across as a decent guy and a “team” guy but I think he is wrong in this case. I bet there are a lot of aging mediocre players that wouldn’t mind getting “screwed” the way Pierre has here.
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April 1st, 2008 at 11:12 am
I don’t know, I think Pierre is getting a bit screwed, though you make a good point about “breaking the contract.” When in baseball do contracts ever get voided? But also, how often do players play 162 games, hit in the .290s, and steal upwards of 60 bases? Pierre really ought to be playing every day. By contrast, Coco Crisp has complained more vocally than Pierre, and Coco has even less ‘right’ to do so. Yet a lot of people are sympathetic to Coco’s situation, while Pierre seems to be getting the cold shoulder.
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April 1st, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Melissa, I think the only way Pierre gets to play everyday is to go someplace else. And the only way that’s going to happen is 1. The Dodgers eat a BIG part of his salary and trade him or 2. Pierre says to L.A., I want out of this deal.
I’m sure the Dodgers would be more than happy to let Pierre out of his contract. Will Pierre ask out? Probably not. But that’s the only way Pierre can guarantee himself significant playing time this year.
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April 1st, 2008 at 12:49 pm
Oh, I should mention that I have no idea if the Player’s Union would allow Pierre to opt out of his deal.
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May 2nd, 2008 at 5:25 pm
I am telling you, Footsteps in the Sand was written for him too.
his next haiku is going to be about daily hug therapy with Dustin Pedroia.
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