A confused Manny Ramirez told Call of the Green Monster yesterday that he was thrilled the team had signed Japanese pitching sensation Daisuke Matsuzaka, and that to welcome his new teammate he planned to take some language lessons. “I signed up to take some Chinese lessons, so I can talk to this guy a little bit,” Ramirez said. “You know, I want to him make him feel welcome, say hello to him in his language, and maybe go out and get some egg rolls together.”
When informed that Matsuzaka is from Japan, and not China, Ramirez seemed a bit confused and agitated. “Look, man, it doesn’t matter what part of China he comes from. It’s the same language, dude. If I talk to someone from California, we don’t need no translator.”
A Red Sox source explained that in general Ramirez considers anyone from an Asian country to be Chinese. “Manny doesn’t do too well with differentiating the nationalities,” the source said. “He finds it all too confusing. Heck, his wife is Brazilian, and he thinks Brazil is part of Puerto Rico.”
Informed of Manny’s confusion, Matsuzaka, speaking through a translator, didn’t seem concerned. “I heard the guy’s a great hitter,” he said. “If he hits 30 homeruns and knocks in 120 runs, I don’t care if he thinks I’m from the North Pole.”
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12/22/2006
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