Sunday's events perfectly summed up Manny Ramirez's 8 year tenure in Boston. He issued a bizarre statement to ESPN Deportes saying he would be happy to accept any trade, and claimed that he was tired of the Red Sox, and they were tired of him. He then went 3 for 5 with 2 RBI and two runs scored.
Although he didn't explicitly say it, Manny seems like he wants a trade. He doesn't like the idea of the Red Sox being able to pick up his option for 2009, then dumping him if he fails to produce and/or participate; which would leave him up the proverbial creek when it comes to getting a new contract with a new team.
That's where the comparison to Favre comes in. Manny, like Brett the Brat, wants the power. He wants to be in control. He can't stand the fact that some front office suits control where his career is going.
The Red Sox have apparently been shopping Manny around, or at least that's what they want us to believe. Things like this don't leak to the media by accident. Either the idea of the Sox trading Manny is an exaggeration concocted by colleagues of the people who brought you WalkThroughGate; or the Red Sox were trying to send a message.
I think the team was trying to light a fire under Manny's ass. The notion of a trade would, at the very least, cajole him to start playing again.
Trading Manny now doesn't make much sense. The Red Sox have been starved for offense. And with the numerous black holes in the lineup, the Sox can't afford to lose Manny's bat. And who the hell would take Ramirez and give the Sox good value in return?
To be honest, I have next to no clue with what's going on with Manny and the Sox. Nobody does. And nobody around here has for 8 years. A trade seems unlikely, but so did trading Nomar for Orlando Cabrera and Doug Mientkiewicz in '04. It's possible that Manny may eventually demand a trade. It's possible his "knee" might start acting up again. It's also possible that everything will be fine.
I think he'll end up with the Jets.
Source:
BostonHerald.com
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