Handicapping the field on Manny

Hey Mazz ... how can Boras pitch the Yankees to Manny? If he thought Boston was stressful, what does he think playing for New York will be?!?

Write about someone Boston Fans care about, any horray for me the heck with you athlete should be dealt as fast as possible to the highest bidder, there's no room for I in team....time for the underperforming overpaid Maroney to hit the bricks...

$how me the money $$$$$$$$$ That, is the ONLY thing that matters to Manny! He would, without question, come back to the wretched City of Boston if they pony up the cash.

Crash Davis exactly what I was thinking, playing with either NY team will be just as stressfull as playing with the Red Sox, best bet is to keep it in the NL West where all the teams are awful.

WHO CARES WHERE MANNY "HIGH MAINTENANCE" GOES!

Manny Ramirez's apparent failure to honor his contract with the Red Sox, and the failure of Major League Baseball to suspend him, is a dismal commentary on the state of professional sports. The example Manny is setting for his youthful fans is very sad indeed.

Crash Davis is right. NY might fit his wallet, but that's it. Boston fans never booed the manboy when he clearly deserved it by dogging it, beating up an old man, questionable injuries, etc. Yankee fans boo Arod, who is without question head and shoulders above manboy as fas as a complete ballplayer goes, if he goes 0 for 3. No way will the idiot servant manboy get any free passes in the Bronx. They'll boo him, guaranteed, and that left (or is it right this week?) knee will start hurting all over again.

Why are we still hearing about this jerk........I was elated when he left Boston, thought I would never have to hear about him again, yet the Globe insists on publishing information about him. I have said it before and I will say it again, Manny is one of ; if not the biggest jerk in professional sports today. With all of the star athletes that New England has on it's sports teams why must we hear about this jerk , write about them for a change

I'm still surprised that now that the dust has settled, no one is really evaluating the trade of Rameriz. The fact is if Theo had dropped Rameriz' options, Manny would have been a happy guy and finished the season looking for big money, probably exactly as he did for the Dodgers.
So in the short term, would the Sox have won one more game vs. Tampa to get the series with Manny? Almost certainly, with no disrespect to Bay who played well. But the holes in the middle of the lineup, and the mental strain it seemed to put on Ortiz clearly cost the Sox a shot at another series.
But Francona was absolutely giddy about the "clubhouse" after Manny left. Would it have imploded if the Sox bent over one last time for Manny? I doubt it, because they had done it so many times before. What's one more. Even Tek and Wake wouold have understood that.
Short term, the deal was bad.
Long term, the Sox now have Bay either as a bargaining chip or a LF for at least one more year. They don't have Hansen and Moss, but neither looks to be a long-term fit for the Sox. Didn't they lose two end-of-first-round draft picks in compensation for Manny leaving as a free agent? That's a big hit unless they turn around and get those picks for Bay next year.
If Manny was just now leaving, the Sox would probably have to give up plenty of talent to trade for a Matt Holiday, so they would definitely lost more chips than probably Hansen and Moss. With Bay, they can be more selective.
So long-term I suspect they win, but did they win enough to cost them a World Series?
Finally, that anyone other than Dodgers would offer anything to Rameriz is indeed a ridiculous testimony to how much baseball front offices let the inmates run the asylum. Paying a guy who openly quit on his team in both 2006 and 2008 (and played with little interest until Sept. of 2007)? Come on. Why isn't this the only topic of conversation when teams talk about Manny?

Manny is one of the best hitters in the history of baseball and I love the fact that despite bringing two world series to Boston (he was the MVP in '04 in case everybody here forgot) he can be trashed over and over again. He wanted his options dropped because he felt he could make more, which is being proved more than correct with the offer he got from the dodgers. When the sox wouldn't do it they turned on the hate campaign the same as Nomar, Pedro and others. Stop trashing the guy because he is going to make more money this year, obviously there are pleanty of teams that realize the benefits of 40+ home runs is worht more than a couple of walks to first on infield grounders

Who cares? Manny lives in la-la land where he doesn't have to worry about paying the mortgage, putting food on the table, making ends meet. Only in sports -- and Hollywood -- can these kind of fools make that kind of money. Says a lot about our values in this country.

