Despite being one man on a 25 man roster, Manny Ramirez has single handedly taken his former team, the Red Sox, out of the playoff race and changed the entire complexion of the Wild Card race as well as the Pennant Race in the AL East.
Ramirez did not give the Red Sox much of a choice other than to trade him. After years of acting like a fool, Ramirez made it clear he was not in it to win it; he was in it for a bigger pay day.
Despite a 20 million dollar option, Ramirez has been rumored by ESPN.com Insider to have told teammates that he has the best chance now to get a four year, 100 million dollar contract.
Ramirez then came out and said that he was sick of the Red Sox and they were sick of him. After he said that, he also came out and said that the Red Sox didn’t deserve a player like him and if they thought they were a better team without him they should trade him. And this is all on top of his usually shenanigans that are passed off as “Manny being Manny.”
Well, they shipped him off as far away as they could, across the country, to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as part of a three way deal (that also included the Pirates), but are not a better team without him. However, when you make the environment around you like a circus, as Manny did day in and day out, what choice did the Red Sox really have?
The frenzy he would have caused and the distraction he would have been with the team could have arguably caused the Red Sox to miss the playoffs, although, with the trade, that is now a distinct possibility anyway – they just don’t have to deal with Manny.
In return for Ramirez, pitching prospect Craig Hansen, and a lot of cash, the Red Sox got a return in the form of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jason Bay.
Problem is, while Bay is a nice player, he is not Manny. Even Ramirez playing at 75 percent is better than most at 100 percent.
Ramirez, having a down year, is still batting .299 with 20 homers and 68 runs batted in with a .398 on base percentage. He is a great clutch hitter and a presence in the order even when he isn’t batting well – which doesn’t happen often.
Bay on the other hand is having an average season batting .282 with 22 homers and 64 batted in with a very respectable on base percentage of .375; however, hitting in Fenway Park in the American League in the midst of a pennant race and a ton of pressure is much different than playing for the Pirates with a team going no where in a great hitters park and in the National League – which while there is a great debate, it is very arguably the inferior of the two leagues.
Bay will not be able to replace Ramirez by any stretch of the imagination; however, the Red Sox had little choice. Problem is that this obviously hurts the depth of the Red Sox.
J.D. Drew will probably now move back up into the three whole and Bay will likely bat behind David Ortiz. It is a great 3-5 spot in an order, but not the same without Ramirez.
Moving Drew up will hurt the bottom of the order and as I already explained and as common sense will tell you, is that Bay is a big step down from Ramirez, who despite a poor attitude and is a sub-par fielder is arguably one of the best hitters to ever play the game.
If Ramirez could have acted like an adult and honored his contract – a very lucrative contract at that, he could have still made a boat load of money and possibly lead the Red Sox to another World Series. Instead, Ramirez is playing for the Dodgers – a team that is just taking a shot – not being considered a real playoff contender, only having a chance because the first place Diamondbacks are only playing .500 ball and the Red Sox were forced to make a huge downgrade from Ramirez and will probably miss the playoffs or get eliminated very early if a miracle happens and they make the playoffs.
So, because Ramirez couldn’t honor his contract, he will most likely miss the playoff and cause the Sox a playoff run as well. However, Manny will likely get his 100 million dollars at season’s end – which for Manny is the most important thing.
Ramirez did not give the Red Sox much of a choice other than to trade him. After years of acting like a fool, Ramirez made it clear he was not in it to win it; he was in it for a bigger pay day.
Despite a 20 million dollar option, Ramirez has been rumored by ESPN.com Insider to have told teammates that he has the best chance now to get a four year, 100 million dollar contract.
Ramirez then came out and said that he was sick of the Red Sox and they were sick of him. After he said that, he also came out and said that the Red Sox didn’t deserve a player like him and if they thought they were a better team without him they should trade him. And this is all on top of his usually shenanigans that are passed off as “Manny being Manny.”
Well, they shipped him off as far away as they could, across the country, to the Los Angeles Dodgers, as part of a three way deal (that also included the Pirates), but are not a better team without him. However, when you make the environment around you like a circus, as Manny did day in and day out, what choice did the Red Sox really have?
The frenzy he would have caused and the distraction he would have been with the team could have arguably caused the Red Sox to miss the playoffs, although, with the trade, that is now a distinct possibility anyway – they just don’t have to deal with Manny.
In return for Ramirez, pitching prospect Craig Hansen, and a lot of cash, the Red Sox got a return in the form of the Pittsburgh Pirates’ Jason Bay.
Problem is, while Bay is a nice player, he is not Manny. Even Ramirez playing at 75 percent is better than most at 100 percent.
Ramirez, having a down year, is still batting .299 with 20 homers and 68 runs batted in with a .398 on base percentage. He is a great clutch hitter and a presence in the order even when he isn’t batting well – which doesn’t happen often.
Bay on the other hand is having an average season batting .282 with 22 homers and 64 batted in with a very respectable on base percentage of .375; however, hitting in Fenway Park in the American League in the midst of a pennant race and a ton of pressure is much different than playing for the Pirates with a team going no where in a great hitters park and in the National League – which while there is a great debate, it is very arguably the inferior of the two leagues.
Bay will not be able to replace Ramirez by any stretch of the imagination; however, the Red Sox had little choice. Problem is that this obviously hurts the depth of the Red Sox.
J.D. Drew will probably now move back up into the three whole and Bay will likely bat behind David Ortiz. It is a great 3-5 spot in an order, but not the same without Ramirez.
Moving Drew up will hurt the bottom of the order and as I already explained and as common sense will tell you, is that Bay is a big step down from Ramirez, who despite a poor attitude and is a sub-par fielder is arguably one of the best hitters to ever play the game.
If Ramirez could have acted like an adult and honored his contract – a very lucrative contract at that, he could have still made a boat load of money and possibly lead the Red Sox to another World Series. Instead, Ramirez is playing for the Dodgers – a team that is just taking a shot – not being considered a real playoff contender, only having a chance because the first place Diamondbacks are only playing .500 ball and the Red Sox were forced to make a huge downgrade from Ramirez and will probably miss the playoffs or get eliminated very early if a miracle happens and they make the playoffs.
So, because Ramirez couldn’t honor his contract, he will most likely miss the playoff and cause the Sox a playoff run as well. However, Manny will likely get his 100 million dollars at season’s end – which for Manny is the most important thing.
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment