Manny Ramirez was born to hit a baseball. It's a skill many proclaim the toughest in all of sports. I can't argue since a .300 average is considered a mark of excellence. Manny has been remarkably consistent and productive, reaching a level in which 40 home runs and 100 RBIs is considered an off year for the right-handed slugger. I remember one regular season at-bat at Fenway in particular. I was sitting behind home plate as Manny walked to the batter's box. On his first pitch he hammered a line drive foul to shallow right field, nearly decapitating a fan. Strike 1. He hit the second pitch even harder, this time to deep right, landing just inches to the right of the Pesky Pole. Strike 2. It all seemed to transpire in slow motion, like watching a film director inching closer and closer to finding the perfect shot, making tiny adjustments each time. I turned to my Dad and said confidently, "This one's gone." The third pitch left his bat in the blink of an eye, landing 400 plus feet away in dead center. We stood with the 35,000 in attendance and applauded like maniacs, not only because he delivered yet again, but because we knew he was no ordinary hitter. Manny was the new millenium's answer to Teddy Ballgame, Yaz, Fisk, Rice, and Boggs. This guy was special.
Unfortunately, as we'd come to find over the next several years, Manny had as much in common with Albert Belle, Ron Artest, Terrell Owens, Barry Bonds, Derrick Coleman (insert your favorite malcontent) as with the greats of Red Sox past. He was a team cancer. You would think twenty million annually, not to mention endless praise from fans and writers, always quick to forgive his shortcomings, would be enough to keep Manny happy. No dice. How about being part of a team that contends every year and has won two World Series in the past four years? Nope. Hell, an asinine phrase was even created in Manny's honor, sort of a local in-joke proclaiming that while he's an idiot, he's our idiot. Ultimately, the Sox had enough of "Manny being Manny." It's hard to blame them.
One senses Ramirez's teammates were sick of him as well. Manny has been uncommonly vocal the last few weeks, speaking to the press about moving on, being sick of the management, almost challenging the Red Sox to win without him. Rumors spread that he was making injury excuses beyond the norm, even for him. His output has been below par, leading many to question his desire and willingness to compete, something a professional athlete should never lose. I suspect the Lowells, Youks, and Variteks finally put their collective foot down. How else to explain the deal Boston ultimately agreed to? Sure, they got a solid player back in new left fielder Jason Bay. But they agreed to pay the remaining seven million of Manny's 2008 contract to the Dodgers, a team not exactly hurting for cash. They also gave up youngsters Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss in the deal. I know they weren't going to get fair value for Ramirez, but just Manny for Bay straight up would've been one-sided. The added conditions indicate Sox management made up their minds that Manny was going no matter what opposing teams demanded in return. At least they didn't pull a Green Bay and offer him an extra twenty million to retire.
Are the Sox a better team without Manny? On paper, of course not. You don't replace his offensive production unless you get an A-Rod, or Pujols, or Ryan Howard back in return. But in terms of chemistry, (the most underrated element in any successful ball club), maybe they are better. Don't forget, the Sox won the 2004 World Series only after trading fan favorite Nomar Garciaparra, an unpopular move that landed them Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz. The former two-time batting champion had at the time been pouting over his contract until he wore out his welcome in Boston. After that first champagne-soaked celebration, I don't think anyone was complaining.
Give the Sox some credit. They seem to know when it's time to say goodbye. When they refused to give an aging Pedro Martinez the kind of deal he was looking for, Pedro bolted to New York. They correctly assessed that Johnny Damon wasn't the player he once was either when refusing to break the bank for the former center fielder. Anyone want to challenge those decisions now? Manny's play has been in slow decline the last couple years, but by all accounts, money didn't decide this one. Neither did talent. Yes, he's overpaid. True, the Sox lineup isn't anywhere near as imposing without the 3-4 punch of Ortiz and Ramirez. But sometimes in sports, you add by subtracting.
Manny had fought with his teammates. He'd tripped over his own two feet in left. He'd consistently trotted to first when he should've been sprinting. He'd openly remarked about how nice it'd be to play for the Yankees! He'd criticized the front office and anyone who makes decisions, which angers me since I can't imagine any manager being more patient with him than Terry Francona has been. He even put his hands on the traveling secretary for failing to comply with a ridiculous ticket request. In any other field, Ramirez would've been fired on the spot for the last offense. Manny took dozens of questionable days off, even in big series over the years. He'd retreated to the green monster between innings of several games to take a leak, call his homeys, order pizza, check his email, smoke some dope, read the National Inquirer, take a nap, have sex, get a haircut, chug a beer, visit Avalon, change his screensaver, phone WEEI's Weiner Whiner Line, and practice his chest pump and point to the sky routine.
Maybe Henry, Werner, Lucchino, and Theo woke up this morning with a clearer collective conscience. Maybe the players finally felt loose again, knowing it will once again be a pleasure to go to work. Maybe JBay (any chance that nickname catches on?) will be the spark we are looking for, a hard worker who will run out ground balls and help plug the large gap in the middle of the batting order. If the Sox fall further in the standings and fail to make the playoffs, everyone will attack the decision to trade Ramirez. But if they get hot, leapfrog Tampa, and find themselves with homefield advantage in a third World Series appearance, will anyone complain?
Manny is gone, but the Sox are still here. Whose side are you on?
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