He was devoted to hygiene and dependent on technology:
"I came out and saw the highlight on TV."
Ramirez was replaced in leftfield for the bottom of the ninth inning by Juan Pierre for defensive purposes, a common move for the Dodgers. Unable to re-enter the game, Ramirez excused himself from the proceedings.
At this point, the baseball world, with its arcane, unwritten rules, is supposed to recoil in horror. At this point, Ramirez is supposed to be vilified for not supporting his teammates, for being uninterested in the outcome, for thinking only of himself.
That might have happened in Beantown, but it isn't happening in Dodgertown.
In Dodgertown, world-weary manager Joe Torre is mayor. Savvy lefty Randy Wolf is an alderman. Ramirez holds the key to the city.
So Manny took a shower during the game.
So what?
It's Manny being Manny, as Manny once said.
"It's really nothing different than he's done before," Torre said. "I don't think it's disrespect of anything. He wasn't going anywhere until the game was over, and we can't put him back in the game."
In the light of the actions that sped his departure from Boston, Ramirez' most recent antic certainly adds a measure of sparkle to his checkered legend.
That legend includes years of requesting trades to leave Boston; repeatedly not hustling; occasionally declining to play; and, in 2008, criticizing Red Sox management, which sped his trade to the Dodgers that season.
With him, the formerly punchless Dodgers raced to the playoffs. They then re-signed him as a free agent for this season and next, though he missed 50 games this season serving a suspension for testing positive for a banned substance.
And now, on a huge stage, in a critical game, he's backstage, in a warm shower.
