MLB: And the Hits Just Keep On Coming...

Remember when you laughed at the Boston Red Sox for footing the $160 million dollar bill attached to Manny Ramirez? Some people looked at Manny’s career .270 average at Fenway Park and wondered if he was the right fit for such a ballpark. Many baseball gurus seemed skeptical of the deal, suggesting that the Red Sox were paying an obscene amount of money for a one-dimensional player. Some people keeled over in their chairs, laughing at the Sox organization, wondering how insane the Sox were for shelling out $160 million dollars to a designated hitter.

Doesn’t seem so funny anymore, does it?

While helping the Red Sox pummel the surging Minnesota Twins in Fenway, 9-4, Ramirez went 3-for-5 for his second consecutive game. Manny leads all of baseball in batting with a .429 average and is tops in the AL in RBI with 22. Ramirez has an on-base percentage of .506 and is slugging a plump .714. People were worried of Manny’s productivity at Fenway Park and yet, while Ramirez has been a member of the Red Sox, his average at Fenway is a titanic .465. In his first eleven games at Fenway, Manny has hit safely in all of them. (It should be noted that eight of his first eleven games have been multi-hit games.) Everyone knew Ramirez was an RBI machine and he has proved that so far this season, hitting 14 RBI in his first eleven games at Fenway Park. Ramirez has yet to appear in the outfield this regular season and the Sox brass seems content letting him just concentrate on his hitting. Even Ramirez seems shocked by his torrid start calling it "scary." Manny says he has never started off a season so well and the Boston organization is breathing a sigh of relief after a dismal spring training in which he .138 with 2 RBI, while battling another hamstring strain.

Suddenly, the nagging hamstring injury seems to have subsided – yet there is no timetable on when he is going to pop up in the Sox outfield. Jimy Williams, for all of his head-scratching roster moves, seems comfortable letting Manny just focus on swinging the bat. The roster is jam-packed with outfielders and allowing Manny to remain as the DH seems to be one less headache Jimy has to deal with. Besides, the way he is hitting now, can you blame the Sox? Ramirez has reached base safely in all 20 games he has played and is showing more poise at the plate than any other season.

While people scoffed at the notion of signing Ramirez over big time pitcher Mike Mussina, the early returns on Manny’s signing appear extremely fruitful. Mussina, however, has yet to find his rhythm in New York and in four games with the Yankees is 1-2 with a 4.21 ERA. Regardless of these numbers, it is way too early in the season to get anyone’s underoos in a bunch over any of these performances. Fans in Boston can only hope that Manny is the oasis to Boston’s 83-year long championship drought. One thing is for certain, he is playing like the best right-handed batter in the major leagues and the Sox organization is praying that his price tag will eventually end up looking like a garage sale bargain.