Times wires
Friday, April 8, 2011
What they're saying about Manny Ramirez
"It's crazy, man. That was the last thing I was expecting. … It's sad to see a player with that much talent and an unbelievable career, to get him out of the game with negativity." David Ortiz, Red Sox DH and former teammate in Boston
"You do it, you get caught, you're an idiot. If you do it again, you're a dumb---. I mean, it's sad to see." Bobby Jenks, Red Sox reliever and former teammate with White Sox
"He should have been a slam-dunk, first-ballot (Hall of Fame) player. Instead, if you think (Rafael) Palmeiro got a no-go from the (voting) writers, what do you think they'll do to Manny? How dumb can he be to get nabbed again?" Buster Olney, ESPN analyst
"It shows people that Major League Baseball is … not playing around. … They say they'll be checking and monitoring those guys, and they're showing how much they want to make this game clean and clear." Ozzie Guillen, White Sox manager
"Might have been running out of bullets. Father Time was catching up to him." Charlie Manuel, Phillies manager, who worked with Ramirez in Cleveland
"You hate to see greatness all of a sudden just fade." Ron Washington, Rangers manager
"I'm shocked. He always kind of portrayed that he was out there, but he knew how to hit, man." Jason Giambi, Rockies 1B, who has acknowledged steroid use during his career
"After he came back from the last (drug) suspension in 2009, he hit .269 the rest of the year, his on-base percentage dropped more than 100 points, his slugging percentage dropped 150 points. He just wasn't the same player before and after, so it's pretty obvious, right?" Jayson Stark, ESPN analyst
"I promise you, he does not want to retire. … For me, it's sad." Rafael Furcal, Dodgers SS and former teammate