During the recap of the A's rout by the Sox tonight on Baseball Tonight, one of the replays was of a great Lowrie-Pedroia-Youkilis double play. Berthiaume then declares "You may never see Lugo again!"
One could only wish.
Manny says he wants to finish his career in LA. In classic "Manny-Being-Manny" unintelligible-speak he said:
"The Dodgers brought me here to end my career in this city -- at least that's what I'm thinking. However, we haven't even discussed the future. I'm simply starting to know this team," Ramirez said.
Maybe they understand that down in La-La Land.
Taters heal all wounds. Isn't that how the saying goes? Jason Bay treated Red Sox fans to his first home run as a Red Sox outfielder, driving in 3 runs earlier tonight against Oakland.
Who was that guy who used to play in left? I think I like this Bay character.
In today's Globe Gordon Edes reveals an interesting development in the Manny trade:
"Within an hour after Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein informed Manny Ramírez he had been traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers Thursday, Ramírez's agent, Scott Boras, called the Sox back, according to a source with direct knowledge of the negotiations. If the Sox dropped the option years on his contract - which they had agreed to do if they traded him - Boras said Ramírez would not be a problem the rest of the season. For the Sox, the source said, Ramírez's pledge of good behavior only served as a tacit admission that his disruptive conduct of the last couple of weeks had been calculated, and they had had good cause to suspect more was in the offing if they did not trade him."
Jason Bay hit a huge triple off The Green Monster in the bottom of the 12th inning with two outs. After an intentional walk to Drew, Lowrie knocked in Bay to score the winning run over Oakland tonight. (Had Manny hit that ball in the bottom of the 12th, he most likely would have watched it for 5.7 seconds before realizing it was still in the park!)
Jason Bay has scored the 1st run of the Sox-A's game today which is currently in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Bay drew a walk in his 1st plate appearance in a Sox uniform and moved to 3rd on Drew's double. Lowrie hit a deep fly to left, scoring Bay. He received standing O's during the line up announcements and another when he came to the plate.
Not a bad start at all, not bad.
UPDATE: Bay is aboard for the 2nd time tonight in the bottom of the 4th, this time due to a HBP. He then went to 3rd on a single by Lowrie.
UPDATE #2: The A's Crosby hit a double off the Monster and Bay played it perfectly. He then followed that with a web gem nomination to end the inning! In the top of the 6th, he played a ball off the wall and was able to hold Suzuki to a single.
After you look at these quotes from Clubhouse Insider I think there can be no doubt that the Sox made the right move. If Big Papi likes the trade then it was the right thing to do.
Read more...David Ortiz: “Things got to the point where they had to do something - and they did. They’re happy, Manny’s happy. I’m going to miss my man, I’m not going to lie to you, but we’re looking forward. The team needed it.”
Jason Varitek: “Things escalated to degrees where something had to be done either way. …Either way, I think it’s a relief that there’s closure to something that’s been going on for the last week or 10 days. I’m just relieved there’s an actual solution, which there was going to be, regardless, on this day.”
Jonathan Papelbon: “From the front-office standpoint, I feel like this did have to happen. Sometimes you make decisions, regardless of whether you got a worse player or better player out of that deal - it makes your team as a whole better. I think that’s what their decisions was based on, that feeling of camaraderie and 25 guys playing for the same goal.”
Mike Lowell: “I think (Ramirez’ constant griping) had a big impact on people in upper management because there are important decisions to be made in the next couple of years.”
The Packers are rumored to be offering $25 million to Brett Favre to stay home.
So what's the big deal over the pittance the Sox are paying for chemotherapy?
Here's Jason Bay talking about being the newest member of the Red Sox. Watch below:
| Dustin Pedroia, 2B | |
| Kevin Youkilis, 1B | |
| David Ortiz, DH | |
| Mike Lowell, 3B | |
| Jason Bay, LF | |
| J.D. Drew, RF | |
| Jed Lowrie, SS | |
| Kevin Cash, C | |
| Jacoby Ellsbury, CF Tim Wakefield, SP |
In the press conference today Jason Bay said it was slim pickins for numbers with the Sox and Eric Davis was a childhood idol of his so he has chosen #44.
