Manny 2nd in games played

For all the “Manny being Manny” stuff going on lately, Manny Ramirez remains second on the team among position players in games played with 96. That’s second only to Johnny Damon who has 97. DH David Ortiz leads the team with 101.

You can say what you will about the guy. He should run out ground balls. He should postpone days off when the manager asks him to play because the team’s in a pinch. He should probably hold it in rather than disappearing into the leftfield wall to use the facilities. But when Manny Ramirez plays, he hits like nobody who “plays the game the right way” does.

That doesn’t excuse the Manny moments. It means you just don’t get rid of somebody like that without getting close to dollar value as possible.

Statman swallows size 14 spike

The designation for assignment of Boston Red Sox reliever Alan Embree leaves yours truly, the Statman, with the unenviable task of finishing out the 2005 season with a foot in his mouth.

You may recall an earlier column attributing Embree’s poor start to his performance on the road, not at our beloved Fenway Park. Alas, those tape-measure, lead blowing/game-altering shots found their way to the home field. Now, an invaluable member of the 2004 World Series champions is gone and a columnist has several perforations on the roof of his mouth and in the tongue region.

The final numbers for Embree read one win, four losses, and a pitiful 7.65 ERA in 37.2 innings pitched. For the Statman, 0 for 1 in explaining the performance of a major league ballplayer.