Wed Apr 06 11:29am EDT
Manny Ramirez on booing from Rays fans: ‘I liked it’
Fans of the Tampa Bay Rays may not be long in number, but they're very short on patience.That much was clear during Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels as Manny Ramirez(notes) was booed after going 0 for 4 with three strikeouts.
The Rays are now 0-4 to start the season — we've already detailed what that has meant historically — and the team's top two offseason acquisitions have been at the forefront of the struggling.
Ramirez has gone 1 for 16 with four strikeouts while teammate Johnny Damon(notes) has started 1 for 11. But if bearing the brunt of the boos from Tuesday's puny crowd bothered Man-Ram, he wasn't letting on.
In fact, his reaction was much different from that of manager Joe Maddon and teammate B.J. Upton(notes), who called the booing "very unfair" and "unbelievable."
From The Heater:
"It's not my first time I strike out three times," Ramirez said. "It's all good. I liked it."
When asked if he understood where the fans were coming from, Ramirez said, "That's everywhere. It's all right. I'm not mad at myself. I just got myself out."
Perhaps Manny's "I liked it" remark is an indication he'll use the reception as motivation from this point forward. And he completely has the right perspective in saying that "it's still early."
He'll have to wait a little bit before turning things around, though. Maddon has scratched him from the lineup for Wednesday's matinee against the Halos.
