Manny-Go-Round

It happened: Manny Ramírez is on his way to the Los Angeles Dodgers and outfielder Jason Bay is en route from Pittsburgh to take #24's place in front of the Green Monster. Here are the specifics (player origins in parentheses):

Red Sox: 
Jason Bay (PIT): .282/.375/.519, 22 HR 0.69 BB/K

Dodgers: 
Manny Ramirez (BOS) .299/.398/.529, 20 HR 0.60 BB/K
est. $7 million (Manny's remaining salary)

Pirates:
Brandon Moss (BOS) .295/.337/.462, 2 HR
Craig Hansen (BOS) 5.58 ERA/29 H/23 BB/25 K, 30.2 IP
Andy LaRoche (LAD/AAA Las Vegas) .293/.452/.439, 5 HR
Bryan Morris (LAD/A Great Lake) 3.20 ERA/74 H/31 BB/72 K, 81.2 IP

Immediate observation produces skepticism from those of us in New England, simply because there is zero way to replace the all-around presence of Manny Ramirez in a lineup. No matter what Jason Bay does, he won't be able to generate the aura of intimidation that Manny has built up over the span of his entire career. That being said, I think this is a great deal. Let's see why.

First of all, the FO got an impressive return on a publicly disgruntled, overpaid, aging, declining superstar. Manny, while one of the best righthanded hitters to ever play the game, isn't the same hitter he was 4 years ago. He can't catch up to the best fastballs in the league, and it's doubtful he'll be able to jack 40+ homers again (unless of course he sees more mediocre cheese in the National League). His defense outside of Fenway made him a liability, and his persona made him a pain in the ass for everybody. So going into today's deadline looked like we could expect an aging 4th outfielder and a bag of old BP balls. Instead, we got Bay.

Bay is the anti-Manny at this point. He's 29, has been in the league for three full years (last year was cut short by injury), hits for average and decent power, and is at least average on defense. Oh yea, and he's a lot cheaper than Manny. Interestingly, his offensive numbers are the result of a lineup with zero protection. He's been the one superstar in the Pittsburgh offense, and now he's just one of the guys. When you factor in his defense, the Jason Bay of today is more valuable than Manny.

The Dodgers here get a totally free upgrade of their offense for the next two months because the Sox are picking up the bill for the remainder of the season. Their defense in expansive Dodger Stadium will suffer pretty severely, in my opinion, but I think they're willing to trade that for somebody (other than James Loney) who can swing a bat. The funniest part of this for the Dodgers is that new manager (and all around nice guy) Joe Torre has to handle a 2004 reunion of Derek Lowe, Nomar Garciaparra, and Manny Ramirez. I feel bad for that guy.

The Pirates got the most questionable end of this deal. The prospects are interesting enough, I guess. Andy LaRoche has been slighted by the genius leadership of a Ned Colletti front office, and he had too few AB with LA to mention. At AAA he's hitting for a high average and getting on-base constantly. Playing in Pittsburgh with his brother with no serious threat to cut his playing time might be good for him. The other minor leaguer, Bryan Morris, is still a pup in Class A ball, but he's been impressive thus far. He causes a few whiffs, as you can well see, but it's still far too early to pass judgement on anything.

Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen, the other two headed to the Bucs? If you've been watching at all this season, you don't need much explanation. Moss is a 5th outfielder who plays average defense and is nothing special at the plate. Hansen's another matter. This kid has potential, but he hasn't shown much of it here. His fastball is total gas, and his slider can be absolutely filthy... when it's working. Otherwise he's a liability. His first pitch strike percentage is the worst on the staff, and he's king of allowing inherited runners cross the plate. He definitely has an upside, and it's possible that he'll flourish in the dead zone of Pittsburgh, but it was clear he ran out of slack on his rope in Boston. Together with the prospects from the Dodgers they helped clear some salary for the Bucs...oh yea, and they're not named Buchholz, Masterson, Anderson, Lowrie, or Ellsbury. Theo pulled the trigger on a great trade but saved the core of the farm system.

In short, this is a good trade for the Sox. They clear the air in the dugout, eliminate an enormous distraction, improve their defense, get a look at a potential free agent before he hits the market in the offseason, and they didn't have to give up any of their top prospects. In a sense I'm sad that the Manny era is over, but mostly I'm glad that we've cleared what appears to be the last bitchy superstar for the next little while... I hope.

