Open Court: A missed opportunity

Most of my friends think I’m insane. Most of the time, I think they’re probably right.

This came up, yet again, as baseball’s trade deadline approached. I wanted to see the Arizona Diamondbacks make a move for Manny Ramirez.

Would any trade involving the certifiably crazy slugger have been prudent in a baseball sense? Absolutely not. In fact, every possible trade proposal would’ve set the franchise back five years. If I worked for the Diamondbacks, I would protest any possible Ramirez deal.

Rule No. 1 in baseball is that you don’t mortgage your future for an overpaid, aging slugger who may or may not have been born on planet Earth.

But deep down, I prefer my sports teams to be interesting. It’s not like I have any personal stake in what happens when my favorite teams win. They don’t mail me a championship ring.

In a perfect world, every team I root for would be an entertaining championship contender. If I had to choose, however, I’d prefer to follow teams with captivating storylines.

Now, this isn’t to say I want my favorite teams to foresake winning in favor of personality. I don’t want my teams to actively pursue convicted felons or rotten clubhouse cancers.

Even though most of the press wants to make Ramirez out to seem like some horribly selfish enigma, I happen to think he’s nothing more than a weird guy. He goes into funks from time to time, but when properly motivated, that guy can hit the heck out of the ball.

When you follow a player like Ramirez on a daily basis, you never know what to expect. He might hit three home runs, or he might strike out four times. He might go on a 30-game hitting streak, or he might pull a Homer Simpson and take three games off to celebrate the Hamburglar’s birthday.

The point is, you never know what to expect when Manny Ramirez is suiting up for your team. When Ramirez stries to the plate, he is instantly the most captivating person on the field. Nobody changes the channel when Ramirez is up to bat.

This is also why I will always love the “Seven Seconds or Less” Phoenix Suns, but don’t get too excited about the San Antonio Spurs — the NBA’s closest thing to a modern dynasty. Sure, the Spurs always win, but what do I care? The Suns used to play basketball the way I envisioned the game should look like. And yes, it depresses me to see Steve Kerr turn the Suns turn into just another NBA team.

My NBA allegiance remains with the Denver Nuggets — who are interesting almost to a fault — but I find my attention drifting toward teams like Golden State or Portland. Gilbert Arenas might never win a championship ring, but he never offers up a dull moment. That’s what I’m looking for — an entertaining distraction from my day-to-day life.

Am I insane? Yeah, maybe. That might explain why I’m a little bit jealous to see Ramirez suiting up in Dodger blue.

nprevenas@gvnews.com | 547-9747