Read more...Extra Bases is reporting that Mike Lowell with be the clean-up hitter for the Sox with Jason Bay batting 5th. Full lineup and Jason Bay's number coming soon.
Read more...
Jason Bay was number 38 in Pittsburgh and there is no word yet on what number he is going to have for the Sox, I wonder if Curt will give up number 38 if Bay asks for it. Since Curt's blog is 38pitches.com I would find it doubtful that Bay will get the number especially since Curt has a small chance of coming back next season. FYI Manny is said to be taking number 99 in LA since 24 has been retired.
Peter Gammons has a new blog post up where he shows that Red Sox executives believed Manny was done for the season and would not put much effort into playing for the Sox. For one, they truly believed he faked his knee injury:
Ramirez tried to sit, citing his knee. Problem is, after Felix Hernandez and Joba Chamberlain had come and gone, the Red Sox ownership and medical staff ordered him to take an MRI. If Ramirez hadn't forgotten which knee was bothering him, he would have been more convincing, but he got mixed up.Gammons responds to some people in the media that say the Sox are much worse off today:
But the way the past month had gone, there was no chance -- none, zilch, nada -- that Boston could make the playoffs with Ramirez on the team. In his mind, he had completed his obligation for the guaranteed $168 million the Red Sox paid him.....But as soon as the deadline passed, if Ramirez were still with the Red Sox, there would have been one incident after another with Ramirez secure in knowing that he didn't have to play, hustle or give any regard to winning to collect his remaining $7 million. Anyone who was watching John Lackey's run at a no-hitter continue in the seventh inning Wednesday when Ramirez jogged to first in 5.7 seconds, realizes that he is one of those rare, gifted athletes who cares nothing about winning, about the integrity of the game or about his teammates.It will be interesting to see if Manny has any knee or hamstring problems with LA in the next few weeks. I think that will show if he really was quiting on the Sox to get more money. Getting over the Nomar trade was pretty easy because the Sox won their first World Series in 86 years, what will it take to get over the Manny trade? Even hearing about him quiting on the team I love by one of baseball's most respected reporters doesn't make this one easy to deal with. Read more...
Looks like ESPN has to call Manny back to change into a Dodger uniform for the commercial they made last month.
Baseball does not stop in mid-season, even for Manny so it is time to look at the road ahead for the Sox. If you really get all misty eyed over the loss of ManRam throw in a W.S. DVD or watch a Manny tribute on YouTube but now it's time to get back on the horse and win some games. The Oakland A's come to Fenway on Friday and the Sox need a win bad. The Sox opened the season against the A's in Japan many months ago and they were swept by them in May (I had the displeasure of being at 2 of those games.) But this is not the same team the Sox faced on Memorial Day weekend; the team is coming off a sweep by the Royals and is just 2-10 since the All-Star break, going below .500 for the first time this season. The A's will have Frank Thomas back for the first time since going on the DL on May 28. Thomas always seems to get to Sox pitching and he hurt them with Toronto and Oakland earlier this season. Unfortunetly the Red Sox will be facing the A's best pitcher Justin Duchscherer on Friday and will have their work cut out for them. The Nation is in need of a win and a walk-off homer by Bay could make everyone say Manny who?
Not a whole lot of Sox on national TV this month:
Fri, 1 Aug v. OAK, KICU, 4:05 pm
Sat, 2 Aug v. OAK, CSN-BA, 4:05 pm
Sun, 3 Aug v. OAK, KICU, 10:35 am
Sun, 10 Aug @ CWS, TBS, 11:05 am
No Sox and Yankees on national TV, Aug 26-27-28.
And that is it until Sept 26.
Quick look at who is lurking down in Pawtucket.
Last week I wrote about knuckleballer Charlie Zink who is now 13-3, 2.76 ERA.
Pitchers:
Bowden, 0-2, 5.17
Pauley, 12-4, 3.40
Smith, 1-3, 2.24, 13 SVS
and I don't think we'll see Kyle Snyder back soon: 1-3, 6.28
Position players:
Thurston, 2B, .316
Bailey, OF, .300, 24 HR's
Carter, OF, .299, 23 HR's
Van Every, OF, .272, 24 HR's
Pawtucket is doing well in the International League with all this talent.
