Manny's $100 million question

More in case you missed it ...

Jayson Stark of espn.com writes an excellent column about the terrible and dangerous precedent that would be set if some team is stupid enough to give Manny the 4-year, $100 million contract he thinks he's worth. Here's a nugget from the piece:

"If Manny Ramirez wanders into the free-agent market this winter and gets anything close to the four years and $100 million he believes he'll get, think about the message that would send, the precedent that would set.

It would, in effect, be an open invitation to every selfish superstar in baseball to pull a Manny. Act up. Stop hustling. Stop trying. Refuse to play. Make up an injury. Whatever you have to do to get back out there on the free-agent market. It's all worth it.

Why not? If bad behavior winds up delivering a $100 million reward for Manny Ramirez, why wouldn't two or three, or 50 or 100, other great players think, 'Heck, it worked for him. Why not me?'

Most players -- and most agents -- don't think that way, luckily. But that doesn't mean we should pretend there's only one Manny. And we'd be crazy to pretend that his agent, some guy named Scott Boras, has only one client. So don't kid yourself. What happens to Manny this winter can, and will, have larger ramifications."

He's absolutely right.

I'm so glad Manny isn't the Red Sox' problem anymore ... trouble is, he could become baseball's (if not sports in general) problem if he gets this ridiculous deal he wants because if he does get that kind of deal, it'll justify (in his and probably other's minds) all the BS he pulled this season in Beantown.

170 pounds of mouth

In case you missed it ...


The online version of ESPN The Magazine ran a great feature on Dustin Pedroia. Well worth a few minutes of your time.

State of the RSN State

So the Sox are crushing Texas so far and having a good August going 9 - 3, but things are a bit unstable (to say the least) in RSN.

Lowell is on the DL with an oblique injury, iron man Wakefield is missing at least two starts with an injury, Papi's been swinging the bat fairly well but isn't 100%, Coco Crisp can't buy a hit right now and 'Tek at the dish is ... well, you know.

And then there's Buchholz. I truly feel for this guy. He was blazing through the AL at the end of last season and the beginning of this season but to say he has no confidence right now is an understatement. He looks completely lost on the mound and is pitching his way back down south on Rt. I-95. Maybe that's for the best because he obviously needs to work through something, whether it's a physical problem or in his kitchen.

So what do the Sox do to try and plug the holes in their starting rotation? They sign Paul Byrd away from Cleveland ... hoo boy. If Byrd was the best available, then that speaks volumes about the talent pool out there (or lack of it). Byrd, 37, was 7-10 with the Indians this season, with a 4.53 ERA in 22 games. He has a career record of 104-91 and a career ERA of 4.37. Not bad, but not great, either, IMO. Still, he could be one of those guys who shines in a new venue with a new team. We'll see.

Meanwhile, there was a Q&A with noted baseball scribe Peter Gammons posted on boston.com recently and someone asked if it was an inevitability that Manny will end up with the Yankees next season. Gammons said, "I am told that as long as Brian Cashman is the GM and Hank Steinbrenner is owner, Manny will not be going to the Yankees. Their plan is to take the money they have stashed away and go after CC Sabathia."

Interesting. With "Steiney" (that's what I call him ... we're bro's) all but conceding the season recently (NY is 9 games out of first in the AL-East) and saying the Bronx Bombers will win the division next season, you would think that those plans would involve brining in Manny. But, where would they put him? They already have Matsui at DH and Damon and Christian patrolling LF. Stay tuned ...

Fun in Dodger-town

Just realized I haven't checked in since the Sox pulled the trigger on the Manny trade.

Bottom line is that this was good for the team. As a Boston Globe scribe said, this trade didn't make the team stronger, but it did make them better. Since the trade, they swept Oakland (OK, not a great team, but three wins is three wins) and the improvement in the clubhouse atmosphere is reported to be tangible.

The fact that the Sox agreed to such a lopsided trade only emphasizes how badly they needed to get rid of Manny. Face it, the Sox got screwed because they gave up a lot and only received one player in return (that's not taking anything away from Jason Bay, he looks like a great addition to the team).

Manny forced the team's hand into making this trade. Now that he's in LA LA Land, he says he wants to retire a Dodger ... um, yeah ... good luck with that Manny. Unless the Dodgers pony up the coin, he's not re-signing after the season. Manny and his agent (Scott "The Anti-Christ" Boras) are all about the money now.

It's too bad, too, because Manny could have retired a Red Sox and been worshiped here in RSN. Instead, he leaves a legacy of acting like a child, giving up on his team and putting himself first.

