Man-ny! Man-ny! Man-ny! That is all that I heard while sitting at Dodger Stadium in my Ryan Howard jersey and my Phillies hat being heckled by most Dodger fans there. From the 2-run double that Manny hit in the first game to give the Dodgers a 2-0 lead, to the 2-run homer he hit when the Dodgers were down 6-1 early in the game, you can just tell that Manny Ramirez has energized this team and also these fans. He has Dodger faithful believing that they can bring home a division title and play deep into the playoffs. With a sweep of the defending NL East champion Philadelphia Phillies, they look well on their way. Manny is hitting near .500 since coming to Los Angeles after being exiled from Boston. Manny being Manny is still in effect here in LA as well because in the first game Manny was nowhere to be found in the top of the ninth inning when the Phillies were hitting down by two runs. Turns out Manny was in the bathroom and he was buttoning his jersey up as he rushed back onto the field. He thought he was taken out of the game, so he took his bats and everything to the clubhouse. These fans have gone crazy for Manny Ramirez ever since he arrived in LA. Ticket sales have gone through the roof since the trade and also merchandise sales have gone through the roof as well. Fans flocking to the gift shops to try and be apart of Manny Mania. The new Manny dreadlock hats will be coming in this weekend and they will go on sale for $25. Joe Torre wants Manny to cut his hair but he is hitting so well right now and the fans are having a field day with it, why would you want him to do that? Manny now has a fan club in left field where he plays. The seats from the middle of left field all the way around the foul pole into the left field stands are filled with Manny fanatics. If Manny gets a hit or if Manny catches a fly ball the fans erupt in celebration. This is very good for LA because the Dodger faithful have not had any real superstar since Mike Piazza left the city and Manny is energizing the team, just look at Jeff Kent’s stats now. In the series with Philly he had 3 multi-hit games, without Manny there Kent probably is pitched to a lot more careful than that. Other young players have also stepped up and have started to hit the ball. Russell Martin is hitting 8th in the order now which tells you something about the Dodger lineup. 1-8 the lineup is very solid and there isn’t much weakness there unless you count age and experience. Obviously the Phillies weren’t very happy about Manny mania because they drilled Manny in the second game drawing the ire from Dodger faithful. Manny stared down the pitcher but he kept his cool as he walked to first base. This is exactly what the Dodgers need from Manny. Manny has had no problems with LA and if he continues to play like this hitting astronomical numbers, then the Dodgers could be playing far into the playoffs come September.
Keywords: Major League Baseball