I have always had a warm spot in my baseball heart for the Pittsburgh Pirates. The first game I ever went to was at the old Forbes Field. Doug Mientkiewicz is now with the Bucs. Quite coincidentally, I have voted for Jason Bay in the All Star Game balloting in the past three years.
This is sad when bloggers are paid to cover a team and are one of the last places to report the news of the Manny Trade. Look at this post at 1:27 pm Pacific from Blue Notes the LA Times Dodger Blog:
Crickets
Nothing doing for the Dodgers as of 1:22, past the 1 pm non-waiver deadline but still not entirely out of the window for deals to trickle in. Don't expect anything, though.
Manny?
Hey all, I'm working on getting Manny Ramirez confirmation. From what I hear, it's Manny to L.A. for Andy LaRoche and Triple-A righty Bryan Morris (apparently well thought of, but had Tommy John a while back) to Pittsburgh, with Jason Bay the main prize for Boston.
Making calls, trying to get some info. But for now, that's what I know.
AK
It's finally over. Sportswriters and broadcasters everywhere are questioning the Ramirez/Bay trade with most lumping the Sox into their loser columns. I had previously written to ignore Manny's words and watch his actions. His actions? Strolling down to 1st at over 5 seconds while the team was being no hit, not just once, but twice. His words of the past couple of days became too loud to ignore and cut to the bone. He sent a message and that message was, 'I ain't gonna do squat for da Red Sox for da rest of dis season. FY.' At least that's what it sounded like.
A new era has begun. It's been a long time since a ball was hit to left field and we could count on a routine play. Enter Jason Bay. Sure, it's going to take Bay a while to get used to fielding off of the Green Monster, but he's shown decent outfield skills. No more crazy adventures in left.
I can understand the need to trade Manny at this point, even for a lesser quality player like Jason Bay, but to throw in Hansen and Moss is way too much. The Sox have bullpen problems and did nothing about it, they could have sent Moss to KC for Mahay and now they have one less arm in the pen. This is a tough deal to understand right now, I hope another trade for some help in the pen has been made and we have not heard about it yet.
Read more...Manny has been traded to the Dodgers in a three team deal with the Bucs, Sox may get Jason Bay.
ESPN says the Sox also included Hansen and Moss in the deal!!!
From Extra Bases:
To Red Sox
Jason Bay
To Dodgers
Manny Ramirez
To Pirates
Craig Hansen (from Red Sox)
Brandon Moss (from Red Sox)
Andy LaRoche (from Dodgers)
Bryan Morris (from Dodgers)
SI.com reported that the Red Sox got the OK from Ramirez, who would have had the rights to veto any deal. From SI.com: "He signed off on the paperwork, contingent upon the two $20-million team options for 2009 and '10 being dropped. The move will set the stage for Ramirez to become a free agent this winter."
The Globe has 2 reporters going in opposite directions on Manny; Edes says LA is not involved, Cafardo says they are. Both agree the Pirates-Marlins deal is dead.
UPDATE: Jason Bay has now been traded to Tampa Bay.
UPDATE 2: The Braves price for Ohman was too high so Theo passed.
UPDATE 3: Bay to Rays not a done deal.
UPDATE 4: Rosenthal says Bay to Rays is off and Bay to Sox is still a possibility MLB.com has confirmed that Jason Bay has NOT been traded to Tampa.
UPDATE 5: Both Dodgers and Marlins were still talking to Sox with minutes to go before the deadline...Sox have not commented yet on Manny which makes me think a deal was done....stay tuned.
UPDATE 6: Bay now traded to Dodgers? I'm not makin this shit up.
Trade deadline passes with no news....could still be coming though.
The Sox wanted to get Ron Mayhay from KC but they can't trade Brandon Moss because they need him as insurance if Manny sits out again if he is not traded.
Read more...SI's John Heyman is reporting that the Sox are in discussions with the Dodgers over Manny. Heyman says:
"The Dodgers have offered young outfielder Andre Ethier, but Boston is believed to prefer Matt Kemp."
Heyman also says the Marlins deal isn't totally dead.
ESPN Jayson Stark thinks the deal is off:
Yet another official with one of these three teams says the Manny-Bay deal is dead. In the aftermath, the teams involved seem unsure of what happened. The Pirates are blaming the Marlins. The Marlins are blaming the Pirates. And the Red Sox aren't too happy with either of them.
tick....tick....tick.....and where's the bullpen help? Read more...The potential blockbuster trade that would have sent embattled Boston slugger Manny Ramirez to the Marlins has hit a snag, but the Red Sox are now talking to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as well, SI.com has learned.