Manny Things To Consider, One Thing To Do

In light of my previous post, whereby I supported sitting tight as the clock strikes 4 PM this Thursday and the trade deadline passes, I have come to a contrary conclusion.

If at all possible, Manny Ramirez should be traded.

There has been oodles of character assassination in the Hub over the last week from both Manny's camp and that of his arch-nemesis, The Front Office and Everybody Else. It started when Manny missed the last game of the Seattle series with a sore knee, something that in itself was relatively innocuous, but became troublesome when Manny returned to Boston and sat out the first game of the series against the hard-charging Yankees. In case you haven't heard, his presence on the bench was a surprise to everyone in the clubhouse and FO, and he was penciled into the starting lineup before pulling himself out. After the game Ramirez was sent for an MRI on both knees and it was uncovered that nothing appeared to be wrong. By all accounts Manny was confronted by John Henry, Larry Lucchino, Tom Werner, Theo and Tito, who told him to put up or shut up. He's played the three nights since that confrontation on Friday, but his absence on Friday night, the night David Ortiz returned to the lineup, was just too much. Theo allowed FOX broadcaster Tim McCarver to state on national television that the Sox would trade Manny if he waived his no-trade clause. Manny's response was to play the "no respect" card held previously by Pedro, Nomar, and Damon, and tell ESPNDeportes that he was tired of the Sox, and that they should just tell him they're not going to pick up his option. What's happened since then?

Well, he's played, sure, but he's also found himself the unmistakable target of Peter Gammons, one of the most respected baseball writers still going. Just yesterday Gammons posted an article that ESPN has since made free to all readers (and you can find it here) in which he called Manny out behind the woodshed. The gist? Everybody's tired of the act. The players, coaches, executives, even Manny's agent Scott Boras, who is trying to convince his client that it's in his best interest to shut up and play out the season. Manny's getting torched in the papers like he's never seen before, and even his most ardent "But try and replace his lineup production" supporters are starting to fall. It's clear that this is the end of the line for Ramirez in Boston. According to Gammons, Manny is ready for his new contract now, thank you very much, and that contract jingles to the tune of a 4 year, $100 million deal for the soon to be 37 year old slugger. Seriously? This guy is completely delusional.

Manny isn't having a bad year per se, but he isn't having a year worth $20 million (his current value) either. His line is decent reading at .304/.400/.538, and he's already matched his homer total (20) from last year. Unfortunately, when you reach 36 years old teams start to look not only at your plate production but also at the long-term benefit for the team. His defense is shoddy and has been more frequently punctuated by goofball antics. As Gammons and numerous others have pointed out, he's sat out against some of the hardest-throwing pitchers in the league, including twice against New York's Joba Chamberlain, resting comfortably on the bench when his presence would have infinitely helped the team (we all saw the 1-0 loss on Friday that could have been different with Manny in the four-hole). He's managed to get into an aired shoving match with Kevin Youkilis, has thrown a sexagenarian traveling secretary to the ground when he didn't get his way, and pouted to the media (both English and Spanish) about his contract.

It's gotten so bad, Dennis Eckersley called him out on TV, and I think most people wanted to pat Eck on the back.

It's time for all of this garbage to end. The Sox are unquestionably a better team with Manny than without him, and the likelihood of a trade before Thursday seems very unlikely. The front office is reportedly offering to pick up the majority of his contract for this year to give another team a 3 month rental of one of the best hitters in baseball, but it still seems like most teams aren't going to want the distraction of Manny-being-Manny in their dugout and on their field. Because you see, that's the problem. Manny might be on your team and he might be in the field and at the plate, but as we all saw in 2006, Manny has zero problems taking a little personal time when he thinks he needs a mental health day. There's no guarantee you're going to get the 100% you see out of players like Mike Lowell, Kevin Youkilis, or even David Ortiz. You might just have to settle for a temperamental superstar who wants his binky when it suits him.

