24:00:00

With the dollars and cents flying every which way these days, what is a sensible general manager to do?

Hang on to Manny Ramirez, that's what.

The game is awash in money, according to numerous sources, and it's evident in the high contracts going around. Juan Pierre is in no way worth the 5 year, $44 million contract he received from the Dodgers, nor is Gary Matthews, Jr. worth the 5 years, $50 million he received from the Angels. Danys Baez? How about 3 years $19 million? The market is at least giving the appearance of having gone insane, and within the one month of the World Series ending in St. Louis, all of the major sluggers have been signed. Soriano, Carlos Lee, and Aramis Ramirez are locked up, each at an exorbitant sum. Still, there are teams who need sluggers, and that appears to be one thing the Red Sox have in excess.

Enter Manny Ramirez and his annual trade requests. With only two years remaining on his enormous contract, Ramirez seems to almost be a bargain to the power-hungry GM. Reports have him going everywhere from Baltimore to San Francisco and everywhere in between. This could finally be the moment the front office has been waiting for, the moment they dump the future Hall of Famer and sign J.D. Drew to piss everybody off with his girly-man ways.

The Red Sox should only consider trading Ramirez if they were to receive a solid package that included a shortstop, potential closer, and several other prospects. It's a lot, I know, but here's the thing: this guy is one his way to Cooperstown. Annoying? Yes. Bitchy? Only according to the Knights of the Keyboard. Defensive liability? Absolutely. Replaceable? Remains to be seen. While I was driving home tonight I fantasized about a deal where the Sox would send Ramirez and Coco Crisp to the Orioles and receive Miguel Tejada and Chris Ray in return. They could stick Wily Mo Peña in left field and Jacoby Ellsbury or David Murphy in center field, and then put the inevitable newest Red Sox, J.D. Drew, in right field. Though both Murphy and Ellsbury are untested, chances are they'd be a defensive upgrade over Crisp. Drew is certainly an upgrade over Nixon, and Peña is defensively comprable to Ramirez. Offensively, there would be question marks outside of Drew and Tejada, but the addition of Ray to the bullpen would likely outweigh the downsides.

The above paragraph is nothing more than the rush hour fantasy of a bored, decaffeinated fanboy, but they do reflect how complicated this question is. Manny Ramirez is hard to replace. His age, durability and attitude have loads of writers and New Englanders pushing the "EJECT" button. He's a thorn. but he's our thorn. It would require a killer package, in my opinion, to move #24 from his place in front of the Green Monster.

The reports say we could know as soon as Saturday, so we'll just have to wait until then.