Manny Ramirez WHIR!!!!!!

[RenPastana]

after two weeks of playing, manny has not shown any power or patience at the place. All the hype from ST about how he had never come into ST in better shape has not converted to better numbers...Has Manny lost it or do you guys think I should stick it out and hope for better numbers to come?

[Chicago RedSox]

how dare you sir....

[sox 06]

Its been a little over a week and a half, chill out. Manny will get you around
.290
35HR
120RBI
100RUNS

[jake_twothousandfive]

He started off very slowly last year as well. Give him time, he's one of the best hitters in the game today. He'll get it going.

[Doughhead]

Yeah, Manny's off to a crappy start, which is frustrating for his owners. You'd always prefer your guys to get off to a fast start, but let's put things in perspective. Including today, Manny has played in 10 games so far this season. Here are Manny's numbers from his first 10 games in 2006:

Apr 14 - 0/3 2 K
Apr 13 - 1/4, 2 K
Apr 12 - 0/3,
Apr 11 - 0/4, 2 K
Apr 9 - 0/3
Apr 8 - 2/4, 1 K
Apr 7 - 3/4, 1 K
Apr 5 - 0/2, 1 K
Apr 4 - 0/4, 3 K
Apr 3 - 1/4, 1 K

So, through his first 10 games, he was batting 7/35 (.200) with 4 runs scored (3 of which came in one game), 2 RBI (both in the same game), 0 home runs (in fact, didn't hit one until his 17th game (April 21), and 14 Ks. On April 14, 2006, he had an OPS of .549. Going into today's game, his OPS was an almost identical .550.

I won't go through his first 10 games in 2005, but I will note that he still hadn't hit a home run by that point and his OPS was. 581. In 2005, he went on to hit 45 HRs and 144 RBI. Last year, he ended up clubbing 35 home runs and 102 RBI despite getting just 449 AB, more than 100 less than in 2005, as he missed almost all of September. Nevertheless, he actually improved his OPS in 2006 compared to 2005 from .982 to 1.058. I should also note that aside from his abbreviated September, Manny hit for an OPS of over 1.000 in all months except for (you guessed it!) Apil (.865).

So relax. I know it can feel like these April games mean everything, but they don't. I've had Manny for the past four years, including this one. He always seems to start slow and I always start to get a little nervous. But he'll turn it on just like he always does. Step away from that panic button.

[Prooks25]

I've been anticipating this years first Manny Jump Off A Bridge thread. I figured it would come around now.

He's done this 3 years in a row now. Started out ice ice cold. But all of a sudden, he starts mashing.

[ABA316]

Agreed, Manny will get in the groove. Don't panic.

Not to hijack, but how strange is it that so many power bats are slow starting? Examples..

Manny
Ortiz
Howard
Hafner
Konerko

Yeah I know it's 2 weeks into it, but just kind of piqued my curiosity.

[soty]

Step away from that panic button.

Exactly. Just relax people its the second week of the year, Manny will get his.

[Doughhead]

Agreed, Manny will get in the groove. Don't panic.

Not to hijack, but how strange is it that so many power bats are slow starting? Examples..

Manny
Ortiz
Howard
Hafner
Konerko

Yeah I know it's 2 weeks into it, but just kind of piqued my curiosity.

Also Soriano. Hey, it happens. Raise your hand if you think Jimmy Rollins will lead the league in jacks.

[Eightan]

Some power hitters are slow starters. This April especially is an unreliable barometer because of the bad weather in so many places. I'm dealing with bad starts from both Delgado and Andruw Jones, both guys who traditionally hit in the 40 homerun range every year... but I'm not worried.

Have faith in the good hitters who've been consistent every year for their entire baseball careers. It's a long long season.