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What I thought was funny about player reaction to Manny was how a few guys talked about how it made baseball look even worse, almost like they give a crap about what baseball means to people.

If it were me... I mean, let's say I'd been a baseball player all my life, starting with tee-ball on up. And it just takes over your whole life, right? By the time I've gotten to the majors, I'm maxed out. If I'm not in the game, I'm working out or conditioning or doing sprints or whatever. Lifting weights. Signing autographs and talking to the press. Fretting about my at-bats or strikeouts or whatever. Worried about my contract and how the hell I'm gonna keep up my lifestyle if I don't get $PAID$ next time around.

I'd think by the time I'm Vernon Wells or Jake Peavy, the romance of baseball and its historical significance and how important it is to so many people...it'd pretty far away from my day-to-day grind.

So I do find it hard to believe that players really care that much about how the fans feel about it.

Except Orlando Hudson. I think he really loves playing baseball and he's still excited about it.