Posted by Teddy Panos, Sun Staf
With the clock ticking down on today's 4pm trade deadline, the Red Sox finally unloaded Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers and got back Pittsburgh's Jason Bay. The Sox also sent Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss to the Pirates.
I think Theo Epstein did about as well as he could here. Bay is a good player, who if he adjusts to American League pitching, will not only help this year, but end up giving Boston more production going forward than an aging and sulking Manny might have. After what's transpired, there was no going back. Scott Boras had Manny's ear and was spoon-feeding him lines to shoot his way out of town and out of that contract, so that Boras could collect the commission. The big risk is that Bay takes too long to adjust to American League pitching, a la J.D. Drew.
I'll give Theo and the Sox two thumbs up here for not only making the best of a bad situation, but possibly improving the team in the future.
That's my take...what's yours?
I agree Teddy. They got a good OF that may (I stress may) match Manny's future production for a guy (Manny) they were trying to dump.
And everybody on ESPN is crying over Hansen...gimme a break!
I don't care if Hansen turns into the second coming of Goose Gossage in Pittsburgh, It was never going to happen for him here (and I doubt it will happen for him anywhere else). This was one draft pick Theo got wrong, and getting him out of here will only clear the path for a real prospect to get here sooner, be it next year or the year after.
I can't see how you can criticize this deal for Boston. They unloaded a player (Manny) who was just going to cause trouble for the rest of the year and maybe even tank it with a fake injury. In return, they got a legitimate all-star caliber player. If you look throughout history, when a team has been forced to trade a malcontent, they usually get nothing in return but prospects, and very rarely any sure thing prospects. Had the Sox settled for that, there would have been an uproar (rightfully so) that they gave up on the season. Instead, they got a power bat they can stick behind Papi in the lineup and perhaps even keep around for another 4-5 years at a reduced price from Ramirez.
The more I think about it, the more I think it's a GREAT trade considering the circumstances. Theo really pulled a rabbit out of the hat here. He should be commended, not criticized.
I have to admit, I've always been a big Manny Supporter, and i did not want to see him go. But he did get a little ridiculous this season. I don't even mind that he slapped Youk to be honest, or that he threw what's his name to the ground and told him to do his job. Both those guys probably got what they deserved. But ripping the team publicly, and that stupid sign the other night.... Actually Manny has been behaving a bit Favre - ish lately. I don't think the Sox had much of a choice here, And i guess they got a decent outfielder as well. Only thing is how will this "power bat" perform in the AL Teddy? But hey, i think theo deserves our trust at this point. He did give Boston 2 World Series.... He's kind of like a bellicheck in my eyes at this point..... So good riddance Manny, get on your bannana boat and go back where you came from
I agree that the Sox made the best they could out of a bad situation by acquiring Jason Bay. Saw him play since his days with the Vermont Expos of the NY-Penn league and always thought he had a ton of talent.
He will not be the "feared hitter" Manny is/has been but he will be a solid contributor in that lineup and he has pretty good speed, he's a decent OF, and has a decent arm. The thing to realize is that he did his damage in Pittsburgh with NO ONE to protect him in the lineup. Ideally he will NOT be dropped into the cleanup spot- at least not initially but for being put in the spot he was I think Theo got himself a darned good player and didn't give up any pieces that will really hurt long-term since you know Manny was gonna just stir up trouble until he found a new place to play. Ironically for Sox fans- now he's Joe Torre's problem!
The other side of this that no one is really considering is that for 2009 the Sox are in a lot better shape. Bay has a pretty cheap contract and he's locked up for '09 so if they want they can take the difference between Manny's salary and Bay's (roughly $12 mil) and do something else with it - be it extensions for guys like Pedroia, Papelbon, etc or maybe an extension for Bay if he proves he can play well in Boston. Gives them a bit of flexibility in the future. Bottom line - I like the deal. Sox were not going to win a WS with Manny (sad to say) but at least with a competent replacement maybe the air around this team will change and they'll start to play some better ball again.
It's a sad day in Red Sox nation today. The Red Sox are a lesser team than they were yesterday. Couldn't Red Sox management just tell Manny that they were not going to pick up the option and let him play the year out? Or would he still have been an idiot? Would he have stopped the nonsense if they did? Probably not, and they probably did the right thing, but Manny's gone, the Red Sox lineup is not as potent without him and he will probably be wearing pin stripes next year!