The Dodgers have offered young outfielder Andre Ethier, but Boston is believed to prefer Matt Kemp.
The Marlins deal isn't believed to be dead, but it appears Florida was unhappy with one or more aspects of the potential blockbuster.
The Red Sox, who appear motivated to trade Ramirez, have spent most of their time on the Marlins over the past 24 hours. But sources say the Dodgers have always remained interested
From Extra Bases:
Manny has not yet been asked for his permission to OK the deal, so nothing has been done yet.
Update 1: Peter Gammons says the deal is "close to dead."
Update 2: Sports Illustrated's John Heyman reports that Manny has now approved the deal.
Update 3: ESPN is reporting that the Bucs are still shopping Jason Bay to other clubs including the Jays.
6 games within the last two weeks and 6 wins for the LA Angels over the Red Sox. The Manny news is grabbing the headlines, but the fact that the Red Sox can't beat the Angels is more disturbing.
If the Manny trade goes through, the Sox don't just need to make up for Manny's production, they need to improve overall as a team. The status quo isn't cutting it. The Sox have shown that they can't beat the best teams right now.
All eyes are on the Manny trade. We should be as or more concerned that the Sox get some bullpen help. Let's see what the afternoon brings.
What's the deal here? Is the Manny deal really done, or is it "less than 50-50" as the Herald Reports.
The Palm Beach Post has Marlins owner Jefferey Loria saying "There's no news, nothing to talk about."
Stay tuned. We'll know soon enough. The deadline is 4pm eastern today.
Several places have the Manny deal far from a sure thing with just 4 hours to go before the deadline but I just can't see them not getting something done now. Manny burned another bridge last night and has become a huge distraction for the club. If Manny stays the fued will continue to simmer for the remainder of the season. Curt Schilling weighed in with his thoughts about Manny this morning:
I would now put money on a deal happening and the Sox getting Bay. Stay tuned for updates. Read more..."At the end of the day you're taking the field with a guy who doesn't want to play with you, doesn't want to be there, doesn't want to ... obviously effort-wise is just not there and that's disheartening and disappointing," Schilling said during his weekly appearance on Boston sports radio WEEI's Dennis and Callahan program.
Does he think it's time for Manny to go?
"Would I be the only guy in the New England area that said no if I did?" Schilling replied to the question. "I think I'm probably with the consensus. It's very obvious from anything you see or hear he doesn't want to be here."
Both sides have crossed the point of no return and by tomorrow night #24 of the Red Sox will not belong to Manny Ramirez. Manny's number will not be retired at Fenway, he will not be part of Red Sox Nation any more. We will follow him for a while, read about his occasional antics in the NL, but after a while he will disappear into the background. How did it come to this? Why was the end of Manny's career in
Boston so filled with turmoil? At the start of the season we had the "new" Manny; he was open to the media, he worked hard during the off-season and he showed up to camp on time. But things did not stay positive for very long. Manny did not join the team for the trip to the White House or to visit wounded troops at Walter Reed and we called him out on this site. But Manny went back to being goofy and we forgave him for his selfishness. He talked to the press, he sold another car on Ebay, Manny was being funny Manny. Then came the fight with Youk that caught everyone off guard, but he said he was sorry and we forgave him again. Manny then had the incident with Jack McCormick that was quickly swept under the rug, but for me and many fans this was much harder to forgive. Manny skipped the All-Star Game press conference but he made a call from inside the Monstah and everyone loved him. But then came the harsh words about his contract, followed by the sitting out in Seattle and then against New York. This was the last straw for the front office and now Manny is on his way out. A silly gesture or event will not save him this time. There will be a great deal of Sox fans that will cry foul and blame Theo or ownership for ruining the Sox chances but I think they made the right call. Boston gave Manny some wiggle room to put himself above the team at times as long as he payed them back at the plate, unfortunately for Manny, his production no longer pays enough for the wiggle room he needs. He has gone too far off the reservation and will not be let back on. I wish him luck but I'm not about to buy a Marlins jersey. Manny gave us a great deal of humor, helped win 2 World Series, and gave Boston the most feared 3-4 combination in baseball. But he is not the face of the Red Sox, he is not above the game, nor is he irreplaceable. The Sox have lost 8 out of their last 12 with him and in his last game with Boston he went 0-3. Maybe Jason Bay can get the Sox back on track and help us move past the Manny era in Boston.
