Manny Traded To Dodgers; Sox Acquire Pirates’ Bay
By Jeff Goldberg, The Hartford Courant, Conn.
Aug. 1–BOSTON — For eight years in Boston, it was Manny being Manny. From now on, it’s Manny being a memory.
The Red Sox traded their talented yet enigmatic left fielder at the non-waiver deadline Thursday, sending Ramirez to the Dodgers in a three-team deal that brings Pirates outfielder Jason Bay to Boston.
The Red Sox also sent outfielder Brandon Moss and reliever Craig Hansen to the Pirates, who received third baseman Andy LaRoche and minor league pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.
Desperate to rid themselves of Ramirez’s distractions despite his Hall of Fame resume, the Red Sox will pay the remainder of his salary for this season, roughly $7 million. Ramirez, 36, waived his no-trade clause and agreed to head to Los Angeles, contingent on the Dodgers declining the $20 million team options for 2009 and 2010, allowing Ramirez to become a free agent after this season.
The Red Sox said they would have no comment on the trade Thursday night, with a team spokesman explaining the deal had not been formally concluded, although there were not expected to be any hang-ups.
Ramirez will join former teammates Nomar Garciaparra and Derek Lowe on the Dodgers, who are two games back in the NL West.
Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti told The Associated Press he had been told by agent Scott Boras that Ramirez was “thrilled to be here.”
The Red Sox felt compelled to move Ramirez after his actions of a week ago, when he took himself out of the lineup twice, including last Friday against the Yankees at Fenway Park, apparently upset that the Red Sox were not planning to exercise their option for 2009.
“From a personal standpoint, I’m sad because I got to know Manny,” Red Sox reserve infielder Alex Cora said. “But at the same time, I feel it’s the best, not only for him, but for us as a team. Compare it with the Mets’ situation earlier in the season [when Willie Randolph was fired]. Like Manny said, let’s turn the page and move on. We are a good team and we are still capable of winning and we know what it takes to bring another ring to the city.”
The Red Sox, who are three games out in the AL East and leading the wild card by half a game, had spent most of Wednesday and early Thursday trying to move Ramirez to the Marlins, with Pittsburgh the third team. When that deal broke down, the Red Sox turned back to the Dodgers, who had talks with the Sox earlier this week.
“When a player like Manny becomes available, I don’t think there’s a manager in baseball who wouldn’t say they’re interested,” Dodgers manager Joe Torre said.
After sitting out the two games while claiming to have a sore knee, and with the team threatening him with a suspension, Ramirez said Sunday he would agree to waive his no-trade veto power.
“The Red Sox don’t deserve a player like me,” Ramirez told ESPN Deportes Wednesday. “The Red Sox did the same with guys like Nomar Garciaparra and Pedro Martinez, and now they do the same with me. Their goal is to paint me as the bad guy. I love Boston fans, but the Red Sox don’t deserve me. I’m not talking about money. Mental peace has no price, and I don’t have peace here.”
Bay, 29, hit .282 with 22 homers and 64 RBI for the Pirates this season, with a .375 on-base percentage and .890 on-base-plus-slugging percentage, compared with Ramirez’s .299/.398/.927. Ramirez has 20 homers and 68 RBI, and is hitting .309 with runners in scoring position to Bay’s .216.
Bay, who will replace Ramirez in left field, is making $6 million this season and will make $7.5 million in 2009 before becoming eligible for free agency after next season.
Ramirez joined the Red Sox after the 2000 season from Cleveland, signing an eight-year, $160 million free agent deal with then-GM Dan Duquette. Ramirez ranks fifth in Red Sox history with 274 homers, sixth with 868 RBI and ninth with a .312 average. He was named MVP of the 2004 World Series, the first of two titles Ramirez helped deliver in four seasons after an 86-year drought.
But he also came with poor defensive skills and erratic behavior, whether it was skipping All-Star Games with mysterious family ailments or taking bathroom breaks inside the Green Monster at Fenway.
And there were the episodes where Ramirez simply chose not to play, missing games in each season since 2003 under suspicious circumstances.
His relationship with current ownership was strained almost from the start of John W. Henry’s tenure in 2002. The Red Sox attempted to trade or release Ramirez after the 2003, 2005 and 2006 seasons, including placing Ramirez on irrevocable waivers in October 2003.
The Red Sox nearly pulled the trigger on a three-way trade deadline deal with the Mets and Devil Rays in 2005, when under similar circumstances, Ramirez refused to play the week before the deadline and demanded a trade.
But the relationship never appeared better than it was through spring training and the first two months of 2008. Ramirez, having recently hired Boras, was on his best behavior as he hoped to convince the Red Sox to pick up the team options.
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