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Manny against the Yanks

It was great to see Manny Ramirez finally go deep, and in a clutch situation. Interestingly, this is the second consecutive season that Manny chose Toronto to break an early-season home run drought.

Ramirez is a hated character among many baseball fans in his onetime home city. Maybe that's because he's been a great investment for the Red Sox when it comes to evening the playing field with the Bombers. Against New York, Ramirez is hitting .310 for his career (just off his .313 lifetime batting average). He has 48 home runs against the Yankees, which is more than he has against any opponent other than the Blue Jays, and 144 RBIs, which is more than he has against any other opponent period. Against tonight's pitcher, Andy Pettitte, Ramirez is a career .424 hitter (25 for 59) with 3 home runs. Of course, Ramirez for some reason does not hit lefties the way he once did.

What they're saying: The New Yorker's Ben McGrath took questions from readers about his extensive Ramirez profile in the magazine. Among other things, he says he thinks the Red Sox are committed to keeping Ramirez at least until his contract ends after the 2008 season.

Gordon Edes, in The Globe, says Manny's game-tying homer had the Red Sox almost as excited as A-Rod's game-winner had the Yankees.

The Harford Courant has a cool new nickname: Mister Rogers.

Posted by Mike McDermott  at 10:26 AM to Projo Mannybeingmanny | Permalink