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Schilling Unloads on Manny ... Again

Curt SchillingCurt Schilling has opinions, and he's not afraid to share them ... over and over and over again. The morning of the trade deadline he plainly admitted on the radio that he hoped teammate Manny Ramirez would be sent packing. Days later, he celebrated Manny's trade to the Dodgers by piling on with an old story about how he and Manny almost got into a fight.

And on Wednesday, six weeks after a trade that by all accounts has worked out perfectly for both the Dodgers and the Red Sox, Schilling once again found time to unload on his former teammate, saying Manny's "level of disrespect to teammates and people was unfathomable." Chad Finn of the Boston Globe transcribed Schilling's appearance on WEEI:
"The guy got to dress in a locker away from the team for seven years," said Schilling, talking via telephone with Glenn Ordway and former Sox players Lou Merloni and Brian Daubach. "And then [when] he's on this crusade to get out of here, all of a sudden he's in the locker room every day, voicing his displeasure without even having to play the game that night."
Maybe Schilling has a point, but I find it ironic that a guy who, come to think of it, hasn't thrown a single pitch this year, is complaining about somebody else "voicing his displeasure without even having to play the game that night." No, his real injury and Manny's allegedly make-believe ailments aren't nearly the same thing, but still, his words would carry more weight were he actually contributing this year.


Not content sharing his own opinion, Schilling also implied that Terry Francona and David Ortiz had problems with Manny, as well.
"Nothing makes a guy that respects the game and respects human beings like Terry Francona feel worse than looking at a guy and saying, 'Go ahead, [mess] with me, [mess] with your teammates, I'll put you in the lineup,' and then turn around to a guy whose there every day early working his [butt] off who gets 110 at-bats a year and saying, "You know what? Yeah, I can't put you in there tonight," Schilling said. "There were times when you had players who were on like fire duty, 'Show up tomorrow, I'm not sure if you're playing or not, we've gotta find out what [Manny] wants to do.' That's not fair to anybody."

[...] On whether David Ortiz was frustrated with Ramirez (Ordway noted that he appeared to be shortly before the trade): "What you guys hear and see is generally 10 to 20 percent of what exists."
Again, his points are probably valid, but Francona and Ortiz are grown men, they don't need a spokesman -- if they wanted to stir the pot by bringing up old stuff, they would. But, like every other guy on the active roster, they seem more focused on trying to catch the Rays and secure home-field advantage. I appreciate Schilling's honesty, but seriously, we heard him the first time.

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