Uh, what the hell was Selig thinking when he decided to go off on Manny Ramirez?

"If Ted Williams can bang his damned elbow in the first inning and play for 14 innings because he had to be there, well that's the way the game is to be played. It is the mid-summer classic." (widely circulated quote, including in the SF Chronicle)

It has been pointed out that this is highly ironic since it was under his watch that the mid-summer classic became such a farce that they ran out of players and had to end the game with a tie.



This image of him pretty much encapsulates his entire tenure: all of baseball -- players, fans and officials alike -- looking to a small, anguished man for guidance as the game falls apart, and all he can offer is a befuddled, impotent shrug.

It seems that Boston and Manny Ramirez have been tight lipped about the true nature of the injury: torn meniscus in his right knee. He can play through it, but it obviously causes some discomfort. Doesn't he have a right to skip the game for the good of his team? If he's skipping the game, isn't it his prerogative to skip the whole thing?

Regardless, Manny shouldn't have to justify the status of his injury to the commish, Tim McCarver (who apparently derisively joked about it last night) or anyone else. For f's sake.

I hate Bud Selig almost as much as I hate AJ Pierzynski