Red Sox Face Life After Manny

Boston fans came to the games before the Manny Ramirez trade begging the team and the player to kiss and make up again, but that never happened. Instead Ramirez left for the West Coast and the Boston Red Sox got Jason Bay out of the Pirates in a three team deal. This is news that will have a resounding effect for seasons, not just the second half of a pennant race.

Bay was stuck in Pittsburgh as a player destined to be the best on the worst team. The trade saved his career from becoming forgotten because he played for an AAA ball club masquerading as a major league team despite some very good seasons. The trade gives the Red Sox a player entering the prime of his career, when his physical abilities and mental judgments are at their peak.

Giving away Ramirez saved the team money and spared the locker room controversy. Terry Francona said he would take angry talent over a joyous utility player, but Bay is not a utility player. Bay can play the field much better than Ramirez and can hit as well. He may not get 40 home runs a year, but fans with Fenway Park tickets will see numbers in the 30s and high 20s (which are basically the same as the 40s and 50s during the last few steroid years).

Fans will not bemoan the trade as Boston’s self-mutilation of contention in the big three sports. The Red Sox have plenty of talent with Kevin Youkilis, Jacoby Ellsbury, and a host of pitchers ready to take over after Bartolo Colon, Curt Schilling, and Tim Wakefield leave vacancies in the roster. The Boston Celtics seats will stay in demand as long as Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce, and Ray Allen can co-exist. New England Patriots tickets will continue to guarantee an AFC East division title as long as Bill Belichick remains coach and Tom Brady remains the starting quarterback.

The Red Sox only gave up a headache with the trade. The team will be able to think clearer for seasons to come as an emerging pitching staff and a well-rounded offense that combines hitting, power, and speed promises to keep the team in contention in the American League East.

So when historians look back on the trade in the middle of the 2008 MLB season, they will not see a frustrated team force to deal away their future, but a wise move that guaranteed years of World Series games on the schedule.