Manny Ramirez Out of Boston: Yankee Fans Rejoice

I am actually giddy.

I will start off by saying that I love the trading deadline. It is a holiday for me, and truly one of the best days of the year for a baseball fan. The speculation and last minute moves that seemingly appear from nowhere but will have lasting effect really do a lot to pump me up for the last two months of the baseball season. This year did not disappoint.

As a Yankee fan, I will try to be objective when I say that the Yankees made out very well at the end of July. I am not in love with Xavier Nady (I still think they should have pursued Matt Holliday at any cost), but a right-handed left fielder and Damaso Marte are excellent additions to this team. Kyle Farnsworth out and Ivan Rodriguez in? Win-win across the board.

And, here’s the deal that warranted a happy-go-lucky all-is-right-in-the-world phone call from my dad: Manny Ramirez traded for not Manny Ramirez.

I mean no disrespect to Jason Bay, whom the Red Sox acquired in a three team trade that will end with Manny Ramirez on the Los Angeles Dodgers and Jason Bay on the Red Sox. I am actually a Jason Bay guy; someone who felt the Yankees should have done more to get him instead of Nady (Sorry X, you seem to get no love from me in any post, but prove me wrong and I’ll change my mind). But in the end, leaving Bay on the Pirates opened up the door for Manny to walk right out of Boston.

Fear would have to be the word that comes to mind when Ramirez would bat. As much as I hate him, and even as a baseball fan I feel that he disrespects the classiest of all sports, I will not deny his talent.

In addition to irreplaceable protection in the lineup for David Ortiz, the Red Sox have lost one of the best hitters of this era. His presence alone forces pitchers to think differently when approaching him and his calm demeanor in any at-bat, in any situation, really does scare me as an opponent.

But no nightmares tonight. I will sleep well knowing that the Red Sox are now slightly less powerful and thus, slightly more vulnerable.

Jason Bay will do fine in Boston and the Red Sox are not in a terrible position after this deal. But he’s gone and New York is rejoicing.

I always felt that the best way to judge a move accurately was to see how your rival would react. Boston says fire Joe Torre? Then keep him. The Patriots say Kellen Clemens is the future for the Jets? Start Chad.

So I will give a firm applause for the Yankees today and a nice tip of the cap to Boston for their part. I am not even upset that the deadline has passed since the best part about the Trade Deadline Holiday is that the celebration can continue past July 31^st, and hopefully, well into October.

Mario Mergola is the co-creator and writer at The Digital Blitz.