Manny

I write this at 12:15pm (1:15 eastern) on Thursday, just under 3 hours to go under the MLB trade deadline. I’m writing this because I’m deeply confused as to the media attention of a potential Manny Ramirez trade from the RedSox. Quite simply, I don’t think it’s going to happen.

Updates after the jump

You don’t really have to be a RedSox fan to know that Manny is both completely insane as well as a little full of himself. It’s been like this for 5 years and people are just now noticing? I don’t think so. Every season, nearing the trade deadline, we hear some sort of grumblings from Manny about being traded. The trades never materialize and he goes on to win championships or at least slug .600 in the post season. This is standard practice at this point and I’m surprised the media has jumped on it the way it has, which is probably only a result of him possibly being a free agent next year.

We had the same crap from Garciapara a few years ago, even while he was playing well. The diference here is that Nomar wasn’t producing anymore when he got traded and, while he’s coasting at the moment, Manny can still hit.

Which brings me to what the Sox could potentially get for him. The current rumor is, with the inclusion of a few minor league guys here and there, the main trade would be for Jason Bay. While Bay isn’t bad, with similar yet slightly weaker numbers than Manny, you’d really only be making a lateral move and losing money in the process. Manny would go to Florida for Bay and approximately 9 million in cash, which means that they’re getting a weaker player AND having to pay the extra 9 as some sort of “attitude” penalty (yes, I realize it’s a contract thing) instead of finishing his contract. Why lose money and a player like that? That doesn’t make sense from a front office stand point. Unless they think that the minor league guys are worth 9mil and it makes up for it.

If the only reason to trade him is to “get rid of an attitude” in the locker room, then they’re better off just putting up with it for the rest of the season and not losing the money. He’ll still be worth just as much in the post-season, trade him then.

Plus, for as much complaining as we do about “Manny being Manny” (I hate that expression), the guy can still hit, and with Ortiz back in the line up, that’s one of, if not the best 3-4 combo in baseball.

If his attitude is truly a Nomar-style “black cloud”, then everything tanks, we still take the wildcard anyways, and you get rid of him at the end of the season. If it’s not, then you’ve got to dismiss him as simply a “demanding player”, keep him happy and get a bunch of hits out of him.

There’s simply not enough in the deal FOR the RedSox. They’d be getting rid of an attitude problem by spending money and getting an average player to replace an above-average one. You might as well keep your wallet in your pants, shake you head at his insanity, and move towards the post season.

Let the players deal with him “not giving 100%”. I can guarentee you that people in the locker room will have a few words for him if he’s not pulling his weight. Let the team deal with him from a player perspective and by September we’ll be making another run for it and he’ll have forgotten all about because he can still goof around with Papi in the dugout.

What really bothers me is that everyone (including me) is talking about this cowder-head when people like Trot Nixon and Jason Veritek would DIE in a RedSox uniform if you’d let them. People like Manny are so un-concerned about what team they play for that it makes me want to scream when I see people who truly want to play for a single team their entire careers and are devoted to a club get sold off and traded away. Sure, Trot isn’t having a great season in NY, and Veritek is having some trouble at the plate, but I would take 1000 Veriteks over 1 Manny any day.

UPDATE:
Wow, he actually went. Manny got traded to the Dodgers, and not to Florida. I honestly didn’t see that coming. I guess Gammons is right, it was probably his last comments that did him in:

“The Red Sox don’t deserve a player like me,” Ramirez told ESPNdeportes.com Wednesday. “During my years here, I’ve seen how they have mistreated other great players when they didn’t want them to try to turn the fans against them. The Red Sox did the same with guys like Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, and now they do the same with me. Their goal is to paint me as the bad guy. I love Boston fans, but the Red Sox don’t deserve me. I’m not talking about money. Mental peace has no price, and I don’t have peace here.”

Ouch. Manny, did they really treat you that badly? I don’t think anyone in managment was trying to turn fans against you. If anything, we (the fans) appreciate you helping us win two World Championships. We’ll never forget that. If anything, it was you, being a tool, that painted you as the bad guy. Don’t go blaming managment for your insecurities Manny. Enjoy working for Torre. I hear it’s always sunny in L.A.

So, where does this leave us? Will Ortiz be pissed his friend is gone? Will the rest of the team be happy and more productive now? I guess we’ll see.

Update 2:
According to the Providence Journal, Theo Epstein was working with a “mandate from RedSox veterans in the clubhouse”. If that’s true, and everyone wanted him gone, then I’m glad it happened. I still think that L.A. got more out of this than the RedSox did, but maybe it’ll work out for the best. I do think we’ve gone from “serious contender for 1st” to “probably the wildcard” simply based on RBI and hit production alone. However, I trust Theo and what he can do to build this team back up. We may not win it this year, but after what I’m sure will be a little shuffling in the off season, I think we’ll be good to go for the next few.