Just money being money

The word is Manny Ramirez wants to be traded... All of a sudden, Manny feels like a lost sock in the laudrymat of oblivion! Is it angst or too much chowder? What it is, of course is about money. Just Manny being Manny has been the mantra coined by the Red Sox Nation all along. Welcome to the other side of that coin... Besides, where would he go, anyway? Don't get me wrong, Manny is one of the best hitters the game has ever seen. Any team on the Planet would love to have someone that hits above three hundred, slugs thirty to fifty home runs, and drives in a hundred and thirty runs a year routinely. No doubt Manny produces offense; he always has. Now, his defense on the other hand is another story. Manny puts the adventure back into the pop up! Sure, he's a graduate of the Roberto Duran, hands of stone school of fielding, and most times, he couldn't catch a cold in a draft, but he can perform adequately most of the time. Any team could certainly live with his defense considering his offensive prowess. Let's just say the Red Sox are willing to trade Manny, and I believe they are. Boston has always been willing to part with a disgruntled player; they have a good understanding of the addition by subtraction theory. So, who wants him? For the sake of conversation, let's say all the details could be worked out to everyone's mutual satisfaction, and while I really don't think the Red Sox would trade him to any team in their division, they did that once and it came back to haunt them for quite awhile (some guy named, Ruth); again, just for the sake of argument, I offer up Manny and the Rays... On paper, it sounds like a great fit; Tampa could sure use a right handed power hitter in the middle of their line up, and Manny could just DH and never have to worry about the fielding part of the game. Bad idea. The Rays are where they are by building mostly from  within the organization. Yes, they've made some shrewd trades to get certain players and shown a willingness to go outside the orgaization to get the parts they feel will fit the overall chemistry of the ball club. Manny isn't a guy that brings chemistry to a team; lumber, yes. Besides, after the "Power Failure" gamble of the previous owner, I think the current ownership has the right idea, and would balk at getting Manny in the present mix... Very much like that Barry Bonds nonsense, earlier in the season; yes, the offensive numbers look very tempting, but, it's all about the luggage!  Until next time... Godspeed, Pilgrims.