Morning Rant

Yesterday the Red Sox lost a game to the Rangers and now they finish the first half of the season with the third best record in the American League (if they won yesterday - they would have had the second best record in the American League). If the playoffs started tomorrow - the Red Sox would be the Wild Card.

The Red Sox have gotten to this point despite extended time on the DL for Trot Nixon, Nomar Garciaparra, and Bill Mueller (one third of their line-up). The team is finally healthy and has won 5 out of six before the break. Things should be good in Boston right?

Nope.

Yesterday Manny Ramirez sat out because of tight hamstrings. He did pinch hit late in the game but today the subject of the day is Manny "taking the day off." The Red Sox have played 86 games before the break and Manny has been in the lineup for 84 of them. That leads the team (Johnny Damon and David Ortizzle played in 83). Some people will just criticize Manny no matter what he does.

I've said it before and the more I look at the circumstances - the more I become convinced that if Red Sox Nation was an actual country it would be France. I'm a Red Sox fan but I can no longer ignore the negativity, the superiority, and the willingness to give up on the team at the drop of a hat (one year the headline after an opening day loss was "Wait Til Next Year").

Manny is 4th in batting (.344), first in HR (26) and tied for 2nd for RBI (77). I have absolutely no complaints about his first half. Anyone who does should take the next few days to find themselves some perspective.

The Red Sox are the team nobody wants to face in the playoffs. The Chowder Eating Surrender Monkeys can kiss my ass.