Absoletely positively money is the only factor. If Boras could find two extra quarters in the couch in the NYY negotiating room, that's where Manny's going.
Boras already showed by putting A-Rod on the Texas Rangers, he's not above putting a player in an uncomfortable situation, if it means an extra dollar could be had.

You people need to get a life! Manny played great for the Red Sox and helped them win 2 WS. All the other stuff you spout is just plain BS. Yes I am a Red Sox fan and have been for 50 years. Manny deserves a contract for whatever he can get. He didn't "beat" an old man you moron Edzz.

Please don't forget Manny being Manny started before he came to Boston. My point is he had a bad reputation when the Red Sox decided to,.... how did you put it,.... "take the bait". These other teams will be taking a chance on Manny the same way the Red Sox did. How did that work out for the Sox. He earned every penny, that's how. Manny played a HUGE part in the Red Sox winning their first title in 90 years when he put in a performance that earned him MVP.

The fans of Boston bad mouth all their superstars on the way out. Pedro, Boggs, Nomar, Roger, Manny, Renteria. The list goes on. Then they wonder why players will play in New York and not Boston. It happens over and over again, and over and over again the Red Sox fanes are confused. The latest example being Jake Peavy. Players like Boggs and Clemens did most of their damage in Boston, yet they want to go into the hall of fame as Yankees.

The Dodgers are crazy for even making an offer like that to Manny.

I wouldn't give him $25, let alone $25 million.

Primadonna jerk that he is and always will be.....

Manny should stay out west, where he could flourish under the low pressure environment. But knowing Boras and Manny, he will probably go for the biggest money. So he will wind up in a high pressure pace like New York, go into a funk, and tank on them. But he and Bore-ass won't care cos the money is guaranteed.
How's that for cynical thinking?

"to be worth $22.9 million and $27.5 million"

should read .... "to be worth BETWEEN $22.9 million and $27.5 million"

Wouldn't it make the most sense that Baltimore should consider going after Manny? If you watched any of their games during September, I would be shocked if 8,000 fans were in attendance. Manny could bring in Red Sox fans in the area as a day to day draw for them. Who knows, if he played with half a heart he could actually provide the spark needed to climb a step or two in the standings for the O's. God knows they need something.

Maybe Manboy Ramirez wanted to go to the Yankees all along and started pouting soon after Dan Duquette had the dry ink on a contract. I agree that NY would probably be as tough on the Manny of '06 & early '08, but if he was 'happy' to be home, I'd hate to see what hell he would wrought upon everyone outside of the Bronx...

If I were a GM, I would only offer Manny a contract heavy on incentive clauses. He has shown that he can be a monster when he has an incentive. When he's in the middle of a long-term deal, he can get lazy at times. He'll always be a good ballplayer but if you want him to be great you have to give him an incentive.

well, it didn't take long for your first really dumb comment:

"They have good young pitching and finished the year on an upswing, and the National League West is socialism at its finest."

i guess someone told you that using the word socialism in a sentence was funny or trenchant or pithy, but it really isn't any of those things. as a matter of fact, it would be a stretch -- AND A HUGE STRETCH AT THAT -- to even claim that socialism is germane to any conversation about baseball. that is, unless you are making a comment about your employers, who happen to own part of a baseball team.

dumb unfunny comments like that are why i no longer read anything written by bob ryan and the CHB. you've just joined their company.

NOTE to AMALIE BENJAMIN, MIKE REISS, CHRISTOPHER GASPER and NICK CAFARDO: do NOT become like the rest of these trite, petty and untalented hacks. please. there won't be any reason to read the globe sports pages if you do. seriously.

HERE WE GO AGAIN WITH THE MANNY HATERS/BOSTON FOOLS.
IF YOU DON'T WANT TO HEAR MORE ABOUT MANNY, WHY U BOTHER WASTING YOUR TIME WRITING NONSENSE ABOUT THE MAN.
LIKE I SAID BEFORE, IF YOU HATE THIS GREAT TALENT SO MUCH, ASK THE RED SOX TO RETURN THE TWO RINGS HE WAS A MAJOR PART OFF.
YOU GUYS THERE ARE SO HURT BY MANNY NOT WANTING TO STAY THERE, THAT YOU CAN'T MOVE ON. FACE IT, BOSTON IS A COLD TOWN.
AND VERY GREEN. IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN.

