Manny makes his case

I know, I know….it’s less than 12 hours since I called Manny out in this very space (see An Open Letter to Manny Ramirez) and he’s already making me feel a little regretful for my stance.

I won’t take back anything that I wrote and I’ll stand by it. Manny took my relationship with him as a fan and disregarded it, irreparably tearing it apart with his ambivalence towards us all in his pre-game comments.

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“Enough is enough. I’m tired of them, they’re tired of me.”

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Even as statements like this lead every local newspaper, sports report, blog, etc and took up what seemed like half of Baseball Tonight’s pregame coverage, Manny could muster the following with a straight face;

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I don’t want to be a problem and a distraction to the Red Sox in such a critical moment of the season. I want to help the team, even if that means I have to go.

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Ummm…Manny, you and not the organization or the media, are the root of this entire “problem” or “distraction”. I can only read this and call bull****.

But at least one thing that he mentioned to the media last night rang as true as the ropes he would hit later than night as he went he lead the Red Sox offense to a 9-2 win going 3-5 with two doubles and two RBI,

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“They’re not stupid. Boston is not stupid. They’re not going to do it, they can say whatever they want. But when it comes to making a deal they’re not going to pull the trigger because they know what they’ve got here.

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All you had to do was watch last night to know that the David Ortiz/Manny Ramirez combination is a duo that World Championships are born out of. Whether to prove the point to potential suitors (both via trade or via free agency next year) or to stick it in the eye of his doubters, Manny Ramirez was locked in. At the same time, David Ortiz looked like he hadn’t missed a beat in front of him.

While I think Theo Epstein should (and will) investigate every possible option to deal the disgruntled slugger as he has done many times over the year with hopes that he can repeat the feats of his 2004 “Nomar” trade in pursuit of a better “team”, I don’t think that there is an easy solution out there.

Any potential replacement from Matt Holiday to Mark Teixeira, Pat Burrell to Raul Ibanez and down the line are ripe with issues that span how would you acquire them to could they even approximate Manny in the lineup.

I do think the Red Sox will walk away from Manny this offseason and that they have a “master plan” in place to fill his shoes in a variety of scenarios and I think that walking away after this season is the right move given where we all sit today.

And while I would love for the Red Sox to make Manny’s dreams come true and deal him away while still improving the squad they put on the field both this year and for years to come, I don’t see how that is possible.

Manny’s right about one thing, the Boston is not stupid.

Rest assured, Theo Epstein is investigating every option (and no matter what my current take on Manny is, Barry Bonds will never be an acceptable conversation to enter into in any earnest) to make this club better while granting Manny’s wish. Also rest assured that Theo is very good at his job. If the opportunity to improve his club arises, he will.

You can also rest assured, however, that just because Manny Ramirez and the Red Sox are having what may their final lover’s quarrel before they ultimately break up, Theo won’t prematurely pull the plug on the relationship if holding Manny’s hand along the road to the World Series brings home the hardware.

This will be a long week…and at the end of it, Manny Ramirez may once again get a standing ovation the day after the deadline passes for remaining in his baggy home whites. But at the same time, even the thought that Manny’s name is on the market makes this week ripe with anticipation of what may be in store for this franchise come trade deadline 2008.