Manny Sits Next To God

I'm sure you've heard by now, but Manny has won the National League Player Of The Month award.

"Ramirez, acquired by the Dodgers in a three-team deal involving the Red Sox and Pirates, made such a splash in his first month with the Dodgers he was named the Sharp Presents the National League Player of the Month for August."

I think everybody knows that he's been ridiculously good, and everybody probably knows all the statistics, but just how good he's been in a single month is pretty mindblowing. He's put up a VORP of 29.8 with the Dodgers, which is good for 55th in the entire MLB, and 1st on the Dodgers.

So yeah, his hitting has been amazing, but I always knew the guy could rake. However, in a hilarious twist, I remain most impressed with his defense in left. I still cringe everytime any ball is hit in his general direction, but when I thought about it, never has any of those cringes really been justified. He's actually shown that he can be a pretty decent defender when he does care enough to hustle, and the statistics back that up thus far. It's a very small sample size, but his Rate is an excellent 109, and he's already saved 3 runs more than the average left fielder. His RZR with the Dodgers is .873, which would put him above average among qualified left fielders.

Looking ahead, a performance like this makes me dream about a Ramirez-Kemp-Ethier outfield for the next 3-4 years. However, I have to catch myself and think about whether Manny will be the same after he has another contract under his belt. When he cares, and his ego is being massaged to his liking, the guy has no limits. But when he's disgruntled, or when he's not being pampered like a superstar, he limits himself. Just food for thought.