Torre rips Manny
Last night, Manny Ramirez made his triumphant return to Los Angeles, appearing in his first home game since his two-month suspension ended. Although he had been booed on the road, Dodger fans welcomed him back with open arms, just as any fans would if he played for their team.
But overlooked in all the fanfare were some comments by Joe Torre the other day, when the Dodgers were in Milwaukee and Ramirez hit his 536th career home run, tying Mickey Mantle at 15th on the all-time list.
“Manny’s a special talent, he’s a special player, so was Mickey, obviously,” said Torre, who cemented his own historic legacy with the Yankees. “I know there’s going to be some questions for the rest of his career. I’m not sure you can question how many he hits, it’s how far they go. I think that’s really what affects it more than anything else.”
Not how many he hits, but how far they go?
Torre wasn’t prompted for a response about steroids. He volunteered it, barely pausing after acknowledging Manny’s accomplishment.
Read between the lines, and Torre — an MVP as player, a guy from the old school, forever a Yankee, despite how things ended in the Bronx, and a manager known for “managing personalities” — was taking a shot at his own player.
Torre knows Manny is great, but it turns his stomach that he cheated.

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