...being...

I have to admit. I am really sorry to see Manny go.

During the Red Sox recent resurgence (03-08) Manny has been the teams most valuable player. Hands down. No doubt about it.

No one else has consistently put up those kind of numbers over that period of time. Most players haven't even been on the team that long.

Not Lowell, not Schilling, not Beckett, not Youkilis, not Pedroia. Not even Papelbon. Not even David Ortiz.

Not even David Ortiz has put up the sort of consistent high quality numbers that Manny Ramirez has.


I was watching a game the other night. I believe we were playing the Angels. But can not be sure. Ortiz was up. Other team had the shift on. Ortiz lined the ball right to the second baseman. Ortiz jogged to 1st.

Inning over.

Several innings later Manny grounded out to shortstop. He jogged to 1st. The boos came raining out of the crowd.


Maybe there is some truth to what Manny was saying right before he got traded.

Up until a few days ago I did not think there was any shot Manny got traded. More than that, I thought it would be terrible for the team. I thought it would be terrible for Manny.

But, for whatever reason, Manny escalated things to a point that neither side could escape from. Manny had to be traded. We could have taken scraps in return. Both sides still would have been better off.

Jason Bay is a pretty damned good hitter. But he ain't no Manny.

Earlier in the season Manny was talking about wanting to retire as a member of the Red Sox. It seemed like a win win situation. Manny could have went down as one of the all-time greats to play for the team. He made a ton of money. He could have continued to do so. And he earned every penny. He won 2 world series in 4 years and was on a team that was going to compete for at least the next few years.

Something went wrong. I'm not really sure what. And it is probably the case most of us never will.

I hope that Red Sox fans can look back on the time that he was hear and appreciate all that he did for the team. I hope they can appreciate all he did for them. Manny had fun . He often made some hair brain moves. But he worked at the game. He worked hard. You don't hit that well that consistently without working at it. And he was alot better in the field than anyone gives him credit for.

I am sorry to see Manny go.