Boy, I sure am sick of those. I was sad to see Pedro and Nomar go from the standpoint that they so clearly represented the best the sport had to offer to this city on the field, but I felt like a great weight had been lifted from my shoulders when their tired acts of "I get no respect, Player X has a contract worth twice mine, etc" and other incessant complaining hit the road. I realize what Manny is worth to this team, and I realize what we would be losing in terms of production, but I can't believe people think that chemistry and intangibles won't have an effect on the morale of a team. If they can get a decent return on Manny, his ass should be grass. Let him bitch and moan somewhere else. I'd rather cheer for a team that I know takes the games personally. At least then I feel better about it.

Manny needs a good smack upside the head. I'm tired of the act.

Huff and Puff and Blow the Deadline Down

It's a big weekend for people who love hot air. It's the end of July, meaning the sun is hot, the trade rumors are absurd, and the spin machine from the Hall of Fame is in full swing for Induction Weekend. Yet since 2004 (burned into my mind for eternity, I guess) I can't remember a trade deadline for the Sox that has been of any consequence. It probably has something to do with not being able to ignore the shipment of your favorite franchise bitch, piss and moan shortstop to Chicago for a couple of .250 hitters and infield hoovers. Yea, that was a big one. Especially with the World Series..

But everyone around here has got the right idea this summer. Other than the reported swaps of Alex Cora for assorted backup shortstops, nothing big has been cooking. I don't personally put much stock in the reports that Brian Fuentes and Damaso Marte are topping the FO's list of targets for two reasons: 1) they'll each cost an arm and a leg, but Fuentes especially and 2) once burned, twice wise, or something like that. We all remember Eric Gagné. Sometimes those relievers from the NL get a tad nervous in the big, bad AL.

Other than that, it's Sox-Yankees at Fenway, and it feels much more sane around here.

Shaking Feathers and Scales Off Our Sox

Well, the break is here, and everybody can breathe easy for the next four days with the Sox on top of the East by half of a game. It really is funny how the cozy confines of home can put a team as close to right as possible, despite the fact that it plays almost neutral (1.097, according to ESPN's numbers). Tampa Bay traded streaks with the fire-sale Cleveland Indians, and somehow the All-Star Game having a Boston tilt to it doesn't look so silly. Two thoughts about the last few games.

First, I know it sucks losing Julio Lugo for 4-6 weeks, but it sure is nice to see Jed Lowrie's shining face in the dugout again. His defense is just about the same as Lugo's, but it'll be nice to have somebody put a ball over the infield instead of bounce it in front of the grass into the welcome, waiting hands of the other team.

Finally, Jonathan Papelbon needs a little bit of a talking to. Yes, he has 28 saves, but he's already given up 32 hits, two more than all of last year, and it's only the midpoint of the season. Fact of the matter is, he's not fooling batters quite like he has the last two years. He's been leaning on his fastball to the point where he appears to be rearing back and firing it home as hard as he can, hoping he gets the swing and a miss. We're seeing a lot of full counts and bloop hits. Just today, if it hadn't been for Alex Cora covering for Jacoby Ellsbury's misplay the Orioles would've had bases loaded and no outs. Whole different game. Now, in saying this I'm not accusing him of losing his lustre or anything, but he needs to start using his head a little more.

Here's the hint: Two fingers are being pointed at you, but they're not on the same hand. Which fingers are they?

For the rest of my thoughts on the last two Sox-Yankees games (whereby the Red Sox had the winning runs in scoring position with less than one out both times and lost), please see Chad Finn's lovingly written "Touching All the Bases" post on Boston.com today.

LINK CLICK LINK!

Third Post's a Charm

Read Bob Ryan's column regarding Manny. I should've seen it earlier.

One More Thing

Classless Sox fans and classless Yankee fans and classless Rays fans are one thing, but playing "Sweet Caroline" at the end of the game in Tampa Bay is just about the least classy thing I have ever seen on the part of a professional team. Not the athletes, not the coaches, the trainers, just the organization.

Absolutely without class.

Helloooooooo, 3.5 GB

Here's the question we should all be asking:

If Manny Delcarmen, with an ERA approaching 4 (it should be far over that but for the way inherited runners are attributed to a pitcher's line) and 32 hits in 34 innings pitched cannot get an out or even remember to cover first base in a standard play, should he be allowed to fuck up continually?

