Manny Being Nomar: Why the Boston Red Sox Need To Trade Manny Ramirez

I still don’t think it’s going to happen.

Manny Ramirez can complain to ESPNDeportes, Fox Sports, Sports Illustrated, CBS Sportsline, Bleacher Report, ESPN, ESPN2, and ESPN8 “the Ocho”. The Red Sox still won't care.

If they can’t get good value for Manny, they’re not going to trade him. And why should they? For all the ridiculousness, he’s still hitting home runs, driving runners in, and consistently hitting the crap out of the ball.

So he's not a great left fielder. He’s at least OK.

On the field, there’s very little reason to want to rid yourself of Manny Ramirez.

And there are very, very few who can adequately replace him.

That said, it’s time for the Red Sox to do whatever it takes to trade Manny Ramirez—and recent history supports making the move.

Back in 2004, the Red Sox were a broken team. They were playing uninspired baseball. They looked nothing like the team that nearly made it to the World Series in 2003.

There was something terribly wrong; it was just hard to place.

Until that July 1 game in Yankee Stadium.

Everyone in Boston remembers this game. Derek Jeter risked life and limb to dive into the crowd to make the final out of the 12th inning, while Nomar Garciaparra sulked on the bench—refusing to enter the game either as a pinch hitter or a defensive replacement.

Nomar was a fan favorite in Boston. He had all of his best seasons here. For a while, he was one of the best talents in baseball, a talent on the same level as Derek Jeter and Alex Rodriguez. Earlier in his career, some people even thought he was better.

The media may not have always liked him (mostly because he hated them), but the fans loved him.

Until that game.

It was the moment that opened up the possibility of trading Nomar—and the Red Sox's young, aggressive GM jumped on the opportunity and turned a disgruntled superstar into key role players that helped transform the 2004 Red Sox from uninspired also-ran to inspiring champion.

Manny has had his ups and downs in Boston, but he never quite had his Nomar moment. 

Until last weekend (apparently “Nomar Moments” always come against the Yankees).

When Manny refused to take the field against the Yankees on Friday, he had his Nomar moment. He was booed loudly over the weekend. He was booed Tuesday when he failed to run out a groundball that should have broken up a no-hit bid by John Lackey.

Last week, I questioned whether Red Sox nation was tiring of Manny Ramirez. It’s no longer a question.

It’s time for Manny to be Manny somewhere else.

The players are reportedly sick of him. The front office is reportedly sick of him. Even fans are sick of him. 

Even I’m finally sick of him. 

Send him to Florida—where a whole new group of fans can grow to love Manny being Manny. 

Like 2004, the 2008 Boston Red Sox are a broken team.

If they want a chance to defend their championship, they need to get rid of their Nomar.

It’s time to send Manny packing.

Sean Crowe is a Senior Writer and an NFL Community Leader at Bleacher Report. You can email him at [e-mail]. His archive can be found here. You can find everything he writes, including articles for other publications, here.