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Manny.
So, the Red Sox came through and got rid of Manny, and even picked up a talented young left-fielder without giving up too much beyond Ramirez.
If you hadn't noticed, Ramirez' occasionally inflammatory talk had been ratcheting up lately. That, on top of an unexpected knee ailment that dropped him from some games recently. The "injury" really didn't bother me. The last round of comments made it just about impossible to keep him, though. The question was whether they would find an opening to get anything decent in return.
The pivotal point for me as a longtime Boston fan? Manny's pinch-hit appearance against the Yankees in the series before last. He was pinch-hitting because he'd already taken himself out of the lineup (again, and against the Yankees?). But he steps to the plate late in the game with a chance to salvage a win, and he takes strike one. And he takes strike two. And ... he takes strike three.
There was talk afterward that he had intentionally tanked the at-bat and ensured the loss, which bothered me because it is just about unthinkable. But even his biggest detractors recognize his skills as a hitter and his work ethic in maintaining his abilities. (Many discounted the relative grace with which he handled hits coming off the Green Monster, often making one-hand grabs and quick-accurate throws to second.) Back to the hitting. So, yeah, it was basically unthinkable that he would strike out on purpose.
But given his performance through peaceful and contentious moments in the past with the Sox, the hard truth is that it is even more unthinkable that Manny Ramirez, the raw hitter, would be fooled to that degree, in that situation, for three consecutive strikes, so badly that the bat never left his shoulder.
That's when my opinion, very reluctantly, turned irrevocably for the worse. I will put up with a lot of things as a fan, including immature behavior and all manner of physical and mental errors on the field. But refusing to try to beat the Yankees when given the opportunity ... well, could there be a graver sin? And in retrospect, his comments haven't done anything to make me think my assessment was off the mark.
Of course, the funny thing is that now he's Torre's problem, although I expect he will not cause any trouble now that he's gotten his way. I wonder how Nomar or Lowe feel about having the Manny circus return to their clubhouse.
All in all, this is the third major move of this type made in the past few years by Theo Epstein. Look back at the post-Fenway performances of Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, and you have to conclude Theo's instincts have been pretty good on when to fold 'em. Manny made it easier this time, by giving John McCain a run for his money in the Unexpected Dash For The Low Road department. (Gotta wonder if more sordid comments will come out now that the deal is done.)
The Sox are lucky they could pull off this trade, and getting a potential long-term valuable outfielder along the way is a minor coup. See ya, Manny. Thanks for all the great times. And don't come back.