Over the weekend, the LA Times’ T.J. Simers profiled Dodgers hitting machine Manny Ramirez, lending a mostly sympathetic tone to his portrait of Chavez Ravine’s newest superstar (“The Dodgers were lifeless before he arrived”, “…now every teammate is a pal”).  The Boston Herald’s Gerry Callahan found the Times piece “strangely sycophantic”, calling the author “T.J. Simers-Boras”.  On Wednesday, Simers returned fire.

Got word a sports columnist from Boston didn’t like reading what Ramirez had to say Sunday on Page 2. So I checked the Boston Globe, found nothing — only to learn it was some guy from a shopper ripping Ramirez, and Page 2 as well.

Gerry Callahan, writing in something called the Boston Herald, initially referred to me as T.J. Simers-Boras, linking me to agent Scott Boras, who will probably sue now.

Callahan wrote that Ramirez had “revealed at last his problems with Boston” to the “strangely sycophantic Simers.”

Jeff Kent has called me a lot of names, but with words I understand. I had to call the daughter who went to Notre Dame to find out the meaning of sycophantic. I presume she called a friend who went to USC.

From what I gather, I’m a “yes man, flunky, fawner and flatterer,” as I’m sure so many athletes in L.A. would also tell you.

The guy who writes for the shopper was really peeved and upset with what Ramirez had to say, oddly enough proving Ramirez’s point that the folks who write in Boston really need to get a life.

In case you’re wondering, the daily circulation of Simers’ paper is some four times higher than Callahan’s —- and the difference is even higher on Sundays. What percentage of Times readers might take personal offense at a ballplayer (allegedly) fucking over his teammates, is slightly harder to measure.