Ahh Joe, we miss you PR skills here in NYC. Manny’s “popularity” is garnering him votes? How bout the desire to be contrary and that hides in most of our hearts? I know that’s why I’m voting for him.

“From the baseball aspect”. Not “because he tested positive and was suspended for PEDs” folks. Then again, teams under Torre’s stewardship don’t exactly have a sparkling record, PED-wise, do they? So the PED suspension has no bearing on Torre’s opinion. NONE. So why should WE let it bother us, too? WHY? Not saying it’s right to conveniently ignore that little fact, but the eventual HOF manager Torre doesn’t care much about it either.

Torre’s a smart man, and he echoes what I’ve maintained: most average people don’t watch ESPN or listen to sports-talk radio and may not even know Manny’s suspended. They recognize his name when they see it on the ballot, and they remember that guy with the dreadlocks who hit that epic homer last time their team faced the Red Sox/Dodgers.

And here’s a theory: considering the signal-to-noise on steroids (i.e., no pundit short of maybe BP’s Will Carroll really knows what they’re talking about) it’s possible that the sports media is RESPONSIBLE for people “tuning out.”

But what about Manny? Isn’t he missing out on a TON of coin for his suspension? Does he have a AS-clause in his contract (I suspect all Boras clients do)? Why is Torre taking food off Manny’s table? Can I put any more questions in this comment?