Manny, Manny?

I find it very hard to believe that Manny Ramirez turned down an offer of $25 million to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers for ONE year! Surely his agent, Scott Boras has advised him that he can get more if he waits, but that seems like pie in the sky to me. He is great, but how many teams can afford that kind of payroll for the long haul?

Who Wins in The Manny Trade?

Manny Ramirez got his wish and was traded from the Boston Red Sox today before the trading deadline. I was a bit surprised, because his antics in Boston are not that new, but this time he really got on the nerves of the front office and they made a big deal today. In the three team deal, Los Angeles, the Dodgers, received Manny. In return they sent two prospects to the Pittsburgh Pirates, who also received two prime prospects from the Red Sox. The Pirates sent their best player, Jason Bay, to the Red Sox.

The Dodgers will get a lot of offense from Manny and will probably be in the playoffs. The Pirates got four players for one, two of whom are very highly regarded! The Red Sox got rid of a problem child--who can really hit. But they may not reach the playoffs. The big winner in the deal seems to me to be the Tampa Bay Rays, who should pull away from Boston in the AL East race!