Goodbye Manny
I’ve said it many times. I’m a baseball fan first and foremost. I have never once tried to hide my Red Sox bias on this page, and I won’t try to do it here.
The Manny Ramirez trade had to be done. No question about it, Manny needed to be out of Boston, and he needed to be out ASAP. But the way everything went down in the past couple of weeks might have damaged baseball more than anything else.
What we saw today was just the latest and most high-profile example of a petulant, crybaby superstar who never wanted to be in the city he was in. And once again, the athletes have all of the power in these situations. Especially in baseball where the contracts are guaranteed, and a player can simply sit down if he no longer wants to play for his team.
Sure, Manny might get branded as a quitter, or a clubhouse cancer. But Manny’s reputation around the majors already precedes him. Teams know what they’re getting in Manny when he signs his next $80M contract in November – they’ll get a .290 hitter with 25-35 homeruns and somewhere around 95+ RBIs, and probably about 135 games played and at least three to five legitimate “sit down” games where Manny just doesn’t feel like doing his job.
It’s a sad state when an athlete can shoot his way out of town and get rewarded four months later with a massive contract, but it’s not the first time we’ve seen it, and it’s probably not going to be the last. I don’t know why I’m even surprised anymore.
As for the trade itself, let me be very up front about this. I like Jason Bay. When I lived in Pittsburgh, I had the opportunity to watch him play a lot. I think he’ll do very well in Boston. But I hate how much Boston sacrificed for what is essentially a lateral move.
Maybe Manny was such a headache in the clubhouse that everyone will perk up just with his absence. Maybe Brandon Moss & Craig Hansen will never pan out. Maybe the two draft picks that the Dodgers are now going to get when Manny walks away next year will never even get a cup of coffee in the majors. And obviously the Red Sox aren’t against paying other teams to take players off their hands (see Renteria, Edgar). But to give all that up just to get rid of a problem child seems a little ridiculous.
Of course, the Red Sox weren’t going anywhere with Manny this year. He would have continued to be a problem, perhaps even leading to a situation like the Angels had with Jose Guillen a few years back when they simply told him to stay home and collect a paycheck. So if getting rid of Manny was the ultimate goal, then so be it.
Personally, Manny lost me a few years back when he refused to come into a game in Tampa Bay after Trot Nixon was injured and unable to play, simply because Terry Francona had promised Manny the day off. The same game in which Matt Clement took a line drive off his head and people wondered if he was alive or dead. Manny couldn’t be bothered to get off his ass and help his teammates out by playing a couple of innings in the field. That one game summed up Manny’s time here for me – his teammates were doing everything they could do to help the team get through the game, and Manny sat in the dugout with his feet propped up spitting seeds.
For me, I say goodbye with no regrets.
Labels: Dodgers, Good Riddance, Manny, MLB, Pirates, Ramirez, Red Sox, Trade
Never too early to start planning
With the 2007 non-waiver trading deadline in the rear-view mirror, I thought I'd take some time to look through the crystal ball at the names being thrown around at this time next year. Well, not exactly this time - actually, 364 days from now (love the leap year), but you all get the point.
With
Johna Santana's comments to the media recently showing his feelings about the Twins' organization and their spendthrift policies, it's not hard to imagine a feeding frenzy at the trading deadline. The Red Sox, Yankees, Mets, Braves, Cubs, White Sox, Dodgers, Angels... pretty much every team not named "The Twins" are going to get into a bidding war over him.
In fact, the Twins stand to lose quite a bit of talent over the next two seasons, with Torii Hunter leaving town after this year ends, and Santana & Joe Nathan both eligible to hit the Powerball after 2008. There were never any legit rumors involving Hunter at this year's deadline (surprising, considering the Twins don't appear to be going anywhere in the standings), but don't expect next July to pass without Johan & Nathan's names popping up every thirty seconds or so in the next great Rumor Central blockbuster.
Two other names on a team going nowhere that are likely to pop up next season are down in South Florida - Dontrelle Willis & Miguel Cabrera. Both are arbitration eligible through 2009, but the Marlins would be crazy not to at least entertain offers for one or both of these guys. Sure, they could hold on to them through that one final season (talking about '09), hope the pieces come together and they make a playoff run (let's face it - it's the Marlins. A franchise that has never lost a playoff series), and with the third ring in twelve years, the city of Miami builds them a new ballpark. That's a perfect world type of situation.
