In A Word, Pathetic.

C'mon now Diamond Notes. Even for a red pom-pom waver like Gammons, it's pretty comical to see such a corrosive report condemning Manny Ramirez considering how he [and the rest of ESPN] reveled in how the Manny Being Manny circus had served as a calming effect for Boston just last postseason.

At that time, the Sox were trailing Cleveland three games to one in the ALCS, when Ramirez was quoted as saying losing the series would "not [be] the end of the world." However, when Boston admirably ran off three straight wins on their way toward a second championship in four years, Manny's initially moronic comments had somehow metamorphized into an inspirational slogan.

See, when Manny's antics add up to a World Series trophy, he's the lovable dope who doesn't know any better. But, when the organization finally decides to banish the formerly lovable dope, now his actions become the indefensible behavior of a selfish clubhouse cancer. Where were you the last five years?

And as far as the threat of Ramirez possibly taking the rest of the Summer off had he not been dealt, why not take a look back at the conclusion of the 2006 season when a mysterious knee ailment [sound familiar?] allowed Ramirez to quit on his teammates. Apparently it's OK to bail on the team when they're bound for a third place finish in the AL East - as they were in '06 - but when Boston is in contention for a playoff spot - as they are in '08 - that's when Manny Being Manny becomes Manny being a malcontent.

The coup-de-grace for me was the steroid line of Gammons' column. Placing Manny's immaturity off the diamond on par with the most egregious cheaters of the game is about as palatable an idea as Wilson Betemit playing first base. Obviously, this Gammons piece has John Henry's fingerprints all over it. The Red Sox front office was happy to put a bullseye on Manny's back as he walked out Fenway's door, and, not surprisingly, Gammons was just as content to pick up the ammo from Theo Epstein before firing the killshot.

For all the times I've ripped Ramirez for his shenanigans as a Red Sox, I can at least point to my consistency. Though I always felt Manny's tendency to quit on his teammates or dog it on the basepaths would eventually take its toll on the rest of the team, I never questioned his unbelievable talent in the batter's box and I never dropped his name into the same category as steroid users like Bonds, McGwire or Giambi. One thing's for sure; July 31st, 2008 has become a holiday for Yankees fans and Yankees pitchers alike which is why It will also be interesting to see what impact not having Ramirez hitting behind him will have on David Ortiz.

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Since we're on the topic of phonies, here's another unsurprising, unflattering, critique of Manny's Red Sox tenure. This one offered up by, who else, Curt Schilling during his weekly radio [via the Rob Neyer Blog]:

"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."

"I enjoyed pitching with Pedro, but I watched Pedro for a year come and go as he pleased, and do whatever he pleased, from a schedule standpoint and to a point, All-Star break heading home and no one ever said a word …The things that Pedro said going out of town about Terry [Francona], that crushed me because of what I saw Tito do for him. Manny's the same way …"

Even when he's not with the team, Schilling finds a way to throw his hat into the ring. And why exactly would Red Sox fans want to hear from a guy who hasn't thrown a pitch all season and likely never will again?

Oswalt Says No To Yanks

What began as a muttered comment from Peter Gammons earlier this week on ESPN's Baseball Tonight made its way into the Houston locker room via the local media. During the nightly baseball fix, Gammons mentioned that the Yankees could be the frontrunner for Roy Oswalt's services should the Astros ace find himself on the trading block.

Oswalt's response?

"I don't know where that came from," Oswalt said, referring to Peter Gammons' comments on ESPN that created the furor. "I don't know where he's getting that from. That came out of left field somewhere. I don't know if he just brought it up or if he heard it from somewhere. I don't know where he got it."

Oswalt said if the Astros approached him with a trade proposal, he'd consider it. He didn't specify which teams he'd go to, but it's unlikely the Yankees would be on the short list. The Red Sox, Braves and Cardinals would probably interest him.

"If management came to you and asked you if you'd approve a trade, well, that just goes to show that a team doesn't want you," Oswalt said on Thursday. "So, why wouldn't you? If a team doesn't want you to play there, why wouldn't you approve a trade?"

Astros GM Ed Wade shrugged off the trade buzz, claiming "anything about a trade, it's all news to me."

Gammons & His Sawx Pom-Poms

I mean please, Mr. Diamond Notes, please.

