So Manny returns to camp and all is (sort of) well:
The saga of Manny Ramirez always seems to end the same way. No matter what happens, Ramirez shows up for work — eventually — and hits better than almost anyone alive
…
“I get paid to play baseball,” Ramirez said, “and everywhere I go and play, I’ve still got to go and perform, even if I like it or not.”
I didn’t really care when it was Pedro showing up late, and I don’t really care that Manny’s showing up late. Just as long as when they play the games that matter, they do what they’re capable of. Hart Brachen nailed it in his Soxaholix strip on Damon and how ‘fun’ is overrated:
And this explains why even a guy as goofy as Manny is respected by the fans. No matter how many trades he demands or how many times his grandmothah dies, fact is, when the dude is at the plate there isn’t a motherfuckah on the entiah plaent more intense and locked-in than Manny.
The strip also reminded me of my second-favourite Damon memory after the Game 7 grand slam, that of him being carried off in a stretcher with his fist in the air)