Louie the Lip is spot on. I'd add Johnny Damon to that list. Some knuckleheads still boo Damon everytime he comes to town, despite the professionalism he has always brough to the field. No Manny, no WS in 04 and 08. And when he comes to town next season, you can bet that many fans will be at their most boorish and obnoxiousness. Take, take and take more...and I'm not talking about Manny.

PS--did you know that MLB doubled its revenue in 08? From $3 billion last year to just over $6 billion this year. $25 million per year for Ramirez would be peanuts.

Repeat after me: Yankees, Yankees, Yankees.

Boras has known all along that the only team that can pay what he wants --- including the years --- without a second thought is the Yankees. Why is there even any discussion on this subject?

It's sad. The man is arguably the best hitter ever. It's a shame he turns it on and off the way he does. Imagine Pedroia's balls out attitude in Manny's body.

One glitch: Pat Gillick, who just stepped down as Philly's GM but is staying on in an advisory role, is too smart to advocate signing a guy like Manny. (We think.)?

One of two surefire hall of famers (other than Pedro) on 2 Red Sox World Series-winning teams and you're knocking Manny. Wish someone in Boston would stop carrying Theo's water and admit they mismanaged the Manny situation.

He's going to get his contract and continue crushing the ball for at least 4 more years.

No idea what the article said. Mazz are you the stalker ex-boyfriend who can't figure out when it's over? Any way we can have articles on players who are or may play for the Red Sox? This is pathetic. I propose an online poll to decide whether he should be mentioned again before there's a blurb that he's been signed by some other team.

Be happy for the time we had Manny. Without him Boston would not have won two titles. He had to go and I stand behind the Sox in their decision. I also enjoyed watching one of the greatest hitters of all time steamroll major league pitchers with the Dodgers. Can you blame him for getting payed as much as he can? Ask yourself that question with your current employee and would you move to a competitor for more dollars?
I don't like what he did but move on fans and be thankful we have owners that want to win and do what it takes to bring on the third title this decade!

This is actually a response to the SI article where Boras says "...Manny was never comfortable in Boston....." Well, he was comfortable enough to take his paychecks.

I quote:

"A man who led the MAJOR LEAGUES in batting average (.396), on-base percentage (.489) and slugging percentage (.743) over the final two months of the regular season, then, astoundingly, raised his production even more, batting .520 with a .667 on-base percentage, 1.080 slugging percentage, four homers, 10 RBIs and 11 walks in eight postseason games."

..and the Red Sox don't think he'd be a good fit for 2009?

nomar was offered $60 million for 4 years and turned it down...you think anyone has offered anything close since then? clemens was something like 40-39 in his last 4 years with the sox and was offered decent money....pedro couldn't beat the yankees, was washed up, and the sox still offered him decent money....manny played just under 7 years for the sox, put up decent numbers and they won 2 world series with his help, went nowhere 4+years with his help...i'm not sure why the sox are portrayed as the heavies here...

The more you guys comment on this non-issue, the more the Globe will keep following the Manny story. This isn't going away because you all aren't letting it go away. I don't care if I never read another story about Manny in the Globe or anywhere again...

the boston media has a problem getting over the fact that manny is no longer relevant to the sports scene here.Who gives a ratass where he ends up?and will the nitwits on WEEI(Dennis,Callahan and the number 1 mannybasher mike adams)still talk about manny in 2009 even though he obvioulsy doesnt play here anymore.In any other city it wouldnt be a topic for discussion.Just another example of the laziness of the boston media .They canot find new topics to discuss so they just bring up the same old tired crap

he'll end up with the yankees for close to 30 mil a year. he'll come to town, we can booo his A$$ off the field. can you ask for anything better? he'll hit .320, knock in 140 runs next year, will fall off the year after, then end up as the next mo vaughn. the yankees will continue to cut him checks until 2020. let them have him, he is a disgrace, and baseball should have suspended him for tanking it on the sox.