Meanwhile back in the Fens, Bay looks like a good fit for the team so far. He's definitely not a replacement for Manny (who is?) but he's a good fielder and looks like a consistent hitter and at this point, that's all the Sox can ask for.

It will be interesting to see how Manny's absence in the lineup is going to affect Big Papi. Ortiz said he's noticed a lack of quality pitches and he's walking more already. Don't be surprised if the Sox pull the trigger on a trade for a power hitter by the end of the month. If they do, it'll likely be for someone whom they won't just "rent" for the rest of the season and a potential play-off run (*cough* like Manny in LA *cough*) ... they'll want someone who's going to stick around, especially if they give up enough talent to get the bat.

If they don't get a power hitter this season, I wouldn't be shocked to see some kind of hotstove season trade for such a player. Right now the Sox have one of the deepest farm systems in baseball and they could have the right players to get a big bat for their offense.

Finally, I think Lowrie is making Lugo's position at SS a thing of the past. More on that when I have more time ...

More Manny follow-up

While Curt Schilling has yet to blog about the Manny fiasco, he did talk about it on WEEI radio, a transcript of which can be found here.

In essence, Schilling doesn't understand where Manny's coming from, thinks Manny's agent (Scott Boras) is behind Manny's recent outbursts and feels it's time for Manny to go because his attitude and recent actions are more of a detriment instead of an asset to the team.

Meanwhile, there's more details about the potential/rumored threw-way trade between the Sox, Marlins and Pirates, the highlights of which are:

• Sox ship Manny and cash to pay his remaining salary and a prospect to the Marlins.
  
• The Sox would then get a few prospects from the Marlins and send them to Pittsburgh.
  
• In return, the Sox would get outfielder Jason Bay and reliever John Grabow. The Pirates would also get Jeremy Hermida from the Marlins.

This looks like a good trade for the Sox.

Grabow would provide some much-needed middle relief in the Sox pen and Bay sports a .282 lifetime average, was the NL Rookie of the Year in 2004 and a two-time All-Star selection. He also comes a lot cheaper than Manny when his contract is up at the end of the 2009 season ($7.5 million vs. $20 million).

Trade deadline is 4 p.m. today, so we'll see. Here's hoping Manny could very well have taken his last at-bat for the Sox. To paraphrase a friend on mine, what a way for Manny to leave his legacy in Boston ...

Angels sweep and the Sox continue to stumble

Meanwhile, the Manny trade watch continues

There's been rumblings that, given their play-off past, the Angels aren't real AL contenders for the WS hardware (the Halos tend to lose in the first round of the post season) so their regular season play doesn't mean much.

Yeah, try telling that to the Red Sox who have one of the best home records in MLB but were swept by the Angels in three games this week at the Fens (a series that featured a near no-hitter for Angles pitcher John Lackey on Tuesday).

Let's face it folks, right now this Red Sox team just doesn't inspire that "Man, they really look good this season and are firing on all cylinders" feeling. They just can't seem to pull it all together at the same time and inspire confidence in RSN that they could repeat as WS champs. Sure, they'll beat bad teams (Seattle, Baltimore, et. al.) but they can't consistently beat good teams (NY, Tampa Bay, the Angels, etc.)

Consider this:

• Varitek is a liability at the plate. It's gotten so bad that fans are cheering when he gets a single ... a single!
  
• Bartolo Colon showed flashes of his old self, then got hurt and is now rehabbing ... again. No word on when he may be back with the team.
  
• Curt Schilling, a solid workhorse (especially in the post season) hasn't taken the mound this season and has likely pitched his last game not just for the Sox, but for his career.
  
• Josh Beckett seems to be suffering from Dice-K-itis ... he has great outings, but lately makes one or two mistakes at the worst time and the Sox can't come back, thus leading to another loss.
  
• Unless Masterson is the answer or the Sox find someone else in a trade, the bullpen's set-up situation is dire at best. Timlin is near the end of his career and the years are starting to show, look up "hot and cold pitcher" in the encyclopedia and Manny Delcarmen's picture is there and, finally, it appears that Okajima's brilliant performance last year may have been a fluke. Not good.
  
• Wonderkid Ellsbury is currently mired in the worst slump of his career (he's fallen all the way down to ninth in the batting order) and while he leads the AL in stolen bases, he can't steal a base if he can't get on.

And then there's Manny ...

I am absolutely astounded that any true Red Sox fan would still support this guy. Thus far I've been able to overlook the fact that his production has slipped consistently over the past two years, but his whinny, child-like behaviour over the past week as made it impossible for me to support him. It's a cliché but it's one that Manny needs to be reminded of: There's no "i" in team.

