What's goin' on with Manny?

[Doughhead]

At first, I thought..."Okay, he's in a slump. Big deal--everyone goes through these things."

But it is June 12 and he is hitting south of .250. Unthinkable. Is something up with this guy? I know his RBIs are still solid, but 11 dingers and a .240ish average are unacceptable for a guy with his pedigree. And he's been getting scratched from the BoSox lineup seemingly a lot lately. Is he nursing something?

I'm also "lucky" enough to have Hideki on my team (who has exactly one home run since I traded for him almost two months ago!!!!).

I used to think that these two guys were unbenchable. Now I'm not so sure. Tell me that sunnier skies are waiting for me in the second half???!!!!

[bselig]

He was terrible last year after the allstar break, but had a couple of HUGE months before it. Maybe he'll have a big month or two after it this year? I think if you are in Roto Manny is already a bad pick, but if you are in head 2 head you still have a shot at getting at Manny delivering on his promise if he gets hot during the playoff stretch.

[Half Massed]

i thought i got such a deal when i traded pierre and johnson for manny, prior and bonderman right as prior was coming back. but so far it seems bonderman has been the most valuable of everyone in that trade. he needs to pick it up fast. somehow i only have 4 rbi's on the week in my 14 team h2h league. 4!!!

[pangbones]

For Manny the best is yet to come. He is one of the most consistent players there is. He will end up with numbers similar to last year, and the year before, and the year before etc....

[bd3521]

Sun May 15 2005 - Manny Ramirez said being distracted by his mother's health may be behind his slow start. ''My mom's been real sick,'' Ramirez said. ''I've been thinking a lot about that. She's now getting better.'' Ramirez revealed that his mother has arthritis.

Probably just not focused

[Half Massed]

Sun May 15 2005 - Manny Ramirez said being distracted by his mother's health may be behind his slow start. ''My mom's been real sick,'' Ramirez said. ''I've been thinking a lot about that. She's now getting better.'' Ramirez revealed that his mother has arthritis.

Probably just not focused

hopefully just not focused.

[blackbearabroad]

but when was he ever focused?

[AT]

It just looks like Manny doesn't give a crap out there. I expect him to refocus after the All Star break and come out clubbing the ball.

WTF?!? Arthritis? Are you kidding me Manny? That's so lame.

[Secret Avatar]

I know most will disagree with me, but I think Manny's on the decline and has been since the second half of last year. His reaction time and batting eye seem to have deteriorated. He's just not the same hitter he used to be. He should continue to hit for power, and the Bosox line-up will provide him plenty of RBI and run opps, but his days of 300+ average are gone.

I'm sure his mother's health may be distracting, but this slide began in July of last year and has not abated. Nor would I put arthritis at the top of the list of worrisome illnesses. Also, I'm generally skeptical when professional athletes blame their poor performance on family distractions. To me, that sounds like an excuse when nothing better is available.

Manny may yet turn it around. But my money says otherwise.

[Nomar4prez]

Not to change the subject, but arthritis can be severly deabilitating. You may be thinking of a little pain between the joints, but when severe enough, it can force someone to remain in bed, and not have much movement.