Former WBZ sports anchor Bob Lobel has come out with some pretty interesting news. Apparently Manny Ramirez was fined for his actions in shoving traveling secretary Jack McCormick to the ground — six figures to a charity. This didn’t sit well with Manny, who may have exacted revenge by looking at three called strikes by Mariano Rivera in a tight situation where a hit could have changed the game.
“The thing that most people are forgetting and haven’t talked about is the strikeout in Yankee Stadium,” Lobel said. “The bat on the shoulder for the three pitches from Mariano Rivera. That was a big [expletive] to the Red Sox after the fine. I’m just telling you … there are things in the front office that are perceived … I’m saying that there is a strong feeling that that [three-pitch strikeout] was the message to the Red Sox and it’s a strong feeling that that’s unacceptable … there’s a feeling that he didn’t give it his all, let’s put it that way … I’m just saying the front office has not forgotten that moment. It’s akin to Nomar sitting on the bench [in a game in which Derek Jeter dove into the stands at Yankee Stadium in 2004]. It’s the same thing. It’s an at-bat that resonated very strongly in the front office.” (Boston Globe)
I’ve mentioned before that there’s a very realistic possibility Manny doesn’t open 2009 in a Boston Red Sox uniform. That possibility just grew.
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