Manny, the Media, Pete Rose, and the HOF.

It’s no secret that recently re-testosteroned Manny is a knucklehead for the ages, but when he went to LA plenty of the clueless media approvingly helped him thumb his nose at Boston…ha ha ha…take that, you bleepin,’ two-championship-savoring Red Sox Nation.

HOF-banned hit king Pete Rose bet on baseball, but no one ever accused him of laying down on the ballfield or on his teammates—at least until he became a manager. Heck, he hardly ever missed a game for 21 years, from 1963 through 1983—no other way to reach 14,053 official at-bats and 4,256 hits. And he damn sure didn’t worry about protecting his thick-legged hamstrings by not running out routine ground balls. Come to think of it, quick-wristed Jason Bay seems to have a little Pete in him—but with power and without the wagers.

Well, at least Manny didn’t bet on baseball…that we know of, anyway.

I sure hope Pete gets in before any of the ‘juicers’ do. (And fully expect that Manny will go back to being the relatively ordinary hitter that he was for the Red Sox in 2007 and 2008: .508 slugging average, compared to that now very suspicious .743 slugging for the Dodgers in 2008.)