Manny being...Barry?

I'm sure this isn't the first place your reading about Manny Ramirez being banned for 50 games due to testing positive for a performance enhancing substance, but I just have to comment on this. First off, there goes my damn fantasy team. Second, here's how I see the saga unfolding: Manny plays ignorant and says he "didn't know what he was taking", blames doctors, agents, coaches, trainers, and his alive/dead grandmother for the mistake. Spends the 50 games away from baseball living it up rather than training/practicing and being ready for coming back around July 3rd. Comes back July 3rd and has a similar second half as 2008 when he took the struggling Dodgers to the playoffs. Say what you will about Manny Being Manny and all that, but there is one thing Manny does, and it's play baseball. He has the perfect mentality for the game (ironically I was thinking about this topic before the Manny Suspension news hit and was going to write a Manny blog on how his terrible personality is perfect for sports). His immature ability to treat an at bat with the bases loaded in the bottom of the ninth the same as no one in in the top of the first, is what allows him to stay consistently good. He could never teach his methods (thank god, imagine it, "Introducing, your new hitting instructor Manny Ra.....hey where is he?"), but his natural ability to make contact along with his natural ability to forget about his last at bat (and forget about practices, games, non-existing injuries, where the ball is) makes him the perfect hitter. His carefree attitude strikes a lot of people negatively and rightfully so, we like to see professional athletes acting professional, not like an over-stimulated 4 year old, but that attitude makes him different from every other hitter. Manny rarely slumps, one specific instance was when he was closing in on 500 home runs and was pressing to finally hit the home-run and stop all the press coverage for it, and when he does slump it almost seems on purpose. He'll slump when demanding a trade or complaining about playing time etc, but then return as the savior of the lineup when he finally gets his way. All in all, he's that common-superstar combination of the perfect player, and an imperfect person. You'd love to have him in your lineup, but hate to have him on your team. And you dread having him in left field (except for when he disappears into the large wall there for a bathroom break). Thanks for stopping by!