A couple things today: first off I wanted to link to an excellent pair of stories from Hacks Buddy "Downtown" Ian Browne, the Red Sox MLB.com reporter who paid a visit to renowned surgeon Dr. James Andrews in Montgomery, Alabama recently and came back with some great material.

I remember the story about Sox Director of Player Personnel Ben Cherington traveling down to the Deep South to watch Andrews perform an elbow surgery several winters ago, and I've always been fascinated with the ground-breaking work he's done medically for baseball players -- and professional athletes in general.

Now on to the Local 9.

It was interesting that many immediately assumed that  last week's dugout altercation between Kevin Youkilis and Manny Ramirez must have been caused by Ramirez's "Manny Being Manny" attitude and his general laissez-faire approach. But instead the backhanded slap and ensuing shove seems to have sprouted from the intense nature Youk brings to each and every at bat. It's the kind of tireless game of concentration and high-stakes intensity that has allowed Youkilis to win a Gold Glove, and has him poised to become both a .300 hitter and an All-Star.

I think it's folly to indict Youk for bringing a raging fire of intensity to each and every one of his plate appearances -- and it's similarly foolhardy to paint the first baseman as any kind of selfish given his readiness to play hurt, play multiple positions in the field including the unfamiliar outfield and bat just about anywhere in the lineup.

Maybe he throws a bat back into the bat rack or tosses a helmet every once in a while. Maybe he even mutters a dreaded expletive or two as he pouts his way back to the dugout.



Has Ramirez gone to all of the lengths for the team's overall success that Youk has, despite his prodigous athletic talent? Is Ramirez the right guy to be calling Youkilis out for anything? Did the New York Yankees ever have a problem with Paul O'Neill showing the same kind of explosive temper after making outs during the last Yanks dynasty?

I don't think so was my answer to each of these questions, but Ramirez actually began showing off his "leadership" tendencies during this offseason, and Tampa Bay Rays outfielder Carl Crawford saw it firsthand when he showed up late to one of their workouts at API in Tempa, Arizona.

I caught up with Crawford during Tampa's last series here (prior to the Coco Crisp hair-pulling incident) and here's what he had to say about Manny. Ask yourself one more question about the incident before reading the Q and A. What would people's reactions be if Youkilis got in Manny's face because he wasn't a vocal and fiery inspirational leader? People seem to accept Manny for who he is and praise him for his even-keeled, seemingly oblivious approach, and maybe it's time the Sox accepted Youkilis for being the bat-tossing, emotional perfectionist that he is.

Here is the Crawford Q&A:

People have mentioned that Manny Ramirez might have picked up some speed while he was working at API last winter, and that he looks faster this summer. Do you think that’s possible?
CC: I was there with him. I saw him. He did all of the same workouts that I was doing. I certainly don’t think it hurts and it wasn’t going to make him any slower. I think working out [at API] puts a little pep in everybody’s step.

How did he take to all the new exercises and workouts he was undergoing at API?
CC: I thought he looked good and like he’d done it before. He did everthing, man. I was surprised to see him doing all the running and stuff, but he did everything there. That’s probably why he was off to a pretty good start here. He worked pretty hard last year from what I saw.

Did you have any stories of Manny Being Manny from your time out in Arizona working side-by-side with him?
CC: No man. He was all business when he was out there. All work and no play. He was there really, really early every day. I think I came in late one morning and he joked with me that I wasn’t serious enough about it. He was all business. We joked about it and it was cool. But I wasn’t late again after that…I can tell you that.

Did that surprise you given the perception about him?
CC: Naw…I get to see him coming out of the weight room and how hard he works in there. All of the behind-the-scenes stuff. Everybody worked hard to get ready for the season, and Manny isn’t any different.