More Manny Being Manny

For the first time since being handed his 50 game suspension, Manny Ramirez met with his teammates and coaches this past week. In another case of Manny being Manny there were no arguments or even explanations, just a short, brief apology to his teammates in a meeting hall at the team hotel.

Head coach Joe Torre said the meeting was more uncomfortable than any other team meeting he had ever been a part of. The coach described Ramirez and looking anxious and much more uneasy than anyone had ever seen him before. Manny showed quite a bit of remorse during the time and no one on the team questioned how sorry he was. While Ramirez has never been known to be a team player it was a nice gesture for him to address the team and it appears that his teammates have been supportive of him over this past week.

Manny was suspended on May 7^th for 50 games and even though this was the first time he had seen his teammates since, the meeting only lasted 10 minutes. While Manny was remorseful, the meeting was not his idea by any means. It came after a very stern suggestion given out by club chairman Frank McCourt. McCourt said that it was necessary for Ramirez to face his teammates and explain his situation and apologize.

It was a big deal for the team and every player and staff member turned up for the meeting. Even some players that were not staying at the hotel who have homes in the near area came for the meeting.

Usually Ramirez loves the spotlight and basks in being the center of attention but this was not one of those occasions according to teammates. He was shy and looked down on himself but his teammates were pretty supportive. Torre gave Ramirez the advice to just keep his confidence up, deal with the situation and get ready to come back and play his heart out when the situation was over.

The news around the club is that Ramirez will begin working out with the club again come next week. No word yet on whether he will practice in Dodger Stadium or stay back and participate in workouts at the team's Arizona training facility. Joe Torre also said that he suggested to Ramirez that he address the media sooner rather than later, but there is no word on when that will happen. Manny has never been all too happy to speak with anyone from the media and he is certain to not be looking forward to this press conference at all.

We have seen so many cases of Manny being Manny over the years and he always does something to surprise us. He has been pretty silent over the past week which is quite unusual, but if any of us know Manny, he is bound to do something soon. Who knows what will happen when Ramirez addresses the media sometime next week, but it will definitely be headline news across the MLB.