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| (AP Photo) |
Wednesday's reunion of the 2004 "Idiots" World Championship team offered an opportunity for some players to re-connect with fans after a decade. For one
particular player—
Manuel Aristides Ramirez—it was also
a chance to say he was sorry. Sorry for all of the misdeeds that left a bad taste in the collective mouth of The Nation when he departed Boston. Said Manny, "
I realize that I behaved bad in Boston. The fans were great. I also played great when I was here, but I realized I behaved bad. I apologize for that. I'm a new man." The cynic in us asks, 'Is he
really a new man?' None of us can look into Manny's soul (and, for one, I wouldn't want to anyway). Does it excuse the pushing down of sixty-something Traveling Secretary
Jack McCormick, the multiple PED violations, or the simple fact that he quit on his teammates? Hard to say. He
seems contrite,
"Now that I see David and the rest of the guys, I wish I could have done better. I wish it turned out better than it did." It was a somewhat mixed reaction last night to Manny emerging from the door inside the Monster—but
definitely more cheers than boos. The bottom line is: Manny remains (to paraphrase
Winston Churchill)
"a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma". Indeed.
