Manny Being Manny - the 2008 Version

In 2008, Manny’s been being Manny, by being contented, by predicting that he will finish his career in Boston, by meditating, by verging on the philosophical, even by talking to the press. (This new relationship with the media had actually begun last October, when Manny provoked a ton of press attention before Game 5 of the ALCS with his “Don’t Worry, Be Manny” discourse, which of course turned out to be a zen koan of sorts, a paradoxical prediction of the intensity and focus that Manny, and the rest of the Sox would bring to the remaining seven games of the post-season.) Content and talkative, that’s the new Manny. But the old Manny is still with us, as last night’s game demonstrated.

The old Manny was a hitting machine, an RBI machine. Remember when the Angels walked Papi to pitch to Manny in the ninth inning of Game Two of the ALDS? And Manny sent K-Rod’s fastball into orbit? That’s the old Manny. The one the Nation loves, and the one the haters only begrudgingly give their due. This old Manny has singlehandedly won three games in April. And this is a tough April. First, the crazy season opener in Tokyo; then five games against the Yankees, three against the Tigers, and two in Cleveland. No nights off in April. And the Sox having to cope with much of this schedule without Lowell and Schilling, with Papi in the worst slump of his Boston career, and with the starting pitching seemingly unable to find the strike zone. In part it’s the weather. Last night in Cleveland looked colder than October; someone was playing recently in the snow; and the Yankees played the Royals last week in a downpour. This is baseball? Maybe it’s jet lag; I recall the Yankees starting slowly after a trip to the far east. Maybe the pitchers are just rusty, who knows? In any event, even a healthy lineup would have had its hands full against this April schedule.

But three times this April, Manny has won games for the Sox pretyy much by himself. Opening day in Japan, four RBIs, including a two-run double in the top of the tenth inning. Last Saturday against the Yankees, with Mussina looking pretty good on the mound, Manny knocked in three of Boston’s four runs. And then last night, in the top of the ninth, Manny capped a late-inning rally with a two-run homer, and the Sox were able to steal the first game from the Indians. So far this year, he has fourteen RBIs, one for each game, and ten extra-base hits. He’s now tied Lou Gehrig for home runs, and will soon be in the top twenty-five all time for career homers and RBIs.

Now, with Manny being Manny, all we need is Papi to begin being Papi, and Beckett to begin being Beckett, and the 2008 version of the Sox might turn out to be pretty good.