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Did he forget the score? Did he forget the location? Did he forget his manners?
By Patrick McManamon
Beacon Journal sports columnist
Published on Thursday, Oct 18, 2007
CLEVELAND: Sometimes we forgive the behavior of kids because, after all, it's ''just kids being kids.''
So it goes with Manny Ramirez, a kid in a grown man's clothes who sometimes does the most bizarre things.
Yet it's shrugged off as ''Manny being Manny.''
Perhaps that is true, but Manny clearly crossed the lines of decorum and classlessness Tuesday night when he celebrated a solo home run in the fourth game of the American League Championship Series.
Ramirez stood, arms aloft, as if he had just won the World Series, when in fact his home run cut the Boston Red Sox's deficit to four.
Had this been the regular season, Manny would have been diving for dirt his next time up.
The Indians clearly noticed, but it's not worth risking a playoff suspension for vengeance. So they'll wait until the right time if they do anything.
The Boston media, though, teed off on their own.
''You don't do this, unless, of course, you are Manny, and that's an essential part of your Mannyness,'' wrote Bob Ryan in the Boston Globe. '''Manny,' you wanted to say, 'you're down, 7-3. Show some class.'''
''I don't really understand that one, but that's him,'' Mike Lowell, Ramirez's teammate, said.
There it is again . . . Manny being Manny.
Perhaps there is some room for slack. Ramirez's actions are probably not intended to be mean-spirited. They're just those of a kid in a grown-up's clothing acting like a kid who makes $20 million a year.
Manny can hit.
That home run landed in Collinwood.
But at some point, the excuses grow old and the actions speak for the person. How many times when watching football do we become irate at the guy who dances in the end zone with his team down 27?
It's no different with Manny. His taunts were just that taunts.
And his flying leap into the arms of a teammate after he crossed the plate smacked of nothing but selfishness.
His team was in the process of falling behind 3-1 in the series.
His hit cut the deficit to ''only'' four runs.
His team needed a lift, but not a lift that smacked of self-centeredness.
Manny spoke with the media Wednesday and talked of trading records for a spot in the World Series, and he was very complimentary toward the Indians. That's all well and good, but you wonder if perhaps he was advised to say the right things, given his actions of the previous night.
At some point with our kids, we stop expecting them to act like kids, and we demand more.
So this ''Manny being Manny'' thing does reach a point of diminishing returns.
For years, the Red Sox have discussed ridding themselves of Ramirez and his defensive deficiencies and his hefty contract. Then they bring him back, and something like this happens that clearly embarrasses the entire team, and it's ''Manny being Manny.''
As long as people keep shrugging off ''Manny being Manny,'' Manny will just keep on being Manny, no matter the level of class or consequence.
Patrick McManamon can be reached at pmcmanamon@thebeaconjournal.com. Read his blog at http://www.ohiomm.com/blogs/mcmanamon/.
CLEVELAND: Sometimes we forgive the behavior of kids because, after all, it's ''just kids being kids.''
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