Manny being Manny in LA

July 31, 2008 – 7:58 pm

It finally happened. Manny Ramirez was traded to the LA Dodgers today.

I can’t say that I’m surprised. He’s been asking (intermittently) for a trade for the past few years. I’m hesitant to say it, but deep down I think I’m glad to see him go. He was an offensive powerhouse in Boston, always entertaining to watch (for both good and and some not so good reasons), and probably one of my favorite players on the team.

But at the same time, he had become quite the distraction with his trade comments. And he obviously wasn’t happy. So it’s for the best. No hard feelings, Manny. It’s been fun. Best of luck in LA.

But traded for Jason Bay? He’s got decent numbers, but he’s no Manny Ramirez. At least we’ll get some defense in left field now. We’ll see how it goes. Boston has had some good luck in recent years with dealing aging players before the injuries kicked in (Pedro, Nomar, Damon). We’ve also had good luck with transforming good players into great players once they put on a Red Sox uniform (Ortiz, Lowell, Drew to some extent). So I’m going to trust Theo and the gang with this move. I hope it works out. We just need Jason Bay to grow out some dreds.

All good things must come to and end, but let’s just take a second to relive some the best/worst Manny Ramirez moments in Boston. There are some classics in there (even without the oopsie from earlier this month).

And lets part ways with Manny on a good note…like this one:

Walk-off Game 2 ALDS 2007

cya Manny.