Ok, so that's a rhetorical question because the answer is a really loud "NO!", but that's not the point. The Sox are on the downside of their touted "even keel", and unfortunately the timing has them on the verge of slipping to almost 4 games back. The problem with what happened in the 7th inning is the timing. The Sox go into New York this weekend and are going to be facing a Yankee lineup that has suddenly remembered that, well, they're the Yankee lineup, and our bullpen has thrown more in the last three days than in the last three weeks (I exaggerate, but it's probably pretty close).

Here's the point of all this. I think Tito needs to hang Delcarmen or Hansen (his clone) out to dry once in a while. Too often they come in to a close game and let it get blown open, or they put men on base who shouldn't be there, unable to set down the Punch and Judy's of the league. For once they need to bear down and pitch themselves out of the holes they dig. It really has to be the only way they're going to learn anything, because theyr'e too busy riding high on whatever hype or good feeling that is in that bullpen. Somebody has to go the extra mile and give the other pitchers some rest.

As I'm sitting here writing this, Mike Lowell is thrown out in an attempted steal of second. Mike Lowell. After the first hit and run or whatever attempt was ruined by a foul ball by Jason Varitek.

You know what, at this point the only question we should be asking is, "why?"

I'd Like to Have That One Back

Yesterday was one of those days during the season where I wish I'd never woken up. It all started with scanning the headlines to read about Manny and the tantrum he threw when he couldn't get all the tickets he wanted to the game, and the traveling secretary who took the brunt of this the slugger's second fit (the first being when he exchanged words with Kevin Youkilis during the last Tampa Bay series. Dan Shaughnessy brought up a decent point regarding the aftermath of this incident (nothing tangible, as of yet).

Sorry, that just doesn't cut it this time. The Sox promote themselves as a public entity. They sell memberships in Red Sox Nation. When an episode like this goes public, they have some obligation to tell us that it's not OK for a 36-year-old athlete to put his hands on a 64-year-old club executive. On the street, that gets you arrested. In most workplaces, it gets you a suspension at the very least. Not at Fenway Park. Not if you can hit .300 with 35 homers and 120 RBIs. Not if you make $20 million per year.

The whole club is spinning the "in-house" line, but this is an incident that is, at least on the very surface, an example of the entitled against the ordinary. As the purveyors of the Red Sox Nation garbage, the management at least needs to state that it's wrong. It just rubs me the wrong way, is all.

To top off this unfortunate incident, the Sox dropped 1.5 games behind the first place Rays last night after a 5-4 loss that was closer than it should've been. The long and the short of it is this: Justin Masterson, while very talented, is still a rookie with bouts of wildness. Five walks over six innings isn't good enough; it gives too many free swings to any team let alone the red-hot Rays. After that, just about the entire team is picking a really bad time to start slumping. With Ortiz still weeks away (my bet is you see him a week or so after the All-Star Break), Manny uninspired since his 500 HR hot streak some weeks ago, Coco serving his suspension, Coco, Lugo and Varitek being...well...Coco, Lugo, and Varitek, and the bullpen band unable to overcome the fact that the bullpen pitchers have been sucking lately, this just can't be the time the rookie gives up five walks. Now, I'm not mad at Masterson or anything, just saying, that's what was the nail in the coffin.

There's one bone I want to pick with Tito from last night, and that was the decision to leave Lugo in to hit against J.P. Howell after Troy Percival left with his injury. As far as I can tell, there were two thoughts behind this move. First, Howell is a lefty and Lugo a righty, so in a very poor use of "Standard Baseball Logic" this move makes sense. Second, Lugo has had his share of terrible ABs and caught a lot of flack for his uninspired performance here in Boston; leaving him in for that situation last night could set him up for a warmer reception next time around. Fortunately for him, Julio hit a decent ball right at the shortstop. It wasn't the screamer Joe Castiglione described, but at least it wasn't a weak grounder or popup to the right side. Unfortunately for fans, none of the above reasons were good enough to keep him in the game. Both righties and lefties are hitting about .200 against Howell this season, and even though lefties are a hair worse, it's certainly a negligible difference. Given that fact, Sean Casey has made his career being a contact hitter. That's the reason he was signed, that's the reason the Sox were able to maintain momentum when Lowell went down, that's the reason he's still around. Quite simply, Julio Lugo is not. Leaving in a guy with a BABIP, a BABIP of .330 and a 20% strikeout rate to face a guy with a WHIP just north of 1.00 is not giving the team the best chance to win.

OK, I'm done.