[CaptainLaddie]

From WEEI this morning, via ESPN:

Quote

In an interview Wednesday on Boston radio station WEEI-AM, the injured Boston Red Sox starter took his former teammate to task, saying Manny's "level of disrespect to teammates and people was unfathomable."

Ramirez was dealt to the Los Angeles Dodgers at the trade deadline after complaining the team had tried to turn the fans against him and that the Red Sox no longer deserved him. Ramirez was in the last year of his contract, with the team holding two one-year options for $20 million each.

In eight seasons in Boston, Ramirez's quirks were widely seen as harmless, or dismissed as a small price to pay for having such a gifted hitter in the lineup. But Schilling, speaking with "Big Show" host Glenn Ordway and former Red Sox players Brian Daubach and Lou Merloni, said Manny's antics disrespected his teammates.

This should be fun.

[Drocca]

I was just thinking that Schilling hadn't seen his name in print in over 48 hours.

[BoSox Rule]

CaptainLaddie, on Sep 18 2008, 12:40 PM, said:

This should be fun.

That sums it up nicely. Didn't Schilling already go down this road like a month ago?

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

It bears mentioning that this was not his weekly radio appearance, which usually takes place with Dennis and Callahan. He called in for this segment. I am not sure if they asked him to, or if he did it on his own.

I am unsure why he's bringing this up again. I thought he had said his peace on this topic when the trade initially went down.

[RedOctober3829]

Cross-posted from the Big Show thread...I thought about starting a seperate thread about it on this forum but wasn't sure if it was warranted.

Quote

Curt in the Car called up to talk about Manny.

"Never knew when he'd be able to play day-to-day." "In spring training, he was fine in his Buddhist state"

On Tito
"He was brought up to play the game the right way and respect the game."

"Manny makes his own decisions. The day he signed with Boras was his last day in uniform for the Red Sox."

Merloni: "In the last year, Manny was impossible to deal with."

"Manny never cared about any of us. I am totally convinced that he was going to play half the games the rest of the way. He brought nothing else to the table besides his bat and we were OK with that"

"The hardest part was to watch it, live it, and then read Shank saying we don't do anything about it. At the end of the day, he still wore the uniform and played"

"Thankfully, Tito finally put it in front of the players(the decision to keep Manny)."

"David saw what was going on and knew we needed a happy Manny but David understands the difference between respect and disrespect"

"What you guys hear and see is 10-20% of what went on."

"I've been the biggest waste of space all year and I'm the last person to tell you who is right and wrong, but I'm a part of this family and I saw it. The guys who played crucial roles on important teams are the worst people. Nothing makes guys like Tito feel worse than putting these type of guys in the lineup when you have guys busting their ass and he has to tell them to sit."

"Jason Bay plays the game the right way. He is a piece of the puzzle going forward not just a stopgap."

[Pearl Wilson]

CaptainLaddie, on Sep 18 2008, 12:40 PM, said:

From WEEI this morning, via ESPN:

This should be fun.

Not the first time he's done this on WEEI. As long as he speaks in general terms like that (as opposed to discussing specific events not known to the public), probably not much will come of it. Heck, look at, and listen to, Eckersly.

[TomRicardo]

Yes Lou Merloni, another loud mouth, only this time completely marginal.

[Drocca]

Curt Schilling is disrespecting the fans with this. I know that. Manny is gone, has been gone and it is a total nonstory. Meanwhile, the Red Sox are gearing up for the playoffs. Obviously we've all gotten to know Schilling over his time here and appreciate his on-the-field performance while understanding that off of it he is an insecure person with child-like vendettas.

Bringing this up serves no purpose. None. It is, literally, pointless. Curt Schilling has contributed nothing to baseball this year. Manny is in the middle of a playoff hunt with his own team. Contributing, like, actually playing baseball. I wonder if Schilling remembers that's what the both of them are - baseball players.

[5belongstoGeorge]

I love what Schilling did for the Sox in '04. I even like to tell myself that he understood some of the thoughts/feelings/emotions that many generations of Sox fans had been through and that his desire to "right that wrong", if I may, entered into his decision to come to Boston.

With all that said, as a baseball fan I pretty much don't care if Lou Merloni lives or dies (figuratively speaking), although sometimes I plan my evenings around watching the Dodgers long enough to catch a Manny at bat.

Good luck with the video game gig and thanks for the memories. Nothing good can come from G38 bagging on Manny.

[jodyreeddudley78]

My main problem is really just: what is the point? He is gone, the team is going to the playoffs, they received a good player in the deal, and, apparently, all is well. It just seems like sour grapes. I don't know if the reason is Schilling isn't playing (which I'm sure bugs him) or if it is the fact that Manny is having an amazing end-of-year in LA. I just don't see the point in the constant rehashing of the events leading up to the trade. It is not as if there is some major outcry of "We shouldn't have traded Manny!", is there?

Just let it go.

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

Also, this seems awfully contradictory to me:

Quote

"I've been the biggest waste of space all year and I'm the last person to tell you who is right and wrong, but I'm a part of this family and I saw it."

If he's the last guy to tell us who's right and wrong why is he on the radio declaring Manny to be in the wrong?

