Manny being LA

Yesterday as the trade deadline approached, the Red Sox were involved in a major deal in which Manny Ramirez was traded away to the Dodgers, Jason Bay was received from the Pirates and the Pirates got 4 players, 2 from the Sox and 2 from the Dodgers. The Sox are also paying the rest of Manny's salary for this year. No word on if the Dodgers will be required to pick up Manny's option(s) or not.

This is a sad day in Red Sox Nation. Manny is a Hall of Fame player and always puts up great numbers. Lately, though, he has been a royal pain in the ass in the clubhouse, getting into a fight with one of his own teammates, getting into a scuffle with the PR guy over a request for a ridiculous amount of tickets, and to put the icing on the cake, taking himself out of the lineup of the first game of the Yankees series last week.

Manny has been one of my favorite players since Nomar left in 2004. Manny helped the Sox win the 2004 and the 2007 World Series. I was at his first game at Fenway where he hit a home run in his first at bat. Sure, Manny has his antics, his weirdness when he cuts off relays to home and allows an inside the park home run, throws the ball into the stands when there are only 2 outs, hi-fives a fan after catching a fly ball, etc. Despite his playing style, his numbers are irrefutable: 2318 hits, 510 HR .312 avg over 16 seasons.

It will be an interesting second half of the season without him. Jason Bay has some big shoes to fill. Good bye Manny, we will miss you - say hi to Derek Lowe and Nomar for us.