That's Just Theo Being Theo

Posted by James Lincoln Ray Aug 1, 2008

Yankee fans rejoice! Manny is dead! Long Live Manny! Or something like that.

This week, the Boston Red Sox shocked the baseball world by trading future Hall of Famer Manny Ramirez in a three-way deal that brought Jason Bay of the Pirates to Boston. Now, Bay is a fine player. In fact, his power numbers this year are very similar to Manny's. But he hits just .216 with runners in scoring position, while Manny is hitting over .300 in the same situations. But more important than any single statistic, the major difeerence between the two is that Manny Ramirez scares the hell out of opposing managers, and Jason Bay does not. David Ortiz won't be the same hitter without Manny hitting behind him.

But there are a lot of pros to the move. Bay is cheaper, Manny the Headache is gone, and he's out of the American League. And don't forget, when the Red Sox traded Nomar at the deadline in 2004, everyone said they were crazy. Then they won the World Series. Even without Manny, the Sox still have Pedroia, Lowell, Ortiz, Youkilis, Jason Bay and J.D. Drew. They will still score, but can they win the big ones without Manny?