As the saying goes, “Be careful what you wish for.”

It appears Red Sox Nation has had enough of Manny being Manny. For the past week, Boston sports talk-radio airwaves have been inundated with callers who appear to have had enough of the savant slugger, who recently pulled himself out of the Sox lineup twice. Manny stated it was due to a cranky knee, but MRIs came up negative on both knees.

It was one thing for Ramirez to pull himself out of the lineup against the lowly Seattle Mariners, but when he sat again in the first game of the most recent Yankees series at Fenway Park, all hell broke loose in New England. More important than fans and radio talk-show hosts, it also appears the Red Sox brass has had enough of Manny’s quirkiness. What appeared to be a no-brainer two weeks ago – that the Sox would pick up the team’s $20M 2009 option for Ramirez – now seems as likely as John McCain winning Massachusetts in November.

Manny quitting on loyal Sox fans and, more importantly, his teammates is deplorable. Letting teammates down is the mortal sin of an athlete. However, let’s not kid ourselves. Pro sports are all about winning. As a reminder, until 2004, Sox fans had not seen a World Championship since 1918. They’ve now witnessed two since 2004. Would they have done so without Ramirez? Probably not. Had they not won those two championships, would fans and Sox brass still want Manny to walk? My guess is no.

Manny Ramirez is a first-ballot Hall of Famer. Does that forgive him for his recent actions? Not in real life, but this is not real life. It’s Major League Baseball. Lest we forget the indiscretions of Babe Ruth, Ted Williams, Juan Marichal, Mickey Mantle, Barry Bonds, et al.

David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez are the best 3-4 hitters the game has seen since Ruth and Gehrig. So, be careful what you wish for Sox fans … and enjoy it while you can. Those days may be gone soon. And with it, championships.

Curt Schilling and Barry Bonds. Two names that evoke a myriad of emotions. Whether you like or dislike either, the media should love them both, as sports enthusiasts eat up the fodder they provide.

In the case of Schilling, his recent remarks on WEEI, a Boston sports talk-radio station, about Bonds being a “confessed cheater” has all in the media running to their outlets to feed their sheep. I am no different. But what makes this newsworthy? We all know, or at least assume, Bonds is guilty of cheating the game. He even admitted to taking the “cream” or “clear” albeit saying it was “unknowingly.” Maybe it was Curt adding the remarks about Bonds “cheating on his taxes” or “cheating on his wife” that has our attention.

However, I’m confused, is the story Bonds or Schilling? It should be Bonds, as he approaches baseball’s most cherished record. A record-breaking event that has the baseball elite looking the other way. Aaron has stated he will not be in attendance, and MLB Commissioner, Bud Selig, is looking to hide. Unless you’ve been devoured by the UFC phenomenon, you know the Bonds story all-too-well, so it appears that Schilling is the soup-de-jour.

While I understand why fans may dislike Schilling, as he often speaks his mind for self-promoting reasons, I’m confused as to why some of my media colleagues disdain him. On one hand, we hate it when athletes give scripted, canned, boring answers to our redundant questions – then we (or some) bury the athletes who provide their honest opinion and give us interesting material to write. To challenge their opinion is fine, but to attack them personally for providing it…is hypocritical.

In the case of Schilling on Bonds, I think it’s refreshing to hear a prominent player finally give an honest opinion. However, my challenge to Curt is – where were you in the Congressional Hearings? Did MLB or the Player’s Association put a muzzle on you? If so, fess-up.

Now that would be a story.