Manny Ramirez has more RBIs than any other player in Major League Baseball since 1993. He was the 2004 World Series MVP. He's an 11-time All Star. He has 9 Silver Slugger awards. And he has 2 World Series rings. So why are the Boston Red Sox itching to get rid of him?
This kind of reminds me of the Dave Chappelle skit titled "When keeping it real goes wrong." The Red Sox management is tired of the shenanigans, I get that! And anyone who's ever been in charge of anything can testify to having the one guy on your squad who's a pain in the ass but is also the best player on the team or your best employee. But drawing a line in the sand right now does what for the Red Sox exactly?
It's not like Manny has them by the short ones; no player is that valuable. But at this point in the season with the Red Sox having a real chance of a repeat World Series Trophy, would you pull Manny's leash right now or would you continue what you've been doing ignoring his behavior?
Manny's been paid $168 million including the end of this season. With the option for $20 million each of the next two years, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say it's not about money. Red Sox management has never publicly, until recently, aired their dirty Manny laundry in public. So Manny's making $170 million, not being disrespected, what's it about?
It can't all be attitude as Peter Gammons would have you believe last night during the Yankees/Red Sox ESPN broadcast. Gammons paints Manny as an ungrateful, ill-tempered, moody child who needs to be disciplined and eventually banished from Red Sox nation at the end of the season.
Yes and no!
Manny wasn't hired by present Red Sox management. None of them had a say in his eight year contract he's done with at the end of this season. Maybe Manny isn't getting the group hugs with the rest of the team that Epstein and Henry put together? Maybe Manny feels like an outsider on his own team and wants to go somewhere where he's the "Big Cheese" again.
In my eyes, the Red Sox are the Manny Ramirez show. But recent polls say the most recognized player on the Red Sox is David Ortiz. But Manny's the cleanup man, not the insurance, he's an equal helping of David Ortiz's power at bats. Pitch around Ortiz? Sure, but are you pitching around Manny too? By that time, bases are loaded and the hit machines Youkilis and Lowell are up. A couple of errant pitches and you're down 2 or 3 runs.
Manny is more important that he thinks he is and Red Sox management knows there's no way they're going to trade for a power bat this late in the season. The trade deadline is Thursday, so I don't expect Manny to be anything else other than a Red Sox Friday morning.
But the big event comes in the off season when it's time to make a decision about picking up Manny's contract option.
I'm going out on a limb here like BSO usually does. No I'm not picking the Lakers over the Celtics but I will go on record and say Manny's a Red Sox next year.
[Wipes sweat from brow!]
Manny needs to shut the hell up and just play
That's just Manny being Manny
Manny isn't going anywhere and the Sox are going to win another world series screw the Yankees