Baseball Prospectus says it will happen soon....developing
Multipe baseball sources say the Red Sox are on the verge of sending disgrunted left fielder Manny Ramirez to the Marlins in a trade for a package of three players that included low Class A Greensboro outfielder Mike Stanton, an 18-year-old who is hitting .275/.351/.569 with 26 home runs in 96 games.UPDATE: MLB.com is reporting it is a 3 team deal here are the details:
Ramirez would go to the Marlins, while Jeremy Hermida would go to the Pirates, and Jason Bay would go to the Red Sox.
One possible reason those conversations between the Rays and Pirates have slowed could involve Manny Ramirez. Officials from several teams theorized Wednesday that if the Red Sox were to trade Manny, they would target Bay as a right-handed bat to replace him.
UPDATE III: President of Florida Marlins on the possibility of trading for Manny:
Asked specifically if a deal for Ramirez was possible, Samson said, “I’ve always told you everything is possible. There are all sorts of crazy things. There’s no way to say which trades are going to happen.”Update IV: MLB.com has several sources talking about the deal:
That issue, the money and the limited time left before the deadline are working against a Manny-to-Miami deal.UPDATE V: ESPN's Buster Olney has more on the deal:
the sides are also discussing lefty reliever John Grabow moving from Pittsburgh to the Red Sox. The current sticking point, according to a well-placed source, is that the Marlins want the Red Sox to add a prospect to their take in the deal.UPDATE VI: Could Lowrie be involved in the deal? From timesoline.com:
Part of the deal could also have Pirates left-handed reliever John Grabow going to Florida and Marlins right-handed pitching prospect Ryan Tucker, who is at Class AA Carolina, ending up in the Pittsburgh farm system.UPDATE VII: Done Deal....more from BP:The three clubs have talked about various version of a deal including some that would send Boston rookie shortstop Jed Lowrie to the Pirates with veteran Pittsburgh shortstop Jack Wilson going to the Red Sox. The Pirates also have interest in Red Sox left-handed pitcher prospect Hunter Jones, who is at Class AAA Pawtucket.
The Commissioner’s Office has been informed of a deal involving the Pirates, Red Sox, and Marlins. The Commissioner has to sign off on any deal involving cash considerations of more than a million dollars and there was clearly going to be cash involved in any deal. There’s also some formality about Manny Ramirez waiving his 10-5 rights and no trade clause and I’ll admit not understanding the technicalities.
So here’s what Pee Wee Herman would call the “big but.” The teams, I am told, have not agreed on the specific prospects to be included in the deal. It’s expected that in addition to the principals, the Red Sox would get John Grabow and give up two prospects while the Marlins would get one prospect and give up two. There’s still a lot of haggling but my scribbling notes make it look like the structure of the deal is:
Marlins get Manny Ramirez, one prospect (BOS), and cash (likely Ramirez’s remaining salary)
Pirates get Jeremy Hermida and three prospects (two FLO, one BOS)
Red Sox get Jason Bay and John GrabowThere is still potential for this to fall apart over the prospects, though things appear closer now than ever before.
Peter Gammons is adding some weight to the report form SI and Fox Sports that the Marlins are considering pulling the trigger on a deal for Manny. The fish would send Willingham or Hemida and a prospect to the Sox. Buster Olney of ESPN reports the same thing and he was the one that broke the Ivan R. news. However, Gordon Edes says no way on Extra Bases. I still think Manny is staying in Boston but I also remember seeing Nomar go.
Read more...
