Emerging Victorious

Remember on Sex & the City when Miranda and Steve break up, and then Miranda starts dating that hot doctor for the Knicks? The the girls are at brunch the next day, and Samantha turns to Miranda and says, "Well, honey, you win!"

I pretty much always imagined that everyone loses in a breakup. I mean, think about it. In grown-up breakups, you know you wouldn't even be dating to the extent where you could have a breakup if there weren't some possibility in your mind that this could be The One. So it's sad.

But you know what? Maybe I was wrong. Because really, when someone acts like a tool, and then you break up, and then sometime after that you meet someone who makes you jubilant (I'm talking walking to work singing that "It's Love" song from the Heineken commercial), you do have a slight tendency to think "HA!" from time to time. Especially if Mr. Tool comes around wanting you back.

And, in one of biggest baseball breakups since Sox/Babe Ruth, there is a clear winner and loser in the Manny breakup.

It's funny, the day after he left, Jason Bay make a heads-up hard running play to stretch a triple, and EEI callers were saying that Manny would never have done that. All I could think was, yeah, he would have hit it over the Pike instead.

In his story "Life with Manny: Dodgers playing loose," Michael Schwartz at MLB.com describes Manny in his post-Sox era. "It didn't take long for Ramirez to make himself at home in Los Angeles' clubhouse with a spirit that has rejuvenated the Dodgers, about as long as it took for him to make an impact on the lineup."

"With the Dodgers already leading 8-3 in the ninth on Sunday, Pablo Ozuna punctuated Ramirez's opening weekend with a triple to dead center to score Ramirez, capped off by dramatically flying through the air like Superman, as Martin said, while diving into third, a play that symbolized the exuberance flowing through the club."

And then there are his numbers: "After his first four-hit game of the season on Sunday, Ramirez is now batting .615 with two homers and five RBIs in 13 at-bats through three games as a member of the Dodgers." (Still think there's no winner in this breakup?)

Good ole D.Lowe had this to say: "'He's one of the easiest guys that I've ever known to get along with. He's a superstar player, but he acts like he's 12. If you can't get along with him then shame on you."

Yes, shame on us.

I bet Manny gets into bed every night with a big smile on his face. And I bet every morning he's waking up singing "Walking on Sunshine."

We're nowhere near the end of the season. But you win, Manny. Congratulations, honey.