Manny ain't the problem

This is Dan Shaugnessy Watch territory, but...it took him until the end of his "blame pie" column today and I was starting to worry, but then he typed,

Lastly, we must address the larger forces. Manny Ramírez yesterday said he was not trying to show anybody up and he had some fun striking poses during batting practice, but his Cadillac moment (raising his arms as if he'd just hit a walkoff when his sixth-inning blast cut the score to 7-3) at home plate in Game 4 was classless and obnoxious. It was an embarrassment to anyone who says they love baseball and/or the Red Sox.

No one will ever say anything, of course, but you have to wonder what his teammates and manager really think.

Ramírez was not in the Sox dugout when Mike Lowell and Drew made the first outs against Cleveland reliever Rafael Betancourt in the ninth. He came back from whatever he was doing to watch Crisp line to first for the final out.

Yesterday in a rare interview, Ramírez said, "If it doesn't happen, so who cares? There's always next year. It's not like it's the end of the world or something."

That should fire everybody up.

Let me respond by saying, "shut up." This is Manny Ramirez's line this October, as Globe sportswriter Amalie Benjamin notes:

.429/.613/1.000

I wish the Yankees had some guys who cared as little about losing a stupid game as Ramirez does.