How could Kyle Farnsworth have the gall to throw a wild up-and-in fastball on Manny Ramirez? What a travesty. [ed. note, Gammons does not remember Pedro Martinez hitting Jeter, Soriano, etc 1000 times] I was at the game last night, and Farnsworth's chin-music was probably the most enjoyable moment of the night - aside from the two runs off Papelbon.

And please recall Wednesday night's game in which Alex Rodriguez was hit, not buzzed, by a Aardsma fastball. Where was Gammons on that one? Ah, life through rose-colored glasses, eh Pete.

NY Times Q&A With Gammons. Wow, a whole five questions with Red Sox relic ESPN columnist Peter Gammons. The Boston beaneater made good points on the Roger Clemens saga, Barry Bonds' future and the Yankees young starters. Then, there was this:

Q: The Yankees s New York tood pat in the offseason, while some contending teams like the Mariners and Tigers made drastic improvements. Do you think the Yankees could miss the playoffs?

A: There's a risk because Toronto is going to be really good if A.J. Burnett and B.J. Ryan come back. The AL East is so deep. [If] Scott Kazmir is healthy, the Devil Rays, Jays and [Red] Sox are three teams in your division you don't want to play. I don't think that's true in any other division. I am sure it has Hank Steinbrenner very concerned.

So, according to Gammons, the AL East is going to be good. Where would we be without these Diamond Notes?

Gammons and Clemens Are Buddies,McNamee Ordered Rocket Around

Pat Jordan of The Baseball Analysts website recounts his encounters with Roger Clemens. Most interesting was his description of a run-in which showed Clemens to have a slightly damaging relationship with ESPN legend turned Red Sox shill, Peter Gammons.

Later in the piece Jordan describes the relationship between Clemens and his trainer Brian McNamee, who seemingly ordered the Cy Young collector around like Angela Lansbury in The Manchurian Candidate. Apparently buttered baked potatoes are sacrilegious yet injections that eat your insides are fair game.

I had a chance to become friends with Mr. Clemens in 2001, when I interviewed him for a profile in the New York Times Sunday magazine. But, alas, our friendship did not take. Despite the fact that I, like Mr. Wallace, felt I too had been objective in my profile, Mr. Clemens did not concur. In fact, he called me up after the story appeared and berated me over the telephone.

When I asked him what he didn’t like about the story, he said, “I didn’t read it.” I responded, “Then how do you know you don’t like it?” He said he was told by his “friend,” and the co-author of one of Mr. Clemens’ books, Peter Gammons, the ESPN-TV analyst, that he should hate it. In fact, Mr. Clemens hated my profile so fervently that he had me banned from the Yankees’ clubhouse during the years he remained with the team.

I would later learn that one of the many things Mr. Clemens hated about my profile of him was my description of his fawning relationship at the time with his friend Mr. McNamee, who lived in the pool house of Mr. Clemens’ Houston estate. On the first day I interviewed Mr. Clemens in Houston I had dinner with him and Mr. McNamee at the most exclusive steak house in Houston. The bill was for over $400, which I paid. Mr. Clemens said, “I’ll get you tomorrow.”

The next day he bought me a taco at a Mexican Restaurant. But the point of my profile of Mr. Clemens was less about his parsimoniousness than it was his strange relationship with Mr. McNamee. During the dinner at the steakhouse Mr. Clemens asked Mr. McNamee for his permission to have a steak (McNamee nodded) and a baked potato (McNamee nodded again, but added a caveat, “Only dry."). The same scenario played itself out at the Mexican Restaurant. Clemens pointed to an item on the menu and Mr. McNamee either nodded, or shook his head, no.

First of all, what a douche. Clemens puts a $400 dinner on the sportswriter's tab and thinks buying a $4 burrito the next day is reciprocating. Combine that type of compensation with the cumulative effects of his intravenous use and that wife of his must be one unsatisfied Texan.

If Jordan's report is true - and why would he make up such an anecdote - Gammons takes a major hit. Every sports reporter will garner relationships with their subjects and sometimes even develop friendships after years of close observation. This is no travesty.

However, once you begin policing other writers who may have criticized an ally athlete, there is reason to be worried of how slanted that individual's reporting has become.

Since Gammons recovered from a serious health ailment, his Red Sox tilt has become impossible to ignore. Jordan's piece reinforces the idea of a transforming sports culture which encourages reporters to befriend - not belittle - their subjects.