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Speak Up

When all is well within Red Sox Nation, people have learned to simply look away.

Manny being Manny. Heck, they've even got T-shirts to that effect.

Having just returned from a trek to the epicentre of Red Sox Nation - Fenway Park for the uninformed - there once again appears to be storm clouds hovering over Boston Red Sox left fielder Manny Ramirez.

The much chronicled soap opera surrounding the idiosyncratic $180-M superstar with over 500 career homers is heating up again in the wake of the most recent episodes of Manny being Manny that even found its way up to the owner's box.

Seems that John Henry wasn't all too pleased with some of the assertions articulated by the enigmatic one during the recent all-star break of meet and greet with the national media at New York's Yankee Stadium.

With the club holding the options on the final two seasons of his $20-M per season contract, seems that Ramirez has been getting a little antsy about the lack of what he's perceives is a firm commitment from the Red Sox for next season.

He told a reporter of the need to meet with team brass face-to-face and that "he was tired of the Red Sox saying one thing publicly and doing something else behind his back.'' Henry said he found the remark "personally offensive,'' opting to take the high road acknowledging Ramirez's contributions to the Red Sox success story.

For a guy who makes it a habit avoiding the media, the flap over his contract provided fodder for the headliners, commanded top-line billing on the talk shows and generated a buzz among the bloggers. The blog generated by the Ramirez contract story generated 38 contributors over a two-hour period.

A week earlier, there was the well-publicized incident in which Ramirez supposedly shoved the team's 65-year-old travelling secretary because he couldn't meet his ticket request, and the enusing flap over reportedly being fined "six figures'' by the club for the indiscretion.

Out there as well is the contention that Ramirez "tanked'' on a pinch-hitting appearance against divisional rival Yankees in the eighth inning of a game that was in the balance. Ramirez didn't lift the bat off his shoulder against Yankees closer Mariano Rivera, taking three pitches for strikes in a game the Red Sox would eventually lose.

The papers had a field day speculating about whether Ramirez "wanted to send a message'' to the Red Sox protesting the fine over the shoving incident.

Not forgotten but forgiven because of the "Manny being Manny'' rationale are the countless ground balls he doesn't run out, the lack of hustle in the outfield, the blunders on the basepaths, the "coddling'' by his teammates who have no other choice, his apparent disdain for charity requests off the field, etc.

Three losses to open the second half has a way of generating its own negative energy, of course. But Manny again was the focus in Friday's loss to the Anaheim Angels when he butchered what looked like a bloop 200-foot single by Angels' Maicer Izturis into a run-scoring triple when Ramirez fell down on the play, couldn't find the ball underneath him and then had a good laugh about it when all was said and done.

Boston Globe's Dan Shaughnessy didn't find it that amusing.

"Friday, it was Manny flopping on the outfield grass like a beached seal, unable to locate the baseball when it was discovered it was under his buttocks,'' he wrote. "Izturis ended up with a 200-foot triple and Manny enjoyed a good laugh. Meanwhile, GM Theo Epstein sat behind the backstop, arms folded, wearing his best Ralph Nadar face.''

Manny being Manny.

If you can believe what you read and hear around Fenway Park, the tolerance level for "Manny being Manny" is slowly but surely eroding.

A big part of that stems from his contract status. Nomar Garciaparra, a beloved Red Sox star, was in a similar situation in 2004. He became sullen over the lack of progress on a new contract and suddenly, he was exiled by the Red Sox at the trade deadline.

With Colorado's Matt Holliday looking for a new deal, and Pittsburgh's Jason Bay reportedly on the block as well, the Red Sox have other ways in which to spend $20-M if they should be inclined to reject the Ramirez option.

Even at 36, Ramirez remains a formidable slugger, a sure-fire Hall of Famer. And like Henry said, he was a major contributor during the '04 and '07 championship runs. Futhermore, when it seems Manny is at his annoying worse, he goes on an offensive tear, the Red Sox win games and just like that, it's "Manny being Manny" and all is well again.

There's nothing like a few wins to cure what might ail a ball club both on the field and in the clubhouse.

David Ritchie can be contacted at ritchie.david@dailygleaner.com or 458-6484.