Trading manny was a terrible mistake, costing sox another world series championship. All about money Simple fact,. Sox management did not want to pay him fair market value.
Rest is noise. No more softballs from Boston press, please.

Edzz,
The Sox fans have booed Manny on many occasions. Some were rather noteworthy.

gilardo336
The Boston Globe is a disgrace as part of the sports media. The Red Sox FO is a disgrace as an organization to its veteran players. You are a disgrace as a fan. Manny was not a disgrace as a Red Sox. Baseball can't suspend him for something that never happened. If he played that well for the Red Sox while "tanking" I'd still take him over 99% of all the other players in professional baseball. Get real. Manny gave us 8 years of his HOF career. You are just not very bright are you?

Rojelio Moret
The point is that the Red Sox offered these big contracts to Pedro and Nomar, etc. but would not even sit down and talk to Manny about his options. That's why the Red Sox are as just as much at fault here as Manny...in my opinion probably much more so. Who else but the Red Sox would treat their All Star HOF slugger this way...and then wonder why he had a bad attitude. Think about what you're saying!

SICK OF HEARING ABOUT MANNY & HOW GREAT HE IS. HOW ABOUT HOW HE DIDN'T HONOR HIS CONTRACT, & HOW HE PUT HIS TEAM-MATES ON THE LINE W/ HIS CHILDLESSNESS BEHAVIOR, & HIS DISHONEST WAYS, HE'S KINDA A FLAKE YA THINK, A SPOILLED OVER-PAID BRAT. GO BACK TO W/ BASEBALL WAS A" REAL GAME", BACK TO THE REAL BALL PLAYERS...NOW THATS SOMETHING TO BRAG ABOUT , "CERTAINLY NOT MANNY"! GOODNESS GET REAL.

"The fact is if Theo had dropped Rameriz' options, Manny would have been a happy guy and finished the season looking for big money, probably exactly as he did for the Dodgers."

Yeah, brilliant management move: Show the rest of the team how to deal with a contract they want to break. Hey Dustin, Youk: The Red Sox reward assholes. Wise up.

I LOVE MANNY!!! WITH HIM WE WOULD HAVE WON!! YOU ALL KNOW IT. HE IS THE BEST HITTER IN THE LEAGUE!! wHAT MANNY DID WITH THE DODGERS WAS AMAZING. YOU ALL SHOULD JUST SAY IT, EVENTHOUGH YOU DON'T WANT TO. STOP ALL THE CRAZY TALK ABOUT MANNY. GET OVER IT AND JUST REALIZE THAT HE IS GONE! JUST DON'T PUT HIM DOWN BECAUSE YOU ARE STILL MAD AT HIM. HE IS THE BEST!!

You know what my wish for Manny would be? That he fails to get a lucrative, long time deal and ends up playing for the short term contract offered by the Dodgers. This is after he says sky is the limit to them. And most of all, that his performance would dip drastically to its worst levels starting next season all because of his salivating greed for money!!!

Manny will get his lucrative deal and once again will become the lazy, selfish, someitme player, he is at heart. What he really deserves is an academy award for the great acting job the last couple of months of the season. Great team player, charities galore, charmed the press, did not assault any senior citizens...
No question about his ability...his attitude and his ignorance is foremost. Imagine if a hustler like Youkalis had his hitting ability!
Stay in the National league and go away!

I guess I don't have a lot to offer that hasn't aleady been said. I give credit to Manny for being a BIG part of their success in 04 and 07. By 08, it was time for him to go. Had he stayed, I doubt they would have made the playoffs, because he was so toxic in the clubhouse. Even Big Papi would have had a hard time defending him.

Having Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz hitting together is a historic combination that we should be grateful to have enjoyed for a number of years. However, as a diehard Sox fan, I'm glad they traded him when they did.

I also agree with the sentiment that it's all about the money with Manny and Boras. But that is hardly a damnable offense in baseball. The Yankees are on a spending spree, having signed Sabathia, Burnette and now Texiera, so why not pony up with Manny? I agree that he will not fit in well in New York, despite the fact that he's from there, because the guy just can't handle the heat when it gets too hot.