Tim McCarver is not usually known for his outbursts and accusations against players, but he called out Manny Ramirez in the Philadelphia Inquirer today, (linked via Boston Herald) saying he quit on his teammates and pulled a despicable acting job to get sent out of town.

I definitely agree but it's weird to see a TV guy, even a color guy like that, actively call out a player he's going to have to cover over the next ten days or so, if not longer.

I loved Manny when he was here and I scaled back my own anger at him for quitting on the teammates thinking time would give me a clearer head on the issue. I think that's true, but I'm actually more upset now that I think about what he did to get sent out of town.

Say what you want about Manny possibly being corrupted by Scott Boras, he was complicit in pushing himself out the door and every home run he hits in Dodger blue is a spit in the face of Red Sox fans who cheered him, loved watching him, and apologized for him when he acted like a brat.

He got a raw deal from the media and excepting when he shut it down at the end of 2006, and the last month when he shut it down in Boston, he didn't really deserve it. But with his final act, quitting on this club when they needed him and torching the NL after he left, it seems he's undone any goodwill he earned while he was here.

So I guess we're even, now. Thanks for the rings.