February 1 2011 Last updated at 04:01 PM ET
Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon, together again.
"We're baaack," Ramirez said Tuesday as he and Damon settled in for their first meeting with the media as members of the Tampa Bay Rays.
The event at times bore a closer resemblance to a scene from a buddy cop movie than the usual collection of introductory platitudes before the television cameras, perhaps an indication that 2011 at Tropicana Field should be nothing if not entertaining. The longtime pals and former Red Sox teammates were fully at ease with their shtick, seeming at times like a couple of guys sitting in the back of a classroom rather than the main attraction they were.
At one point, Damon referred to the Rays as his "dream team" and Ramirez turned to him and said, "What?" before delivering a high-five.
Damon will make at least $5.25 million this season and could add $750,000 more in incentives, while Ramirez will collect a mere $2 million. Those numbers pale in comparison to the contracts these two have enjoyed throughout much of their careers, but they had their reasons for coming to Tampa Bay.
For Damon, geography certainly is a factor. He lives in nearby Orlando and has indicated more than once the last few years that he'd like to play for the Rays. For Ramirez, it's an opportunity to prove he still has something left after mostly forgettable stints with the Dodgers and White Sox. And he's taking that chance seriously, at least for now, saying he's down to 225 pounds after playing last season at 237.
"I've been working hard to show people I can still play," said Ramirez.
Both players also cited the young talent base the Rays retained even after the departure of Carl Crawford, Rafael Soriano, Matt Garza and more this winter. They see a group led by Evan Longoria and David Price and believe they can help the Rays stay in the thick of the AL East race in 2011 -- Tampa Bay does, after all, have a title to defend, as manager Joe Maddon emphasized Tuesday.
"This team could win the American League East," Damon said.
That remains to be seen, of course, but Tuesday was an uplifting start for the Rays with a couple of weeks remaining before pitchers and catchers report to spring training.
Marc came to FanHouse from the Tampa Tribune, where he served as the Tampa Bay Rays beat writer for three seasons. He previously spent five years at the Cincinnati Post, including three on the Reds beat, and also has been a college basketball and tennis producer at SI.com and a reporter at the Athens (Ga.) Banner-Herald covering University of Georgia football, women's basketball, tennis and more.
Source: http://mlb.fanhouse.com/2011/02/01/manny-ramirez-johnny-damon-officially-reunited-as-rays/
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