Manuel Aristides Ramirez, I Love You.

On the Sox website there was an article about Manny and the Quest for 500 Home Runs. I wouldn't normally bother to say anything about it but there was a quote that was just too wonderful to let fall by the wayside.

"I'm already [at 500.] So if it's not in my future I could stop playing today. I'm already there. But, you know something? My Hall of Fame is not baseball. It's my kids. Like I always say, I want to see them go to college, go to a bar with them and drink a beer. That's what I want to do. That's my goal.

"Baseball? Baseball is just a game. I could care less about the game. I like to play. I like to compete. But it's just a game to me that I come to work and play in. But my main goal is that I want to do that for my kids. I try to stay home but, you know, when I don't have [baseball], I could be the same guy. I'm not trying to get a big head or just hit home runs -- blah, blah, blah. Because I'm going to leave, and the game [is] always going to stay there.

"It's like Cal Ripken, when he was with the Orioles. Everybody [said], 'Oh, Cal Ripken, Cal Ripken, blah, blah, blah.' He retired, then Miguel Tejada came. They forgot about [Ripken] and it was, 'Tejada, Tejada.' You know? That's part of the game. You got to understand that. Enjoy it while you can."

and he ended the interview with:

"But I'm still mad, though. I said I was going to hit 500 home runs last month, and I didn't do it. But, I know, I know. I got five more months to do it."