Another one - this time from Mike Bauman, "The Hot Stove" at MLB.com.

Lynne

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Manny Ramirez trade reports are a staple of the baseball calendar,
occurring on an annual basis with the certainty of Opening Day or the
All-Star Game.

For a guy who is always rumored to be on his way somewhere else, Manny
has only played for two teams in a Major League career that stretches
back to 1993. He has actually never been traded, being signed by the
Boston Red Sox as a free agent after playing for the Cleveland Indians
through the 2000 season.

But this latest Manny Ramirez trade report is the best one yet. And
when we say "best" here, we mean best in terms of newsiest, juiciest,
with the biggest ramifications. This Ramirez trade report has a
remarkable ripple effect attached to it.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported Monday that the Giants were
discussing a trade with the Red Sox for Ramirez. If the Giants were to
trade for Ramirez, that would mean that they would have no further
need for the incumbent left fielder, Barry Bonds.

Bonds' status is one of the major subplots of the 2006-07 offseason.
He is closing in on Henry Aaron's career home run record, and would
doubtless sell tickets on that basis wherever he goes.

San Francisco is the one place where people would be cheering his home
run progress rather than jeering it. On the other hand, he is now a
liability in left field. Bonds is still a fan favorite in San
Francisco, but there is plenty of baggage attached to him, including
the possibility of an indictment by a federal grand jury. Everything
else being equal, if Bonds could be a fit anywhere else, the American
League looks like a safer bet because there he would not have to play
left field. He reportedly still wants to play left field, but that
does not mean that he can actually function there.

Will the Giants, in the midst of attempting to remake an aging team,
make a major effort to re-sign him? Not if they trade for Manny Ramirez.

Ramirez is a remarkable run-producing talent, one of the game's best,
year in and year out. But what puts him on the theoretical trading
block so often is a personality that could charitably be described as
enigmatic.

"Nobody in the world knows what is going on in his head," Grady Little
said, at a time when he was managing the Red Sox.

When things are going well, when Ramirez is driving in runs on a daily
basis and is not himself demanding a trade, any inexplicable conduct
on his part is described by the Boston media as: "Manny being Manny."
This is a phrase full of forgiveness, if not comprehension.

When Ramirez sulks and takes a seat as he did late in the 2006 season,
it is no longer cute, and his removal from Boston is demanded by
members of the media as a matter of civic obligation.

It bounces back and forth like this, but most of the time, when Manny
plays, Manny hits and all else is forgiven.

Two things make a Ramirez trade report seem more likely now. One is
that the Red Sox are vigorously pursuing free-agent outfielder J.D.
Drew. If they land him, that could make Ramirez expendable.

In the past, Manny's contract made him a less viable trading
commodity. The $168-million, eight-year deal seemed a little on the
excessive side for many franchises.

But this offseason, with the long and completely expensive contracts
lavished on outfielders Alfonso Soriano and Carlos Lee, the $38
million and two years remaining on the Ramirez contract no longer seem
out of the question.

So Ramirez is more movable than he was earlier in his career. And this
latest trade report, carrying with it the possibility of making Barry
Bonds an ex-Giant, would mean a fundamental change not only in Manny's
circumstances, but in the game's circumstances.

Which other team would take on Barry Bonds, with the plusses and the
minuses all so very apparent? How many would be willing to do this?
And what's the going rate for a man who is an automatic ticket-seller,
but is also the most controversial figure in the contemporary game?

Perhaps the answers to all of those questions will be made available.
But first there would have to be the Manny Ramirez trade. Is this
finally the Manny trade that actually happens?

Or is this one more example of Manny being Manny being not quite traded?