He's not the sharpest tool in the shed, but I hardly see him as a jerk.

I just don't think he cares about anything except knocking the crap out of a baseball.

And he may be a touch eccentric, but he does seem to be enjoying life.

ummm...not really. Jerk, no. Lazy and smart, yes.

Sure he acts like a jerk... waving his arms wildly after meaningless singles, pointing at the dugout after homers, waving bats at the pitcher after borderline strikes, but is he really a jerk? I don't think so. I think he's just clueless. When he was 1-17 towards the end of the A's series, and he was playing in front of the Boston fans, any other person would have been feeling the pressure. Not Manny. At critical points in the game he was standing on the steps of the dugout, smiling at the crowd, waving a towel... clearly feeling no pressure at all. Bill Simmons - AKA - the Sports Guy - calls him a hitting savant, and I think that's about right. Manny is a big, goofy, easy going guy who isn't particularly competitive, doesn't really care for - or is even mildly interested by - baseball, but happens to be blessed with an ability to hit. Strange but true.