Papelbon Cures Cancer

I'll admit I'm a Manny' ac. I loved the signing in 2001, his years of dominance, and even the laughable antics. But, judging from Papelbon's latest comments. Looks like it was time for Manny to go. You know when a guy as fiery and competitive as Pap's goes on the record to call Manny, the greatest hitter the Sox have had since Yaz, a cancer you can bet there were a few issues. I always thought some of the antics Manny pulled were blown up by the media. I knew he was just one of those guys like "Space Man" Bill Lee who just marches to the beat of a different drum. As long as he was hitting I could stand the clown routine as a fan. I never knew it was bothering his teammates to this extent though in the clubhouse. In a way it is ironic to see the Sox change from the 2004 team to the current team. Maybe they were all idiots in 2004 and could handle Manny's behavior and lack of respect for the game and the image of the team. It is definitely a different atmosphere in Fenway these days. Papelbon, Pedroia, Youk, and the rest of the team have a "strictly business" mentality. The don't mess around and winning as a team is the mantra. Manny just doesn't fit into the new vibe and that's OK, I guess. But, as a fan wouldn't it be more fun to see Manny play out his days in a Sox uniform. After all he's done for us this is the way it all ends. Don't get me wrong I'm not defending his childish behavior or the shots he took at the fans and the team, simply being nostalgic about the best hitter I've seen in my lifetime.

By the way I love that Pap's in the new voice of the team...

"... And for him not to be on the same page as the rest of the team was a killer, man! It just takes one guy to bring an entire team down, and that’s exactly what was happening. Once we saw that, we weren’t afraid to get rid of him. It’s like cancer. That’s what he was. Cancer. He had to go. It sucked, but that was the only scenario that was going to work. That was it for us. And after, you could feel it in the air in the clubhouse. We got Jason Bay — Johnny Ballgame, plays the game right, plays through broken knees, runs out every ground ball — and it was like a breath of fresh air, man! Awesome! No question." -- Jonathan Papelbon goes off on LA Ram