And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves
lives. You don't want the truth because deep down in places you don't
talk about at parties, you want me on that wall, you need me on that
wall.
Col. Nathan Jessep (Jack Nicholson) "A Few Good Men"

I don't care where Manny Ramirez has been. I don't care what he's done or if he's cheated or not. I don't care if he wears his hair short or down to his ankles in dreads. The only thing that interests me about Manny Ramirez is when he comes to the plate in a Chicago White Sox uniform and gets a hit when there are runners in scoring position. Homers are nice, but I'll take an clutch RBI machine.
Last night was a result I saw coming down the street in a gravel truck. The White Sox score five runs in two innings and then, with the exception of a sixth inning Alex Rios homer, stopped. Mark Buehrle sputters a bit and lets Cleveland off the hook while the Sox offense leaves man after man on base. Bobby Jenks coughs up a seemingly insurmountable lead against a bottom feeder team in the bottom of the ninth. Ozzie's bullpen is so battered, his only hope is Scott Linebrink. Seen this movie before?
Manny Ramirez may not change this, but then again he might. He is, without a doubt, the White Sox last chance to rise up against the Twinkies and make the playoffs. if Manny fails, the Sox fail, but if Manny is Manny, the Sox have a shot. After an August of injuries, poor defense, one run losses and a bullpen leaking huge amounts of oil, Manny Ramirez can wake this team up. He has that power.
I don't give a damn what the critics think,
especially our new BFF Jonny Mathis who called the Sox "pathetic", Manny "moody and narcissistic" and Ozzie "the controversial manager who has a reputation of lashing out on issues
with profanities, and isn't timid to use the racial card
without grasping common sense" (nice unrelated swipe there, Jonny. Who pissed in your cornflakes?)
The bottom line is, the Sox stepped up when they had to and did what they had to do to get this team into the playoffs. Maybe this is a deal with the devil, but it came at no cost. The Sox are doing nothing but renting Manny for a month without having to dig into their shallow farm system and extricate yet another prospect.
The Sox, as a team, have received the message loud and clear: Management believes you can win and has given you an extra piece to play in the final month of the season. Now, it's up to you. If you play the way you should, the results will should turn out favorably. Think of Manny as Jesse on "Burn Notice."
This may be the last hurrah in pinstripes for two Sox heroes: Paul Konerko and A.J. Pierzynski. It may be the last chance for some of the veterans to make the playoffs. Next year's team will probably look a lot different with a lot more youth blended in. The urgency is there and by picking up Manny, the Sox may have the weapon to get them over the hump against the Twinkies.
The players want it. The fans want it. If Manny wants it, October could be a really fun month.