Mantei Speaks Out As Grizzled Veteran

Five bucks to the first guy who can identify the author of the following rant:" You've got to have a clubhouse where everybody gets along and really wants to battle for each other and win. It might be what [the Yankees] are lacking. There are a lot of big egos, a lot of big guys in that clubhouse. Everybody is here for the same purpose, to play for each other. They're not here to play for themselves.'' If you guessed Kevin Millar, you just swung and missed. How bout Jason Varitek? Nope, strike two. Hmmmm. How about Curt Schilling? Nope, strike three!

The answer turns out to be Matt Mantei - an off-season signee who offered these poignant words after only his third day as a member of the Boston Red Sox. Sorry if I missed something, but was Matt out there last October shutting down the Yankees? Did Mantei come in to relieve Foulke in game five against the Yankees? Was he available as the Cards were getting frisky in Game One of the series? I don't seem to recall Matt Mantei being a part of last year's magical run but to hear Matt tell it, you would think he has been in Boston for five years.

Sorry Matt, its nothing personnel, but you haven't been in Boston long enough to start reciting the Millar Doctrine of Clubhouse Unity. You weren't attatched to the team last year and three days of Spring Training hardly qualifies you as an expert on the Boston Red Sox clubhouse. Mantei speaking of the Boston clubhouse is a bit like a replacement joining up with the 101st Airborne on June 15, 1944 and talking about the division's jump on D-Day.

Matt Mantei could be a very important member of the Boston Red Sox in 2005. At one point in his career, Matt could bring it like very few others in baseball. And although Mantei has been slowed by injuries in recent seasons, early reports suggest he is healthy and ready to post eighth inning doughnuts for the Sox. If the Mantei experiment works out and he earns his stripes in October, Matt can speak all he wants. But until that time, Mantei should keep his mouth shut. If anyone must speak, let it be those veterans who own 2004 world championship rings.