Commentary: Make no mistake,
Manny is still going to be Manny

By Jill Painter, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 08/02/2008 02:59:04 AM PDT

Manny is already being Manny.

He changed teams, not personalities.

Ramirez hadn't even trotted out to left field in Dodger Stadium with those infamous locks flowing back and forth against his baggy jersey when his quirky nature surfaced in the clubhouse.

In case you're not hip, the trendy phrase "Manny being Manny" was hatched in Boston. It's not in the dictionary, but it essentially means to expect the unexpected and be OK with whatever happens.

This could mean disappearing during a pitching change, requesting a trade for Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre or, in this case, indecisiveness.

Mitch Poole, the Dodgers' longtime equipment manager, should've known about MBM (Manny being Manny), but he was surprised when Ramirez walked into the Dodgers' clubhouse Friday - on his first day since the trade with Boston - asking for jersey No. 28.

That was the very jersey number Poole suggested a day earlier, but Ramirez had passed on it. Ramirez wore No. 24 in Boston, but he couldn't wear it in L.A. since it was retired in honor of Walter Aston.

Ramirez then asked for No. 34. Although the number isn't officially retired, Fernando Valenzuela was the last player to wear it. In other words, it was off-limits. Ramirez settled on No. 66.

The number is an important thing for an equipment manager, so Poole started making arrangements for a No. 66 jersey. Not long after, he was informed Ramirez wanted No. 99.

Again, Poole started making arrangements. He didn't have Ramriez's exact jersey size (Ramirez likes to wear a loose-fitting size 56), but he had one with No. 99 that would fit fine through the weekend.
The Dodgers' marketing staff was buried under a campaign of T-shirts and jerseys with No. 99. Fans were already wearing the jersey Friday.

When Ramirez entered the clubhouse asking for No. 28, Poole wasn't sure if it was a joke. There was no turning back. Manny's shirt was done and some factory somewhere already was churning out Ramirez jerseys.

Ramirez is stuck with No. 99. At his introductory news conference behind home plate, he said he wasn't sure why the Dodgers gave him No. 99. But he smiled the whole time.

"Ninety-nine, that's kind of funny," he said.

Fans weren't privy to Manny's numbers game, and they probably wouldn't have cared. Ramirez is their new threat in the cleanup role. Finally, a scary hitter in the heart of the order.

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