OK, so you’ve all seen my reaction to Manny be shipping out and told not to let the door hit him on the way out. Now let’s look at what else the Sox gave up and what they got in return.

Leaving:
First there’s Craig Hansen. Sox fans have been waiting for three years now for his potential to come anywhere close to his on-field numbers. One day he can make hitters look silly and the next he can’t find the strike zone. Here’s the brilliant part about trading Hansen: he’s out of options. So after this season, if he struggled at the major league level, he couldn’t ride the Pawtuckett express. Using him as trade bait was brilliant.

Even though he’s spent much less time at the major league level than Hansen, I’m much more disappointed to see Brandon Moss leave. Moss wasn’t anything particularly special, but seemed like he was going to turn into a good bench player would could fill in at a number of positions on the diamond. It’s a shame to have to add Moss as a throw in when trading one of the best right-handed hitters the game has ever seen.

Oh, and some guy named Manny.

Arriving:
From the numbers, it looks like this trade is almost a lateral move for the Sox. Jason Bay is hitting 17 points lower than Manny and has two fewer homers, but has four more RBIs, a better OBP and is slugging 75 points higher. That said, we still don’t know how the NL to AL transition will affect his numbers, and, more importantly, I think the entire AL East just threw a party and made Theo the guest of honor because they don’t have to face Manny anymore. Not to mention that Bay is Canadian, and we all know how well the last Canadian the Sox got at the trading deadline panned out (see Gagne, Eric).

In the end, this trade could work out great for the Sox. They could become a more cohesive team, Bay could put up great numbers and they might win another World Series. But right now as a fan, I don’t see how this trade will help the Sox this season. Suddenly the lineup looks ordinary, and no longer has the tandem that will scare any pitcher. I can guarantee you that Big Papi is not a happy man. And when Big Papi’s not happy, I’m not happy.

The dreadlocks. The baggy pants. The goofy double-point.

It’s hard to realize that Manny will no longer be running out of the first base dugout at Fenway to stand in the shadow of the Green Monster. Anybody who isn’t in denial right now is either lying or never liked Manny much in the first place.

We’ll miss the hitting (of course), and we’ll miss his ability to play balls off the Monster, but losing Manny is so much bigger than just his bat. For all his quirks, Manny never meant any harm (except perhaps to Jack McCormick). Let me repeat that: Manny never meant any harm. Hey may have been a handful at times, but did you ever think that there was malicious intent behind his antics? Think about how many of today’s superstars that are labeled “clubhouse cancers.” They have their own agenda and couldn’t care less about other people. Would you rather have all the motives of a Gary Sheffield, or Manny Ramirez? It’s not a question. Manny, for all his ups and downs, was just a goofy guy. He meant well but the Boston media wouldn’t let him be. (I’m looking at you Shaugnessy, Ryan and even the great and powerful Gammons.)

What few people seem realize is how much Manny loved the game. He had fun. If you didn’t know any better you’d think he was playing in a co-ed corporate softball league. He didn’t care about the money, or the fame. He didn’t mind if he screwed up in the field (which he did once or twice), or had been one for his last 27, he just enjoyed getting to swing the bat and talk with the fans and sometimes even high-five them in the middle of a play.

Manny joined the Sox in 2000, and more than any other Sox player had to live through a number of painful, mediocre seasons before finally striking gold. We all love Papi, but Papi only had to sit through the sludge of “wait till next year” once. Manny learned and lived with the pain of Boston, he knew what it felt like to have a bad season, to feel the pressure of the city. Not only did he not let it get him down, he embraced it and helped bring the Sox to the promised land not once, but twice.

Manny was an “idiot” in 2004, and a “bad man” in 2007. I know that as fans we’re supposed to root for “the laundry,” but let’s be honest, some players you embrace more than others. Manny was certainly one of those players.

Manny Ramirez leaving the Red Sox is not just one player leaving, it marks the end of an era; the most successful era the Red Sox had seen in almost a century. I had hoped that Manny would not only finish the season in Boston but have both of his options picked up so he could have played for the Sox for 10 years. I wanted his number 24 to sit alongside Doerr’s, Cronin’s, Yaz’s, Teddy Ballgame’s, and Fisk’s in right field. Manny did more for the city of Boston and the Red Sox organization than people will realize until it’s too late. And he always did it with a smile. So long Manny, we hardly knew ye.

(By the way, how strange is it to think of Manny playing for Joe Torre?)

UPDATE: I actually wrote this up last night, before we knew if Manny was actually going to be a Red Sox on August 1, 2008. This post is not specifically about the trade, or more accurately, what the Sox got in return for Manny. There will be a post later about the Sox and the trading deadline.

To: All Red Sox players
From: Red Sox Management

We know that the first and the last of the month is when you generally pick up your salary checks, but this pay period things are going to work a little differently. Josh, Jon, Dasiuke, Timmy, Clay, Dustin and Paps: please swing by Theo’s office sometime tomorrow between 10 and 5.

