Everybody wants to talk about Manny Ramirez leaving that crucial Game 4 of the NLCS early to shower when he was replaced by Juan Pierre.  There were rumors about “Manny being Manny,” about how he doesn’t care about anybody but himself, and about how unfair it is for Dodger manager Joe Torre to have to deal with this.

"Here's to me doing nothing in the postseason!"

Here’s the thing: first, it’s not that big a deal.  Pitchers do it all the time when they are relieved and no one can be sure that, if the game had not ended, Manny would NOT have come back out.  Fortunately for this Phillies fan…we will never know.

The second thing is that Manny has done something much worse that no one seems to have noticed: He hasn’t been the same since being on his 50-day “vacation” for violating the MLB’s substance abuse policy.  After Manny got busted for steroids (or women’s fertility drugs) he simply hasn’t been the same.  I know there are some people who will argue that he is getting old, or that missing those 50 games hurt him as far as getting into the swing of things – but the numbers do not lie.

This year Manny finished with a .290 batting average, 63 RBI and just 19 home runs.   That’s the worst Manny has done since his second year in the majors at Cleveland (when he ended with an average of .269 and 17 homers).  So maybe he had an off year, but the whole point of having Manny is his power and run-production, especially in the postseason.

So in this year’s NLDS and NLCS, Manny should have been a big factor for the Dodgers, right? In eight games Manny posted the following: a .281 average, four RBI, and one HR.  Narrow that down even further to just the NLCS against the Phillies, and he went .263 with only two RBI in 19 at-bats.

So who cares if Manny is leaving a game early to shower? Dodgers fans should be concerned about what Manny is doing before that shower…not hitting or driving in runs.  The “slugger” is supposed to be worth all the headaches and distractions off the field because of his performance on the field.  That hasn’t been the case ever since Manny had to get off the juice.  Even if the thirty-seven-year-old’s age is a factor, it is a little ironic that his career suddenly starts to fade out right after he gets caught using illegal substances.

"Nice job Manny...way to fail when we needed you most."

Even if Manny comes back and has a huge year for the Dodgers – the team that is suddenly regretting signing him to that long and expensive a contract – critics still was raise the question, “is he on the juice again?” Too big a coincidence on too big a stage for it to be ignored because everyone wants to focus on Manny showering – after he had been yanked – before a game is over.