Thursday, July 31, 2008

A Win for Yankees Despite Blowout

Even if the Yankees did not make one move as the trade deadline they would have been the winners of the trading spree. Their rivals have just taken a big step back, make that a huge step back. They have removed one of the top 5 right handed hitters of all time from the middle of their lineup. This will have ripple effects throughout the whole lineup. There is no way David Ortiz will ever be as effective as he was with Manny hitting behind him. "Mr. Clutch" was only given that name b/c he was pitched to with men on base b/c Manny was lurking behind him. Now Ortiz will get nothing to hit and his production will suffer greatly. It doesnt matter what Jason Bay does as a Red Sox, he isnt the same presence in the lineup. He is not as intimidating as Manny, Yankee fans feared Manny everytime he stepped into the box, now they don't need to even think about him.

This move shows what a problem Manny had become in Boston. After all the Manny being Manny garbage they spewed for years they finally grew tired of his antics. After asking out of the lineup vs Felix Hernandez and Joba Chamberlain and failing to hustle at all vs the Angels, Boston's Front Office had had enough. They figured he would shut it down and dog it rest of year just to get out of Boston. He had always had a week or two each year where he acted this way and they worked it out and moved on. It appears this year it wouldnt work that way. He had become a serious cancer to the team and was bringing them down. The Red Sox not only gave prospects away to get him out of town they are paying the rest of his contract to go 3,000 miles away. The Dodgers, in one of the biggest markets, dont pay a penny for him. He is the opposite of class. Guys like Jorge Posada and Hideki Matsui (I know both Yankees but they fit the example perfectly) truly like to play the game and want to the team to win. They both delayed surgeries that would end year to attempt a come back and help team. You think Manny would do that? God no, he would just collect his paycheck.

The sad thing is, is that Manny Ramirez will get a huge contract out of this. Which is exactly what he wants. His actions shutting down his competitve fire will "reward" him a 100 million contract. But the big winner will be his agent Scott Boras. Boras stood to get no commision on the two 20 million dollar options and now he will get even richer off his commision on Manny's big conract

A couple thoughts:

* Did Hank Steinbrenner offer to fly Manny to LA on his private jet? You know he estatic to see his rivals crumble right in front of him

* Is that the last we have seen of Manny's Dreadlocks?

* Will Manny give Joe Torre and headaches? I think he will play his best and Joe Torre will get the best out of him and get the Dodges to the playoffs.

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