Manny a perfect fit in Los Angeles
LOS ANGELES - The Boston Red Sox grew tired of Manny being Manny, but here in the land of unique personalties and free spirits, they love everything about Manny Ramirez.
The souvenir stands at Dodger Stadium sell Ramirez dreadlocks and bandannas ($25 for the set), and one worker said Saturday she can't keep them on the shelf.
Even Dodgers manager Joe Torre, a graduate of the old school of baseball, is appreciating Ramirez up close after competing against him for all those years while with the Yankees.
And, according to Torre, Manny is not as big a goofball as he seems.
"When he came on board, what I didn't know about him was his work ethic as far as how he gets ready to play a game - every day, every day, every day," Torre said. "He's a creature of habit in that regard, which is nice to know he doesn't hit like that by mistake. He certainly works at it.
"And how good a teammate he is. That didn't really surprise me based on the fact that for years his teammates in Boston were always happy to have him as a teammate."
Granted, Ramirez has yet to do anything too nutty in L.A. What he has done is make a good lineup even better and given the Dodgers that superstar No. 3 hitter they were lacking.
"When you add Manny in the 3-hole, I think it makes everybody feel a little more comfortable and obviously more confident," Cubs manager Lou Piniella said.
With Ramirez producing like he did in the first two games of the NLDS with 2 home runs, 4 runs scored and 3 RBI, Torre couldn't care less if Manny acts off the wall at times.
Torre believes the carefree attitude Ramirez has brought to the club was exactly what the Dodgers needed.
"I think Manny showed them that they can combine, 'Let's have fun playing this game,' and the worth ethic," Torre said. "That's the one thing I think gets lost in Manny. We've all seen him rolling around and stuff like that, that the networks chose to show all the time. It's sort of like Manny will be under your Christmas tree this Christmas, he's a toy or something, but he's a heck of a player.
"I don't know what went on in Boston. Obviously both parties needed to split up. But since he's come over here, his work ethic, there's a lot of games on the road that he beat me to the ballpark because he does a lot of cage work.
"So I think they got a piece of that from watching him show up here, enjoy playing the game. And I think it's sort of relieved some of the tension that some of these guys maybe played under."
Catcher Russell Martin, the Dodgers' best young talent, might have benefited most from Ramirez's arrival.
"I think Manny took a lot of pressure away from a lot of players, including myself," Martin said. "Just the way he goes about his business. He goes out there, plays hard every day and enjoys it, too.
"He'll crack some jokes in the dugout, in the clubhouse, hit some home runs, and when he comes in the dugout it feels like it's his first one every time, just laughing it up with everybody."
Ramirez is a man of few words. He let's his bat do the talking, and what a bat it is. He has a .314 career average with 527 home runs and 1,725 RBI in 16 seasons, and he helped lead the Red Sox to a pair of World Series titles.
Ramirez's 25 postseason home runs entering Game 3 are tops in major-league history. Before the series started, the Cubs' Ryan Dempster called Ramirez probably the best right-handed hitter of his generation.
The 36-year-old Ramirez will be a free agent after the season, and there has been little talk of next year - specifically, whether or not Ramirez wants to be back in Southern California or if he might prefer to hear what the Mets or even Yankees have to offer.
Ramirez has a good thing going here in a city that adores its superstars, but with Manny being Manny, anything is possible.