The Yankees made one of their typical trade deadline moves getting an aging veteran today. The bad news for the Sox is Rodriguez is a good catcher (offensively) and the Yankees traded Kyle Farnsworth for him; the Sox usually hit Farnsworth pretty well
Dustin Pedroia 2B
Kevin Youkilis 1B
David Ortiz DH
Manny Ramirez LF
Mike Lowell 3B
JD Drew RF
Jed Lowrie SS
Jason Varitek C
Coco Crisp CF
Josh Beckett P
The Lord of Evil spoke with ESPN about Manny's future with the Sox. Remember that if Boston picks up Manny's option, Boras gets nothing because he was not Manny's agent when the last contract was signed. If Manny gets a new contract from the Sox or another team Boras gets a piece of the pie. What do you think he is advising Manny to do? Watch below:
Last week I wrote a post about the skunk that came onto the field in Portland after Big Papi left the game. The post was entitled "Let's Hope It's Not a Bad Omen." Since that point the Sox have lost 4-5 including 2 to the dreaded Yankees, have had the whole Manny debacle, and were almost no-hit yesterday. We need some sort of exorcism to get the team back on track.
Despite all of the trade talk about Manny what the team needs right now is pitching. There is not a trade that is going to make the Sox better without Manny, unless he tanks the rest of the season. His lack of hustle yesterday down the line was pretty weak but not exactly a sign that he was tanking, especially since he hit well the two previous nights. He will continue to produce for this season. Theo knows what is good for the Sox and he is looking for help in the pen. By the deadline the Sox will have acquired one of the following players: Ron Mahay from KC, Huston Street from Oakland, or Will Ohman of the Braves. If they don't go out and get some help for the pen I don't see this team repeating as champs.
Throughout the day we have seen rumors of the Sox dealing Manny to Philly, the Dodgers, the D-Backs, the Mets and the Marlins??? It appears none of the talks are going anywhere so get used to Manny being Manny on the Red Sox for the rest of the year.
Read more...
Sox Lose 6-2 BOX SCORE
2B Pedroia, Dustin
1B Youkilis, Kevin
DH Ortiz, David
LF Ramirez, Manny
3B Lowell, Mike
RF Drew, J.D.
C Varitek, Jason
SS Cora, Alex
CF Ellsbury, Jacoby
P Buchholz, Clay (2-5, 5.81)
Here's a post I didn't fathom that I would ever be writing. What are the Ray's up to, and why should we care?
The Rays are struggling on the road. They face Halladay of the Blue Jays tonight, which should exacerbate their road trip problems. It's good news that the Rays winning ways have run into trouble recently in away stadiums. The Sox need to keep it close while they sort out some things. The Red Sox are currently 1 game behind the Rays in the AL East standings.
But, come on now, its the Rays. Has it come to this? Are we really trying to keep pace with the Rays? Do we need to follow their roster moves and worry about their losses as much as the Sox wins? I know they've had a great season, but it's just so hard to think of the Rays as a team that you need to follow, worry about, concern yourself with, visit, read about, or even ponder their existence. I can't stand to flip to the Rays game in between innings of the Sox game. The sterility of their stadium pains me to view.
Please, please Red Sox -put together a winning streak. Don't make us check in on the Rays. It's painful.
The Sox pursuit of bullpen help seems to be generating a lot of trade rumors. MLBtraderumors.com has been keeping an up to date tally. The names that they say the Sox are interested in include: Geoff Geary, Ron Mahay, Brian Fuentes, George Sherrill, and Will Ohman.
They also report that the Mets are interested in acquiring Manny.
The trade deadline is fast approaching. Thursday at 4pm Eastern to be exact. Much of the discussion in the past week surrounding the Sox has been related to what the Sox will do in the off-season with regards to Manny Ramirez. I don't think that the Sox will trade him now. It's hard to see how they make up for his run production, and what deals are really a fit for the Sox.
AAAAARRGH. The Sox good news streak has ended at....1 day in a row. They can't seem to put together a string of good news or a string of wins(except for the sweep of the Mariners, but, everybody beats the Mariners, so that's not so special).
2B Pedroia, Dustin
1B Youkilis, Kevin
DH Ortiz, David
LF Ramirez, Manny
3B Lowell, Mike
RF Drew, J.D.
SS Lowrie, Jed
C Varitek, Jason
CF Ellsbury, Jacoby
P Matsuzaka, Daisuke (11-1, 2.63)
The late Congressman Mo Udall once said during a Congressional hearing that was going on and on, "everything's been said, but not everybody's said it yet."
