Manny's Dream

In an interview with USA Today last Tuesday, Manny Ramirez explained that his “biggest dream is not to hit 500 home runs, or 600 or 700. My dream is for God to give me enough health to watch my kids grow up, have a beer with them, watch them graduate. That’s my Hall of Fame.” Manny goes on to explain that hitting a home run is less important than coming home and having your kid tell you, “I love you.”

Since the inception of this blog, we’ve touted Manny’s batting prowess, especially the rate at which he generates RBIs. Dennis Eck is quoted in the same USA Today piece, to the effect that Manny is one of the best right-handed hitters in the history of the game. Hard to argue with that. Nor with his post-season production. Just ask K-Rod and the Angels about pitching to Manny when the game is on the line. But little did I know that Manny and I shared the same dreams – to see our kids graduate, to watch them grow into manhood, to have a drink with them. OK, maybe a whisky more than a beer, but how much difference does that make?

Manny’s comments shed further light on his now-famous interview before Game Five of last fall’s ALCS, when the Sox were down three games to one, facing elimination – the interview where Manny asked, in sum and substance, what’s the big deal? So what if we lose? We’ll all wake up tomorrow; we’ll come back next year to another season, to another game. At the time, as the Sox went on to sweep first Cleveland, and then the Rockies, it seemed that Manny was just letting the pressure out of the clubhouse, telling his teammates to relax, allowing them to play the remaining games one pitch at a time. See the ball. But now, despite having helped his Sox win another championship, maybe Manny meant exactly what he said. After all, it is just a game, and if it’s not as important as seeing your kids graduate, how much more of life is bigger than baseball? Manny de Montaigne, a modern philosopher.

Now speaking of dreams, one of my dreams came true last night when the Sox actually scored some runs again. They had gone five games with a total run production of four. During those five games they collectively batted around .150. Only because the entire pitching rotation was at the top of its game did the Sox manage to win two of the five, both with walk-off hits. Beckett’s thirteen strikeouts were wasted, when the Sox put up zero runs. But last night, finally, a big inning, and some run production. And to match that, Buckholz had a second consecutive strong outing. Middle relievers faltered, and have actually been pretty unimpressive so far in 2008. Okajima and Pap shut the door.

It could have been a nightmarish April. Sox had series with every AL playoff team from 2007; not to mention that crazy road trip to Tokyo and the West Coast to start things off. Then they got swept in Toronto and Tampa; they went through that recent drought at the plate; and still they managed to come out of April five games ahead of .500. Not a dream start to the season, but not a nightmare either. So anyway, while we pursue the dream of back-to-back championships, let’s not forget Manny’s dreams either.