Or, they could deal away their two biggest chips, rebuild around Dan Uggla, Josh Willingham, Mike Jacobs and Josh Johnson (oh, and some kid named Hanley...) and shoot for 2011 and beyond. Let's face it - Dontrelle isn't the pitcher he was three years ago, and Cabrera is growing more, uh,
large with each passing day. Why not deal a little early on two mid-20's stars that could return enough talent to your system to fill your everyday roster from now until the next Bush is elected to the White House? We all know Florida certainly isn't going to pay them, and they aren't going to import any free agent talent worth a shit to help the team contend while Miggy & Cabrera are still there, so cut bait now and refill the farm system.
Finally, the Reds should still have both Ken Griffey Jr. and Adam Dunn. But it's the Reds - they'll probably let Dunn walk and try to get Griffey signed long term...
Of course, if the '08 deadline is anything like the last few, we'll see one major move, one mid-major move, and a lot of "Wow, this was so close - it all broke down at the last minute" stories involving everybody under the sun.
Lata.
Labels: GMs get paid for this?, MLB, Rumors, Trade
Boston Celtics Rebuilding Plan, Version 4.9.2.4824...
Let me begin by saying one thing: I'm not much for using my imagination any more than I have to. I prefer to have things cut and dried, laid out before me. I choose what I like or don't like, and that's that.
Which is why last night's NBA draft threw me a complete curveball. For the past week or so, all Celtics' fans have heard about was "We're getting KG... no, Marion... no, Jermaine O'Neal... wait, maybe Kobe?" Then, for awhile, it looked like the C's were going to package Paul Pierce up and start from scratch. Again. Which probably would have made me cut the last shred of a tie that I have with the team.
Then came yesterday. The news started crawling along that a package was in the works with Seattle, basically centering around Ray Allen for the #5 overall pick in the draft, with contracts to be added. When I first heard about it, I was not a fan. Ray Allen, though a great scorer when his shot is on, is essentially a better outside shooting version of Paul Pierce, or worse yet, Antoine Walker. Plus, he's coming off of double-ankle surgery this offseason - not exactly a gold star for someone who relies on a jump shot. And naturally, he's on a max contract.
Not to mention my assumption that any trade offer for a guy with Allen's reputation would probably have to include either Gerald Green, Al Jefferson or the only real trading chip the C's had, Theo Ratliff's contract.
But then the reports started trickling in - Ray Allen and the Sonics' 2nd round pick for the #5, Delonte West and Wally Szcerbiak's yearly knee injury. Well hey now, that's a whole different story. Somehow, Danny Ainge managed to pull off what, on the surface, looks like a no-brainer trade. They gave away a the #5 draft pick in a 2-man draft (3 if you count Horford), a 1/2 hybrid player in WEst who, though he improved immensly last year, will probably never be able to handle PG or SG duties exclusively in the NBA, and a major contract for a very good shooter who can't play defense or stay on the floor.
What they got in return was a major contract for a very good shooter who can't play defense or stay on the floor and a hugely underrated big man in the second round ("Big Baby" Davis), assuming he can get his weight in check. Plus, Davis should have a chip on his shoulder, since he was expecting to go in the teens and somehow slipped to #35 overall.
Right now, the C's have an Opening Night starting five of Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce, Ray Allen, Al Jefferson and either Davis or Kedrick Perkins. That's not too bad - two max veterans with something left to prove in pursuit of a ring, and a handful of very good, very affordable young guys. Plus they managed to hold on to their only real tradeable contract, and the player with the most "Imagination potential" in Gerald Green.
Sure, they might give up 115 points a night, since Ray Allen has never played defense well, and Paul Pierce has slipped lately (in fact, that could be a real problem since players will drive the lane and draw contact calls on Jefferson, Perkins and Davis), but if they can score 120, the numbers will even out.
They probably don't win the East next year - I'll settle for an Atlantic Division title and a Top-4 playoff seed, preferrably advancing at least one round. But they just got a hell of a lot better than the team that was desperate to land a top-2 draft pick three months ago.
Lata.
Labels: Celtics, Draft, NBA, NBA Draft, Playoffs here we come, Trade
