SAN FRANCISCO -- For the last two months he has been the difference maker for the playoff-bound Dodgers as both hitter and clubhouse goof.
But the question still needs to be answered: Does Manny Ramirez deserve an acting award in an effort to get one more big contract, or is this baseball manna from above as he appears?
"Every day I thank God I came here and had the chance to show people who I really am," he says. "The guy you see here -- that's who I am."
Sat down with Ramirez on Saturday for a couple of hours at the Dodgers' hotel to talk about his future, dogging it in Boston, and his reputation as a flake.
Until now, he hasn't had much to say about Boston, what went wrong, and what lingering impact it might have in shaping opinions of him as a free agent.
"The first time I stepped foot in Boston, I said to myself, 'Whoa.' I told Pedro Martinez, 'Damn, man, I just want to get traded and get out of here; this place is not me.' I was unhappy for eight years in Boston but still put up great numbers."
He signed a contract with Boston for $160 million, a deal with options that could've swelled to $200 million. And he was unhappy -- so unhappy he walked away from $40 million over the next two years.
"Baseball in Boston is like a Sunday football game, but played every day," he says. "We lose in L.A., I go to breakfast and people say, 'Well, you'll get them tomorrow.' In Boston, it's 'Hey, what's going on, the Yankees are coming.'
"It's just a different atmosphere. The fans in Boston got your back no matter what, but I'm talking about the people who write all this bull because it means so much to them. If your happiness depends on Boston winning or losing, you have to get a life."
Many of the Red Sox writers grew up rooting for the team, and for that matter, most baseball writers are a serious lot who believe it's their assignment to protect the game.
For someone like Ramirez, who doesn't always appear to take the game seriously, he's going to pay the price in reputation.
"There's no doubt about that," says Manager Joe Torre, who after two months is now convinced Ramirez is just a fun-loving guy often misunderstood.
"I've been impressed by his work ethic, and one thing I've learned, I didn't know how much he cares for other players," Torre says. "And that's not something that can be put on."
He brought an energy in L.A. to the stadium and clubhouse not seen in some time, but in Boston he stopped talking to the media, graduating from funny guy to malcontent.