And so it is with Manny Ramirez. Everything has been said. But now, things have gotten worse for Manny because a new voice is saying them. That voice is Peter Gammons, the Dalai Lama of Baseball. When he calls your character into question, you know that you've crossed the line. His column, "Manny's All About the Money" is a must read.
After all of the Manny comments in the past few days and weeks, you knew the trade rumors were going to start flying.
The latest one to get some traction is a rumor that has Arizona interested in Manny. East Valley Tribune (Arizona) sports blogger Scott Bordow lists three reasons why he thinks Manny won't be headed to the desert:
1. The Red Sox aren’t going to trade Ramirez while they’re in the middle of a pennant race. He’s too valuable a hitter.
2. Even if Boston changes its mind and decides to deal Ramirez, the price to get him would be far too high for the Diamondbacks. Think Conor Jackson and at least one, if not two, of the organization’s best pitching prospects.
3. Ramirez is a free agent after this season, and Arizona wouldn’t re-sign him, not for the $15 million to $20 million per year salary he’ll likely ask for. As good as Ramirez is with a bat in his hands, he’s not worth raiding the farm system for two months of work.
Even with a good win last night the Sox will still have their hands full when the Angels come to Fenway tonight. Last week the Sox were swept in Anaheim by the team with the best record in baseball. Even though they dropped one last night to the O's, the Angels have a chip on their shoulder entering the series. From the LA Times:
"Another good series against the Red Sox would obviously boost our confidence, but our confidence is very high right now," said Joe Saunders, who will pitch in Boston on Wednesday. "We're playing well. I believe we're the team to beat right now...I think they should worry about us a little too. Obviously, the Red Sox and Yankees are good clubs, but I think we can play with anybody and beat anybody."
Sox Win 9-2 BOX SCORE
| Dustin Pedroia, 2B | |
| Kevin Youkilis, 1B | |
| David Ortiz, DH | |
| Manny Ramirez, LF | |
| Mike Lowell, 3B | |
| J.D. Drew, RF | |
| Jason Varitek, C | |
| Alex Cora, SS | |
| Jacoby Ellsbury, CF Jon Lester, SP |
Manny shed some light on his feelings about the events this week when he talked to reporters in the clubhouse. It looks like he is not doing much to win support from Sox executives or build some bridges. From Extra Bases:
What I said was if the Red Sox they think they could find a trade that's going to make the team better and both sides are going to be happy, I'm going to agree," he said. "But if they cannot find a trade. It's something simple. It's no big deal. At the end of the season, all they've got to do is call my agent and say, 'Hey, we're not going to pick Manny's option for '09, he's going to become a free agent. And that's it. I go my way, and you guys go your way, something simple....Boston is not stupid. They're not going to do it. They can say whatever they want. But when it comes to make a deal, they're not going to pull the trigger, because they know what they've got here."Read more...Are you happy here?
"I'm happy. But enough is enough."
When you say "enough is enough," what does that mean?
"That's it. You've got to ask Tito and John Henry, they know."
Peter Gammons also said on ESPN's Baseball Tonight Manny's option will not be picked up by the Sox at the end of the season because the Sox ownership was so upset that Manny sat out on Friday. He did not think Manny would be traded before the end of the season.
Does Red Sox whole world lie waiting behind door #3? With teams making deals as the deadline quickly approaches, Theo has been awfully quiet. There were the comments made to Fox about the possibility of trading Manny but I don't see that right now. I think Theo was just sending a message to Manny and Boras that the left fielder had better be a team player on an off the field if he is going to return.
The '08 team has most of the players from the '07 champion team so you have to ask: why make a change? There are some players struggling right now like Tek, Ellsbury, Crisp, and most of the bullpen but there is no reason why they should not be able to bounce back. Theo wants to keep the prospects for the long term and not go after a pricey free agent. When you look at what is out there it is hard to find much that will help the Sox in the short term for the price they are willing to spend.
We only have 2 games to judge the Masterson bullpen experiment but the last one did not go well. The Sox do not have the luxury of a wait and see attitude towards Masterson because the deadline is just 4 days away.
Look for Boston to get some bullpen help but not make a major deal before the deadline. One possible target is Will Ohman of the Atlanta Braves.
From Jim Donaldson of the Providence Journal:"Manny is expected to play again tonight, extending his consecutive games streak to two — just 2,630 shy of Cal Ripken’s major-league record."
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