Manny Being Shopped

by Ernie Siciliano

The Boston Red Sox are sick of Manny Ramirez being Manny Ramirez. So sick that according to a recent rumor they offered Ramirez, Matt Clement, and cash to Baltimore for Miguel Tejada. Now that is sick.  

For the sake of argument let’s assume Miguel Tejada and Manny Ramirez are equally talented hitters (as I’ll explain later that’s not the case, Ramirez is better). The Red Sox then want to sweeten the deal by adding Matt Clement, their opening day starter last year and a guy who went 13-6, and pay the Orioles cash to ensure that the deal is completed.
Based on that one-sided trade proposal, one must conclude that the Red Sox believe that Manny Ramirez will aggressively attempt to sabotage the 2006 season and so the Red Sox must trade him at all costs.

While it is common knowledge that Ramirez’s agent has on multiple occasions requested a trade from Red Sox management, there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that if the Red Sox do not honor that request Manny will do anything to disrupt the clubhouse.

Consider last year. Around the trading deadline a supposedly disgruntled Manny requested a trade, and the Red Sox were more than happy to ignore filling obvious bullpen holes and focus on dealing him. The efforts to trade him failed, and almost immediately after the trading deadline, Ramirez entered a game as a pinch-hitter and promptly smacked a game-winning single. That week, he was baseball’s player of the week, earning the honor for a record 14th time.

Maybe Red Sox management thinks he will walk into the Green Monster during a pitching change, like he did last year, but refuse to come out because he is having a drink with Enrique Wilson, but that seems unlikely.

More likely is that Manny will be Manny. He will be one of the first players to arrive at the stadium to go through his maniacal pre-game routine. He will hit over .300 with 40 homers and 140 RBIs, and cement himself as a first ballot hall of famer. Yes, he may drop a fly-ball or not run out a grounder during a meaningless July contest with Tampa Bay, but when he strolls to plate with the bases loaded against the Yankees, Sox fans would be hard-pressed to find someone they would rather have at the plate.

More importantly, Sox fans would much rather see Ramirez at the plate in an important situation than Tejada. Opposing pitchers seem to understand this. Since 2001, when Ramirez joined the Sox, he has been intentionally walked 91 times, while Tejada has been intentionally walked only 29 times in the same time frame(and only 38 times in his career).

Baseball writers who vote for the MVP understand Ramirez’s superiority over Tejada as well. Since 2000, Tejada has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting twice (although he won it in 2001). Meanwhile, in that time frame, Ramirez has finished in the top 10 six times, and had two top 10 finishes in 1998 and 1999. Crank out the statistics and Ramirez’s dominance becomes even more obvious. Tejada’s .815 career OPS pales in comparison to Ramirez’s 1.008 OPS.

Fortunately for Boston fans, they won’t have to worry about a Ramirez, Clement, and cash for Tejada deal, because the Baltimore Sun reported on Wednesday that the Orioles would not accept that deal. Although the two teams are continuing to discuss a deal involving Tejada and Ramirez, the Boston Globe reported on Wednesday.

However, Sox fans should worry about the fact that Red Sox management is running a recent World Series champion like Walmart, cutting costs without regard to the quality of the product. Ramirez is the latest player the Red Sox want to dump because they do not want to pay his salary. So far this season, the Red Sox have traded their starting shortstop and failed to resign their starting centerfielder with the goal of saving money. Unlike Walmart however, the savings are not reflected in the ticket prices, which continue to skyrocket.

The ticket prices do, however, reflect a dedicated fan base that is willing to pay exorbitant prices to watch their favorite team. That same dedicated fan base is also intelligent, and Sox fans will recognize when an unorganized front office has dismantled their beloved team. Then Red Sox management will have to answer to fans that will be more disgruntled than Manny Ramirez ever was.