For everybody else, please join us in the third floor conference room at 7pm tomorrow. We’re going to have a little ceremony where we burn you paychecks one by one as you watch. Hopefully, this process should take about three hours. Maybe then you’ll know what it feels like to be a fan watching this offense put up craptacular numbers day after day after day.

If you can’t make it, don’t worry, we know where you live and hope you enjoy the flaming bag of crap on your doorstep. Inside is your paycheck too. This should also provide a nice simulation of the recent fan experience for you.

Let’s only do this once, ok guys?

Thanks,
-Theo and company

It’s a sad, sad state of affairs at Fenway when a Dustin Pedroia single with one out and nobody on is reason for ecstatic celebration. Really, breaking up a no-hitter in the ninth is a mixed state of emotions. On the one hand, you’re happy and relieved that you’re team isn’t going to get no-hit (sorry Kansas City), but on the other, you have to wonder “how did it take my team 25 outs to get to this point?” But I’d bet that if you had a camera on a bar crowd for Dustin’s hit in the 9th and compared the video to that of the same bar for a Big Papi walk-off you wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.

To be fair, John Lackey pitched a hell of a game, especially considering that he probably wakes up in cold sweats after seeing Red Sox jerseys in his nightmares. Coming into today, the guy had a 5.53 ERA against the Sox not including his loss in game one of last season’s ALDS. But in some ways that makes his complete game win even worse (note how I didn’t say shutout…thanks Youks!).

At least the Sox may have some momentum to carry into tomorrow. The MFY, well, they scored 3 runs in the ninth and had the tying run on 2nd with one out but couldn’t get him home. I bet they really wish they had a 1-out single in the ninth!

Let’s be perfectly honest, the Red Sox are not a good ballclub right now. The starting pitching has been mediocre (with the exception of Lester), the offense has left-on-base-itis, and the bullpen is, well, the 2008 Red Sox bullpen. In fact, after watching last night’s game it makes you realize how amazing Lester has been. One night you see Lester man-up with the bases loaded and minimize the damage. Then Dice-K comes along and has a Derek Lowe sized collapse in the 6th the next night. For all the people complaining about Manny, it’s not like you can expect him to get eight runs a night on his own. Sure, The The Angels Angels of Anaheim have the best record in baseball right now, but the Sox had more than enough chances to steal this game back and crumbled each and every time. On a night like this, we should just be glad that the MFYs and Devil Rays also took the L.

Before we get to the Sox-Yanks series this weekend, let’s take a quick look back at the Mariners series over the weekend. Not because you’d need Mr. Peabody and his wayback machine to remember the last time the Sox swept a series on the road, but because you might have been lucky enough to listen to the games on XM. If you did, you got to hear the great Dave Niehaus, who finally was immortalized in Cooperstown today. Congrats Dave, it’s about time!

While we’re on the subject of great broadcasters, thank you to Jon Miller for the wonderful shout-out during tonight’s Sunday Night Baseball game. In the top of the 2nd, Jon was kind enough to quote from one of my posts and put it up in a much more attractive graphic than I could have created. I’m guessing one or two of you noticed, which explains why you’re here. To say I was surprised would be a complete understatement. As a blogger, it’s hard to beat getting to write about your team winning the World Series, but this is a VERY close second place, especially since it’s the one game Joe Morgan WASN’T on. Although next time Jon, please, make my blog the throw away comment in the 9th and put up the graphic for Dave. He deserves it just a tad more.

Here’s the audio from ESPN:

Going into tonight’s matchup, it was probably the biggest game of the season so far for the Sox. If they lost and got swept at home, the Sox would suddenly be sitting in third place behind the Devil Rays and MFY. If they salvaged the series by winning the last game, they’re in second place, a game behind first place and two ahead of the third-place MFY. On top of all that, we have a new chapter in the Manny Being Manny saga and Emperor Palpatine (aka Brian Cashman) has once again used The Force to brainwash another GM to acquire their star players (Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte) for 3 bats and a couple of hot dogs.

As for the game, Sir Sidney, meet “regression to the mean.” I’m glad that the Sox realized that a 6-1 record and a 4.02 ERA don’t match. They quickly supported Lester with seven runs in four innings, punctuated with a Big Papi 2-run blast to finish the fourth. (For comparison, the Sox had scored a total of 8 runs in their last 4 games.)

On the other side Lester looked like the 2008 Lester we’ve come to love, at least for the first four innings. However, in the fifth, he suddenly reverted back to the 2006 Lester. He couldn’t find the strike zone, and suddenly had allowed 2 runs and still had the bases loaded with nobody out. But, just like the 2006 Lester, Jon managed to limit the damage and get out of the inning without giving up anything else against A-Rod, Nady and Cano. Then he retired the next six in order. Sounds like what a stopper should do.

