Another gem by Jon Weisman over at the LA Times:
Manny Ramirez, 'Sports Night' and family
CASEYIt's not like you don't see this in sports all the time.
DANAI don't see it in my family all the time.
CASEYThe guy's a 240-pound linebacker dealing with a 350-pound pulling guard, Dana, who's probably also souped up. Kyle's just trying to keep himself in the game. He's trying --
DANADon't defend him, and don't tell me how to be. He was part of a conspiracy to buy steroids that God knows what side effects and long-term damage could cause. He's gonna get suspended for eight games, so there goes the postseason. He's making just over league minimum, and he's going to get hit with probably a $50,000 fine. And, if the local DA feels like running for something next year, he could also go to jail -- to say nothing of the fact that his name is now also synonymous with everything that's bad about sports.
CASEYAnd all I'm saying is, he's got enough people telling him that right now. Papers, talkradio, agents, lawyers, the league, his teammates, his sister's own television show -- and maybe he doesn't need any more guests at that party. And maybe, the best role that you can play right now is as his sister now, Dana. That's all I'm saying.(pause)That, and don't be so edgy.
DANA
(walking away)I'm not edgy. I'm not edgy.
Door slams, window breaks.
December 21, 1999
I've been mulling over the frustration that Bill Plaschke has over the fact that it isn't looking like Dodger fans, by and large, are bringing out the hatchet for Manny Ramirez as he returns from his suspension. I don't dismiss that frustration -- but I'm hoping those who share it might see the other side.
Plaschke (and others, certainly) believe that the Dodgers and their fans are rewarding cheating behavior by letting Ramirez off easy. That's a big-picture view, but I think there's an even bigger picture he is missing.
I touched on this in a May 7 Dodger Thoughts post:
For those who choose to cheer Ramirez because they love him, there's no mystery. They love him. When love is involved, it's not easy or even logical to expect that people will use that person to send a grandiose moral message. That's why Andruw Jones gets booed and Ramirez doesn't. And since Ramirez is still part of the Dodger family, at least through the end of the 2009 season, it makes sense that some members of the family will want to help him back on his feet after he has done his time.
Ramirez is going to get it with both barrels almost everywhere he goes, starting Friday in San Diego. He is going to get ripped up, down and sideways. He is going to be subject to taunting wherever he goes outside his home base -- consider this, for example -- and will have the duty to ignore it. It simply doesn't make sense for Plaschke to be so shocked and appalled that Ramirez's adopted family in Los Angeles won't do the same.
Plaschke, obviously, doesn't think of Ramirez as family -- in his mind, Ramirez isn't worthy of being the family doormat. But whether Plaschke likes it or not, thousands in Los Angeles do. And thousands have made their peace with him.
It's not that we can't get angry. Speaking for myself, if proof emerges that Ronald Belisario did drive drunk, you can bet he's going to be in my doghouse and then some. And yet, eventually, I might forgive him, just as I've forgiven DUI two-timer Rafael Furcal. Why? Because a) I'm an irrational Dodger fan, and b) I'm kind of into the whole forgiveness thing, after someone's done their penance.
In other words, I'd be angrier at Ramirez if I thought he were getting away with something. But despite Plaschke's preoccupation with cheers and limousines in Riverside -- as if being suspended from major-league baseball means you should have to travel by Greyhound -- Ramirez didn't get away with anything. He lost millions, he lost time off his career, he probably lost his chance at the Hall of Fame, and he lost whatever peace of mind he might have had in 29 other major-league cities. He was humiliated and will continue to be mocked, perhaps for the rest of his life. The main problem I have with Plaschke's columns on Ramirez is his lack of acknowledgment of this.
And so I ask, does it really matter if most people in Los Angeles don't bring the tar and feathers to the ballpark? If the message being sent is that hometown fans will cheer heroes who screw up -- well, that's a reality that began long before Manny Ramirez came on the scene, and one that he isn't going to change. (Reminder: Barry Bonds was booed in Los Angeles more because he was an insufferable, Dodger-killing, never-suspended Giant than because of steroids.)
If a family member of mine got in trouble, and got disciplined for being in trouble, and was going to be reminded of that trouble almost everywhere he or she went, I wouldn't need to pile on after it was all over. Bill, a lot of us were upset over Manny, but a lot of us got over it over the past seven weeks.
It's fine to think Ramirez wasn't punished enough, but don't try to sell the idea that he hasn't been punished or won't continue to be punished. The world will still have a moral compass even if, in this case, the people of Los Angeles aren't the ones pointing due north.
