There is no phrase in baseball more obnoxiously overused, yet honestly accurate than "Manny being Manny". As with all things in life, there are two sides to the Manny Ramirez story. Roughly 50% of Red Sox fans have seen enough. His long list of zany antics both on the field, in the clubhouse and on the streets of Seattle have New Englanders fed up.
On the other side of the fence is where I've been for the past six or so seasons. The side that defends Manny and looks at him as an irreplaceable Hall of Famer and arguably the best right handed hitter of my generation. If his personality resembled that of someone who always said the right things no matter what adversities his team faced, someone who reacted to controversy like a teenage blond reacts to Jason Voorhees, then he'd easily be the 107 year old franchises most renowned player.
Williams, Yaz, Rice, Foxx, and Lynn are up there, but none can say they were a World Series MVP.
Now, in the middle of a pennant race, Manny is faking injuries, stubbornly sending public messages to management, and demanding a one way trip out of Massachusetts.
With the trade deadline coming tomorrow at 4 p.m., I had planned on giving various trade scenarios for Theo Epstein, but in the aftermath of the Angels getting Mark Teixera and the Yankees replacing an injured Jorge Posada with Ivan Rodriguez, trading Manny makes literally no sense if Boston wants to get to the playoffs. Right now they need him, just like he needs them.
Also the Rays, a team ready to call up former number one pick David Price and possibly make a deal for Jason Bay (one of the best Canadian baseball players in the league), are still streaking and show no signs of coming back to Earth.
At 36 years old, Manny is slowing down only if you want to compare him to his younger self. His statistics may not reveal a player worthy of making $13,000 per inning, but few top earners can justify what they're making (just look at Derek Jeter's contract).
What Boston needs to do in order to catch up to the Angels and Rays is simple.
Play better.
In my opinion, on paper, the Red Sox are still the most talented team in baseball. Sure they have a few bullpen flaws, a couple hitters at the bottom of the order caught in a slump, and one or two starting pitchers that need to pick it up a bit, but the organization can't panic.
Epstein has a penchant for the future. He loves his prospects and by holding onto Manny for the remainder of the season, the team would most likely get two compensation picks.
(If Ramirez were to sign with a team slotted for a first round pick between 1-15, it's protected. For example if the Yankees decided to sign him, the Red Sox would receive their first rounder along with another compensation pick that would fall right after the first round and before the second round, but if the Padres were to sign him, Boston would not get San Diego's first round pick because due to their poor season, it would be protected.)
If Theo does choose to trade his left fielder, there is no telling how those players expected to replace Manny will handle playing at Fenway Park in the middle of September. The pressure has been known to get to a number of players who simply can't take the smothering atmosphere.
So if Manny does get traded, Red Sox Nation can kiss their chances of repeating as World Champions good-bye. And along with it, a once in a lifetime baseball talent.
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