Taking Shots at Manny

It's no secret that Boston has been growing ever more uncomfortable with Manny Ramirez. But most of them had been keeping quiet because either

1. they didn't want to run into him, and get shoved to the floor like Jack McCormick did
2. they were trying to be nice because he still had a .400 on base percentage

Now, that Manny has left Boston, and the AL, it seems like Boston just can't stop ragging on him.
Curt Schilling and Boston Herald writer Gerry Callahan take turns giving blows.

Curt on Manny:

"At the end of the day you're taking the field with a guy who doesn't want to play with you, doesn't want to be there, doesn't want to ... obviously effort-wise is just not there and that's disheartening and disappointing," Schilling said during his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio WEEI's Dennis and Callahan program.

(Hit the link for more)

Callahan:

Well, you can say goodbye to the bad guy now. Good riddance to bad rubbish. Maybe Jason Bay will not be quite the cleanup hitter that Ramirez was (then again, maybe he will be), but we know this much before he even takes the field for the Red Sox: He is a better fielder, a better baserunner, a better teammate, a better person.

He probably won’t fake a knee injury, or slap a teammate, or throw a 64-year-old man to the ground because he couldn’t make tickets magically appear. He won’t give the manager ulcers or spit in the owners’ eye or treat the paying customers like suckers.

In a way, Ramirez represents the worst of professional sports - a man who is idolized because he has one, God-given physical skill. Some fans who would boo a player for popping up with the bases loaded had no problem cheering Ramirez days after he assaulted Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick, a terrific gentleman who is almost 30 years older than the slugger.