Just finished speed reading "Becoming Manny: Inside the Life of Baseball's Most Enigmatic Slugger."

It is an authorized biography of Manny Ramirez.

It is pathetic.

But I will admit by prejudice right away. I appreciate Manny Ramirez's ability and his much-publicized game preparation. He also seems like a nice guy sometimes. But he is selfish, immature and, by the way he plays baseball, he insults his teammates and disrespects the game.

The co-authors make a unique team - a professor of psychology (Jean Rhodes) and a sports writer (Shawn Boburg).

While the writers say there is no excuse for some of Ramirez's behavior, the whole book is about making excuses for The Manny.

When Ramirez arrived to spring training overweight in 1996, it was because his mother's cooking "was irresistible to Manny."

It mentions his lack of focus in the field and on the basepaths, and then says, "But, as usual, Manny offsets his mental errors with staggering statistics and clutch hits ..."

The book also mistakenly refers to a "baserunning blunders ... when he failed to hustle."

Excuse me. Failing to hustle is not a blunder. It is a decision not to try, to quit, to show fans and your teammates that you do not care.

When Ramirez left Cleveland to come to Boston, the book says that "the basic sentiment was that Manny wanted to stay, but had been hijacked by a heartless agent."

In other words, it was someone else's fault.

The book said it was funny that when Ramirez was rehabbing in Pawtucket, he skipped batting practice to get his haircut.

Ho ho.

And the book's authors cannot understand the uproar over Ramirez not running out a grounder to the pitcher against Tampa Bay in 2002, because Ramirez later hit a home run: "Though Manny rewarded the team by hitting a solo shot ... the press was appalled."

The book excuses Ramirez slipping into the Green Monster and missing a pitch. He was not urinating, as was reported, but simply "chatting" to the scoreboard guys.

Oh, that makes it understasndable.

Ramirez's well-publicized shove of 64-year-old traveling secretary Jack McCormick is dealt with quickly. Again, the book calls the action inexcusable, and then offers excuses. It quotes Ramirez's wife as saying McCormick was "very rude ... Jack disrespected Manny for many years."

How ridiculous. For one thing, McCormick must be a great actor in the clubhouse when the press is present. Because I have never seen McCormick behave without the utmost professionalism and respect when dealing with players.

The wife also complains that the team did not back up her husband after the incident. Of course, the team should encourage players to shove the traveling secretary to the ground when they don't get their way.

Yes, the book calls Manny Ramirez a "walking contradiction." He prepares hard, but does not hustle. He shows little concern for anything, but what he wants.

According to the book: "he does it because he lives in the moment, neither suffering regret nor calculating the consequence of his next move."

There you have it kids. Don't have regrets. Don't learn from mistakes. Do whatever you want ... as long as you can hit a home run.

Funny, I just had a talk with one of my sons, explaining that his actions have consequences, and that he must learn to be responsible.

He is 7-years-old.

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