Surprise, surprise, another columnist who wants Manny gone. I better
get use to this. The next couple of months are going to be crazy with
all this "get rid of Manny" crap. :(

Lynne

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BOSTON -- We may never know why he wants out of a city that worships
him, warts and all, but if you're the Red Sox, you don't waste time
asking questions. You pull the trigger before he changes his mind.

The Sox catch a break, for a change. They get lucky with Manny
Ramirez. He wants to play somewhere else next season, and apparently
he's not all that picky about where. He has given the Red Sox a list
of teams to which he would accept a trade, and according to TV analyst
Jerry Remy that list is at least 10 teams long.

So it is time to end this annual charade, and let the bidding begin.
The Sox have dangled Manny on the trade market for years, but never
found a deal that made sense for the team. Now Theo Epstein and Co.
can look back on those trades-not-made and laugh: Can you believe we
actually thought about paying part of Manny's salary?

No more of that talk. No more irrevocable waivers for the future Hall
of Famer. The Sox played this one right. They waited, showed some
uncharacteristic patience, and even let Manny gain veto power as a
10-5 guy. It turned out to be one of the smartest non-moves they've
made in the Epstein-Lucchino-Henry era. The stars are aligned in their
favor now, and the time has come to make the deal and address some of
the many needs this club has heading into 2007. Terry Francona can
stop eating Advil like M & Ms. The manager's biggest headache is on
the way out the door.

The market has a changed, the demand for sluggers has exploded and
Manny now looks like a Wal-Mart special: He has two years left on his
contract at approximately $17 million a year, which happens to be the
same annual salary the Chicago Cubs have agreed to pay Alfonso Soriano
for the next eight years. There were a half-dozen teams in the Soriano
sweepstakes, and there is no doubt that some of those he left at the
altar will now turn their attention to Ramirez.

Unless those teams really had their hearts set on a clean-up hitter
who could steal 40 bases, there is not much Soriano can do that Manny
cannot. Indeed, you would think the guy who just landed the
fifth-largest contract in baseball history might be a big
run-producer. He is not. Soriano hit 46 home runs last year, but he
was a leadoff hitter who didn't get on base. His .351 on-base
percentage was 91st in the big leagues. He hit .231 with runners in
scoring position, .197 with two outs and runners in scoring position.
He had 67 walks and 160 strikeouts. He was not the best hitter in
baseball, or even close. Just the best available on the free agent market.

So why did Soriano get $136 million? Because major league teams have
lost their minds again. After a few years of fiscal restraint, a
period of time in which a team like Texas had to kick in $9 million a
year just to rid itself of Alex Rodriguez, baseball owners are once
again acting like Elton John on sale day at Chico's. They have money.
They have emotions, and sometimes those emotions get the better of
them. (See: Renteria, Edgar)

Soriano is just the first of the overpriced baubles to get snapped up
in this crazy climate. Someone is going to give Carlos Lee $65-$70
million. Some fool might even throw $50 million at J.D. Drew, who
drove 100 runs last season, the first time in his career he has
reached the century mark.

We can only imagine what a truly productive hitter would be worth on
this market. A guy like Manny, for instance.

Angels owner Arte Moreno is, by all accounts, lusting after a big bat
to protect Vladimir Guerrero in the lineup. The New York Daily News
reported yesterday that Moreno is exploring a trade for Ramirez. The
Angels just signed free agent reliever Justin Speier and would appear
to have what the Sox are looking for - young, hard-throwing relievers.

The Red Sox will have to find a cleanup hitter to replace Ramirez and
protect David Ortiz in the lineup, but the St. Louis Cardinals just
won a World Series with an over-the-hill Jim Edmonds and a wounded
Scott Rolen behind Albert Pujols. The fact is a starting pitching
staff is more important than a great cleanup hitter, and the Sox have
one of those. Now they need a closer. They can worry about who's
hitting cleanup later.

Many Sox fans will lament the loss of Manny, who could lay down on his
team one day and receive a standing ovation three days later. Kids
adored him. His story was one of unrequited love; you loved him,
Boston, even though he never loved you back. Many players say this is
the greatest city in the world in which to play baseball. Manny can
think of at least 10 other places he'd like to play.

It's time to pick one of those teams and let Manny be on his way. The
Sox got six good years out of him. He turns 35 in May. They shouldn't
push their luck. If Manny is still around when all those Japanese
camera crews arrive, it won't be pretty. He might crawl into The Wall
and never come out.

Source: Gerry Callahan / BostonHerald.com