Manny before he was being Manny

Congratulations to the boys in blue for digging in and salvaging that series against the D'Backs. Let's keep it up. It looks like the Cubs will be the 1 seed going in to the playoffs, with the NL West spot going 4, meaning we would need to beat the Cubs to do it. I think that on days in which we are swinging the bats we can beat anyone, but we can't expect Manny to continue hitting .615.

Speaking of Manny, as most of us are these days, I believe I owe you all a story. A few posts back I let you all in on the fact that I once met Manny, thinking that he would end up in Boston or possibly Miami I didn't think the story would be relevant, but it is. So here goes. When I was a kid I would go to Angels games, in fact the earliest game I remember ever going to I was being paid by relatives to cheer against the Angels, no doubt a precursur to the fact that I became a die-hard dodger fan not long after, but I digress. After the games were over my dad would wait with me, my brother and friends outside gate 6 of Anaheim Stadium until players like Jim Abbott and Mark Langston would come out and sign balls and cards on the way to the parking lot. Jim Abbott was always fun, one time Chili Davis walked out, meandered around, walked back in, came out 20 minutes later and sat on a concrete divider with us while we waited for his ride. We offered him a ride home but he politely turned us down. Occasionally we would run over to the visitors gate, and one time, back in '93 or '94, we ran into a pair of Indians, Dennis Martinez and Manny Ramirez. I was only 11or 12 at the time, and Manny didn't say a word, though he signed a ball and shook my hand. I think the thing closest to our minds at the time was whether or not Albert Belle was coming back out. Rumor had it he came out and did a few handsprings for autograph seekers before heading back to the clubhouse. Manny had short hair at the time, he himself was shorter than I expected, probably judging him against some of the taller, less talented Angel players, and didn't seem to focus much. Looking back I can't help but think there was a bit of a language barrier, but then, he was still Manny Ramirez. I've always had a bit of a fondness for him as a player since then, I mean, he was waiting outside the stadium after an away game to sign balls for the 30 or so people who came and went while the bus was getting ready. His 23 teammates not named Dennis Martinez weren't doing that. And a lot of players don't even sign stuff on the way to their cars. So there you go. Manny being Manny being a good thing.

I don't envy the work Ned has cut out for himself in trying to keep his job with this outfield situation, but at the very least I really hope having a guy of this talent around the last two months brings the best to the surface on some of the younger guys we'll have around for a few years. We'll here's hoping. Go blue!