The The Angels Angels of Anaheim come into town starting Monday. Let’s hope for some Sox payback for last week.

(Thanks to Paul Kafasis from Rogue Amoeba for the audio.)

Holy crap, I think Tito may be on to something here. I know it’s only one game, but maybe he’s finally found a plan to win on the road:

• Have your starter pitch into the 8th
• Bring in Paps to close (note the absence of any mention of the middle-relief)
• Don’t allow a single run
• Have Tek hit a home run

Simple, right? Well, except for the Tek part. Don’t worry, he also made inning-ending outs with the bases full twice in the game. But at this point, I won’t knock any road win.

It was kind of the Sox to be in first place over the All-star break so we could enjoy it for a few days. Of course, they then got swept by The The Angels Angels of Anaheim (or, if you prefer, Los Los Angeles Angeles de Anaheim). How do you lose to a team who belongs in the department of redundancy department?

In much better news, it looks like Papi will be rejoining the team later this week. Which is wonderful, since All Star MVP JD has magically transformed into Nancy again.

Well, that’s finally over. And I’m not talking about the game itself, I’d have been happy to see that go 20 innings even with the MFY fans booing every player not named Rivera. I’m just glad this whole event is done. No more Fox commercials heralding the beauty of Yankee Stadium. No more pictures of A-Rod as godzilla on top of the Empire State Building.

I really don’t think I’ve ever seen such a clueless crowd as the one last night. Tito, in a very classy move, removes A-Rod and Jeter for defensive replacements. This earns a weak round of applause. But when Papelbon enters the game, thunderous booing. When JD Drew hits a game tying 2-run homer with two down in the 7th (you know, since those MFY all-stars couldn’t get the job done), more booing. About the only thing they could agree on to cheer for was Rivera…who almost blew the game.

Watching the Sox wear their home whites at the Toilet was, for lack of a better term, bizarre. In fact, it was strange seeing any white jerseys that weren’t pinstriped in that stadium. But the weirdest thing might have been Tito sitting in the dugout wearing a jersey. We’ve watched him manage the Sox for 4.5 years, 2 World Series Championships and now 2 All-Star games, and I bet you couldn’t find 5 Sox fans who could tell you that Tito’s jersey’ number was 47.

But even despite the boos and the MFY fans who made the AL All Stars not in pinstripes feel like they were being welcomed to the 5th circle of hell, it was the best All Star Game I can remember. You want extras? Sure, how about 6 of them? How do plays at the plate sound? Great pitching? Two AL comebacks in 2 innings? And to top it off, how about a Sox player being named AL MVP in the House that Ruth built? (The outcome was never a question since this man gave his ASG pre-game speech.)

I just wish that instead of a trophy JD got to light the match to burn the Toilet to the ground…with the great Yankee ghosts still inside.

A week ago, I’d be lying if I said that I expected the Sox to be five games back in the division behind the Devil Rays. While the D-Rays probably were not going to stay atop the AL East for the rest of the season, I’d also be lying if I said that I had predicted the Sox would be looking down on them in the standings by the All Star Break. Making up 5.5 games in a week is epic. If this happened the last week of the season instead of the last week before the break, it would be talked about as one of the greatest comebacks to steal a division title in history.

Of course, it helps for the Sox to play in Fenway (aka “Manny’s Playhouse”) instead of on the road. Manny has started crushing the ball again, and when he does he’s started with this new two handed chest tap as if to say, “Mom, look, I made this!”. Plus he’s got his friends in the Monster, probably expecting Jambi to talk to him through the hole in the scoreboard while he’s playing left field. You know Chairry is somewhere in the clubhouse. (Maybe that’s what the Jack McCormick argument was about, I wonder if he told Manny that Chairry couldn’t come with them on the road trip…)

But I digress, the Sox are in first place at the break. A Red Sox manager will be managing an all-star team that is starting 1/3 Sox players in The Toilet, and soon this freaking All Star game will be over so we no longer have to hear about the wonder and majesty of a stadium where the fans take pride in making 12-year olds cry. I can’t wait until it’s just rubble. Enjoy the game!

If Papi is the last person opposing teams want to see up in the 9th+ innings, Manny is trying to do the same for the 8th. We know Manny and the 9th usually don’t go well together (remember how he watched three straight strikes with the go-ahead runner on 3rd at the Toilet the other day). The 8th inning is becoming a different story though. Yesterday, he gets a base hit to bring in the go-ahead run after being down 0-2. Tonight, he takes it a step further and deposits one into the Monster seats to tie the game up at 5 in the 8th. For all the people (McCarver and his protege in stupidity Joe Morgan) who keep saying that Manny can’t hit the fastball, here’s a news flash: neither of those pitches were below 95mph. But what was the most fun was watching him round the bases with a smile that only rivals Big Papi’s. Remember American League: the Bad Man is back!