Manny Ramirez

Manny Ramirez retired yesterday after he reportedly declined to take part in a new drug policy for MLB. It is said that he would have had to face a 100 game suspension for violating the League's Drug Policy this Off-Season. He had already tested positive for HGH once and faced a 50 game suspension.

To note: The Rays were 0-6 with Manny and are now 1-0 without him. Thoughts?

Okay. Three weeks into the season and have some thoughts about Manny and a few other random observations/opinions.

Manny was a fairly cheap big stick but I never was real happy about it. There was so much focus on him that I think it would have been a distraction to the team through an entire season. "Manny being Manny" and such. Damon is much more grounded and someone who seems to lead by example and has the ability to impart his knowledge to the younger players. He's still got a good stick, too. I took notice of Fuld during Spring Training. I like his hustle and focus. I just hope all the notoriety he's getting doesn't become a distraction. It seems that Shoppach has upped his game a bit from last year. Doing better behind the plate and at bat. Starting pitching is meeting expectations. For a bodged together bullpen, they're doing a great job. I like Peralta as the setup man and is also good for longer relief efforts. Farnsworth is looking pretty good as the closer and it looks like he's enjoying the job. We all know Longo has a lock at third, but Lopez is doing a good job filling in. Zobrist has always been one of my favorites. What can I say about someone listed at 5 different positions on the Rays' depth chart. Heard on a broadcast about a rumor that the Nats were interested in Upton. That just wouldn't break my heart at all. I like him as a player well enough, but he just seems to lack the drive and passion I like to see, especially as a tenured player. Despite the naysayers, I believe the Rays will still make a good run for at least a wild card berth. Done for now, cheers!

I agree that losing Ramirez only helped us, in many ways. It brought up Sam Fuld who (whether he really is a "legend" or not) is having a great year thus far and hopefully will all year. I like the fact that this is important to him and he's loving the show.

I think Upton is having a much better year this year. Therefore, I think that now is a better time than ever to trade him. Why? Because more than likely he won't continue this all year. He rarely does. Let someone have him while they think he's good and let us get some players. I would like to see some MLB-ready players though, not prospects.

Niemann is scaring me, so might be wise to pick up a Starting Pitcher, just in case. I don't think Archer or any of our other prospects are ready for a starting job.

I feel like we're doing a much better job of scoring runs. We've had two games in a row of scoring 2, but last year we were known to have a bunch of games of scoring 1 or 0. So it's a good sign to me.

Other than that, just hoping to get a big series against the Jays!