The atmosphere surrounding the team leading up to the deadline looked poisonous from seeing the way they were playing, so I'm fine with the trade. The Sox put their asses on the line and traded Manny away because they felt they would be a better team without him and with Bay. Their record since the trade seems to bear out this line of thinking. All that stuff Curt is saying about Manny may well be true and it wouldn't surprise me, but what's the purpose of airing dirty laundry now? He's gone and the Sox are going to the playoffs. No further commentary seems required here.

[Drocca]

Smiling Joe Hesketh, on Sep 18 2008, 12:57 PM, said:

Also, this seems awfully contradictory to me:
If he's the last guy to tell us who's right and wrong why is he on the radio declaring Manny to be in the wrong?

The atmosphere surrounding the team leading up to the deadline looked poisonous from seeing the way they were playing, so I'm fine with the trade. The Sox put their asses on the line and traded Manny away because they felt they would be a better team without him and with Bay. Their record since the trade seems to bear out this line of thinking. All that stuff Curt is saying about Manny may well be true and it wouldn't surprise me, but what's the purpose of airing dirty laundry now? He's gone and the Sox are going to the playoffs. No further commentary seems required here.

SJH, he did the same thing (I think in response to you, actually) when he did his whole "I have never bashed Scott Williamson" and then went into a huge bash of Scott Williamson. He can throw a ball very fast and very accurate. But, he's not the smartest guy in the room.

[yecul]

Have we heard any of the players on the Red Sox comment on this?

Do you think there might be a reason for that?

Schilling misses the mark when he complains about a distraction by creating one of his own.

I'm not sure what is to be gained. Public opinion of Manny in Boston is not high in regard to his role in the clubhouse. Ditto the team itself. Manny doesn't seem to give a shit, so it's not like this would get a response. So... where are we going here and why is this brought up again?

[5belongstoGeorge]

The worst thing about this is that now we are going to have to listen to Gammo and Buster and Kruk and ____ go on and on about it instead of talking about baseball... something that many of them already find challenging.

Could the Sox just have #38 throw out a first pitch or something in the playoffs so he gets some "good" attention? Just make sure the mics are all off.

[pedros hairstylist]

Merloni and Dauber seemed to pretty much agree with Schilling's "If people knew half the stuff that went on, they'd be appalled" line of reasoning. Ordway concurred. If knocking down Jack McCormick was par for the course, then I might have to rethink my ambivalence towards Manny. Loved the results he gave us but I was never a huge fan even before the negative stuff started coming out.

I guess this is where the helpful local sportswriters/reputation assassins come in...

This post has been edited by pedros hairstylist: 18 September 2008 - 12:08 PM

[Yaz4Ever]

SJH - putting on my bloody sock for a moment and trying to get into Curt's head, I'm going to assume that he refers to himself as a waste of space because he's physically unable to play and it's driving him nuts, whereas he views Manny as someone who is not only tremendously gifted, but also physically able to play and made it clear he was willing to 'tank it' for the rest of the season if he didn't get his way. This has to drive someone like Curt absolutely nuts.

That said, I am nuts about both of these guys. Without them, we would not be looking at one, let alone two, championship banners whenever we're able to get an advance on our home equity lines to purchase tickets to Fenway. I wish Curt would just step back and be quiet at this point, but that's not him. I wish Manny would've manned up a bit instead of being a spoiled man-child who simply doesn't get it (or worse, does and doesn't care), but that's not him either. Regardless, I look forward to bringing my children to Cooperstown one day and showing them both plaques.

[Mr Weebles]

Manny may be half a retard and not play the game "right" (whatever that may be) but what's the point of Schilling's comments? Is he jealous Manny has gotten a lot of ink recently? Are his video games not life-satisfying enough? Has sand found its way into his vagina?

Curt's proving to be quite the douche.

[Foulkey Reese]

Quote

"If people knew half the stuff that went on, they'd be appalled"

God I hate it when people say stuff like that. Either come out and tell us everything, or just shut up about it and let the players who are actually playing go about their business.

[Rudy Pemberton]

Quote

Have we heard any of the players on the Red Sox comment on this?

Do you think there might be a reason for that?

Judging by the reaction Schilling gets every time he speaks his mind, it's no surprise that other players haven't commented on these and other issues.

Schilling is a guy who pretty much laid it all out on the line for the Sox, a key part to two WS teams (as was Manny of course) and he gets trashed here when he says something that a lot of fans don't agree with. I agree that there's not a lot to be gained by talking about Manny since that problem has been solved, but I also don't really have an issue with Curt talking. He's a member of the team, was close to the situation, and thinks Manny should be called out for his actions.

Every team we hear something negative about Manny, the commenter (whether its Gammons, Schilling, Olney, Edes, etc) gets ripped for having an agenda or something. I don't know that it is all that complicated, but whatever. There's probably some folks within the organization angered by the run Manny's been on, and how healthy he is. Ultimately, I could care less since Manny for Bay is a trade I make every day of the week, but I'm also not in the clubhouse as Curt is.

[NomarRS05]

I don't see why this story is getting any attention at all. There's nothing new here - Schilling said the same exact thing back in July. There is a lot to talk about regarding the Red Sox right now. This shouldn't be at the top of that list.