Manny Ramirez had L.A. eating out of his hand and threw it away
Went to Arizona to visit the babies, Emma and Rylee just fine, but Manny still curled up in a ball.
Emma’s been watching her dad and learning how to crawl, while Rylee likes to be coddled (think Matt Kemp).
As for Manny, inexplicably pouting since training camp, he passed on word he “respectfully declines” to chat, talking now like Frank McCourt, who, after all, is his sugar daddy.
You think you have troubles? McCourt will be paying support to both his wife and cleanup hitter, owing Manny nearly $25 million over the next three years, even though McCourt and Manny won’t be together again after this season.
I wonder what Manny thought when he heard McCourt had to borrow money to make good on his monthly payment to Jamie. Wasn’t that about the same time Manny’s work stoppage started?
Sounds outlandish until you take into account the reports he quit in Boston before coming to Los Angeles.
He sat out his 114th game Saturday for the Dodgers over the last two seasons, and although he did such a great job rehabilitating his reputation upon arriving here, he seems to have dedicated himself now to reminding everyone in baseball he really can’t be counted on.
He hasn’t been the same since wanting to get pregnant or whatever the reason some guy takes female fertility drugs, and the Dodgers really have paid the price in salary, camaraderie in the clubhouse, excitement in the stadium and the team’s inability to consistently hit the ball.
One of Manny’s representatives said the other day if there’s a team out there that thinks Manny can still hit, he’ll have a job next year no matter what his reputation.
It’s the arrogance of athletics today but also might explain why Milton Bradley is still employed.
That’s a concern for another city down the road, but what a way to go. He had it all here, changing opinions while taking the bitter edge off the Boston finish, but just as quickly shucking it aside.
He wasn’t there when the Dodgers needed him the most this season, the suspicion in some quarters that a female fertility drug has some nasty aftereffects, the Manny era coming to a flat finish in L.A.
And all because of his own doing.
THEY COME and they go, all right, even the ones with class like Garret Anderson, who made a baseball clubhouse a better place.
He still won’t admit it’s over, still very much the competitor, but he’s finished based on the terms he has set for himself to play on.
He says he won’t go anywhere just to be a pinch-hitter, already proving that’s not his game while with the Dodgers, but he’s 38 now — one month younger than Manny, which is telling — and hasn’t shown enough the last two seasons to get the chance to play four or five days a week.
“I think I have something left,” he said, “but I understand why people might think differently. I know the business side of the game; I’m not being naive. I’ll understand if the business side won’t give me another chance.”
The Dodgers released Anderson to make room for Jay Gibbons, best known for being mentioned in the Mitchell Report for receiving shipments of performance-enhancing substances and HGH, and that’s kind of ironic.
Anderson compiled amazing stats on talent alone, while saying he never was even tempted to join others who regularly dined on steroids during his time in the game.
“I felt cheated [by the steroid era],” he said. “They felt great every day because of medication while I felt the aches and pains.”
Anderson played in 2,228 games and had an astounding 2,529 hits. By comparison, Torii Hunter is a superb player, but already 35 and still 909 hits shy of Anderson.
“My wife tells me all the time my personality on the field never allowed people to get to know me,” he said. “First impressions are everything, and I vary rarely smiled and my expressions made it look like I didn’t care.
“I had the same problem in public. I’m a shy person and people would ask for my autograph and I wouldn’t have this welcoming look on my face because I felt awkward. They knew me because they had made the connection watching, but I didn’t know them.
“I’m sorry for being that way, but that’s who I am. I showed I cared by trying to be in the lineup every day [seven consecutive years of 154 games or more].”
He was the kind of athlete you don’t hear much about these days because he was never in trouble, winning a World Series and an All-Star home run derby, and was the All-Star game’s most valuable player.
“It was a privilege to play major league baseball,” Anderson said. “I didn’t take it lightly, and had fun doing it, while providing for my family. I was very fortunate.”
The same can be said for those who got to know him.
DON’T KNOW if it’s one word or two, but the only thing missing from Plaschke’s telling column the other day on Kemp was, “boohoo.”
Kemp likes to say how his family keeps him straight and from getting a big head. He never mentioned his agent, who apparently warms his bottles and makes sure he has his blankie before tucking him in.
None of this is Dave Stewart’s fault. He is Kemp’s employee, doing what he can to wear out Kemp’s welcome in L.A., apparently with Kemp’s blessing.
We knew Kemp couldn’t handle it when GM Ned Colletti went off on him, and we’ve learned he can’t take it when a coach gets tough on him. Now the reports are he’s sitting quietly in the clubhouse — all this too much for him.
Grow up, and a first step would be to order your agent to stop crying on your behalf.
WHEN I talked to the Dodgers’ Scott Podsednik for the first time a week ago, asking him when he was going to start hitting, he was batting .205.
Since then he’s 12 for 23. It’s just what Page 2 does.
Don’t know if his personality has changed for the better as well, but the Dodgers return to town Tuesday, giving him a chance to offer thanks in person. Can’t wait.
WHEN THE Dodgers return to town it will be Matt Kemp Bobblehead night. If you don’t treat it well, Dave Stewart will be knocking on your door.
t.j.simers@latimes.com
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