He was actually quoted the other day as saying, "The Red Sox don't deserve a player like me" and then compared the way the Sox are treating him (well, his perception of such) to the way Pedro Martinez and Nomar were treated. What?!? You mean Pedro, who elected not to re-sign with the team after the '04 season and Nomar, who's had one good season (2006) since Boston traded him in '04? Seriously, Manny?

Meanwhile, for all of Manny's BS, principal owner John Henry keeps saying to anyone that will listen that he feels Manny gives the team the best chance to repeat as WS champs. Maybe it's me because I'm not a pro ball player, but how is that being mis-treated, Manny? I'd love to hear his answer to that.

Now word around the league is that the Sox are close to pulling off a three-way trade between the Pirates and Marlins that would send Manny to the Sunshine State. Yeah, have fun winning a championship with the Marlins, Manny. No doubt that he'd play out the rest of the season with the Fish and then sign with a contender over the winter, but does Florida really want to give up talent to rent a player for a couple of months?

As recently as a couple of days ago I would have predicted that the Sox wouldn't trade Manny and then just not pick up his option for next year, thus letting him go. Now I'm not so sure. Manny's making it difficult at best to keep him around. And even if the Sox do, who's to say Manny won't suddenly have issues with his knees and need a day off ... or two ... or a week? Better yet, will he start keeping his bat on his shoulder to "send a message" to Sox brass?

Also, does anyone else find it interesting that aside from Julio Lugo (now there's an endorsement!) no Sox player is being quoted on the Manny situation? Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't even seen the "No comment" or "Well, it's Manny's situation, so I don't have anything to say" or the "We need Manny on this team, we support him, blah blah blah" quotes from other guys ... not even anonymously. Even Schilling, who has plenty of time on his hands, hasn't blogged about it. As they say around here, way wicked bizzah.

Again, there's no denying what Manny has done for this team, but you can't laugh off the 'Manny being Manny" shenanigans anymore ... And I don't want to hear the "boy, talk about 'what-have-you-done-for-me-lately?' attitude" comments. I appreciate and respect Manny's contributions to this team for the past eight years, but he's becoming a cancer in the clubhouse. I can't imagine it's a lot of fun there right now.

Bottom line is that Manny's got to go and this team desperately needs a jump start if they're going to make it to the post season, let alone repeat as champs.

Enough of Manny being Manny

So what to make of the latest flap with Manny vs. the Sox brass?

He says it's not about the money yet all he talks about is getting paid somewhere else.

And he freely admits that no other team could make a potential trade worth it to the Red Sox and yet he's all but demanding a trade by saying it's highly unlikely he'd ever veto a trade (he's a 10-5 player, which means he's been in MLB for 10 years, five with the same team and therefore can veto any trade).

So, knowing the Sox can't trade him because they can't get fair market value for him and that the team has two option years on his contract after the season, the $20 million question is ... why doesn't Manny just shut his pie hole and play?!?

Poor poor Manny ... it must be tough getting paid $20 million a year to play baseball in a city that practically worships him in which he's been a part of two World Series championship teams in the last four years.

Now, I know that if the Sox lose Manny, there's no way to replace his bat but after eight years of Manny's BS, I'm done. Sooooo done listening to his bitching and moaning about the Sox, about his perception that the organization isn't showing him respect, about being too open that he would play for another team in a heartbeat.

Enough is enough.

If Manny wants out of Beantown that badly, the Sox should grant his wish and trade him. IMO, it's better to get some player and/or prospects for him than nothing at all by just not picking up the 2009 option on his contract.

Again, the Sox (and Red Sox Nation, for that matter) already know it's not going to be a matter of replacing Manny's bat (because you can't), so will it be more painful to (possibly) concede the post season this year (assuming the Sox make it past Sept. 28) and trade Manny now or put up with his BS for the rest of the season and not pick up the '09 option and hope there's a free agent power hitter/LF ... ?

And I can't help wonder if anti-Christ/super agent Scott Boras has anything to do with this. You can picture too easily Boars telling Manny that he'd be better off somewhere else.

Noted baseball scribe Peter Gammons writes about this whole mess for espn.com's Insider, which is offering a free look at their content (you usually have to pay for it) ... check out Gammons' Manny column here while you can ... it's worth the read.

Bottom line is that as a fan, I'm tired of the distraction that Manny has become. It's time for RSN to imagine life without Manny because I think it's coming sooner rather than later. It was a great ride and the Sox and their fans have a lot to thank Manny for, but enough is enough.

It's time for Manny and the Sox to part ways and let him be a whiner somewhere else.

I hear New York is nice this time of year ...