MIAMI — We thought the worst was behind him. The truly egregious acts were a thing of the past. Manny being Manny was tolerable. That was the cartoon character in him.
Manny Ramirez could make us laugh when he talked on the cellphone in the Green Monster or high-fived a fan before firing a ball back in for a double play. It was charmingly eccentric. And besides, he could hit. Really hit.
But when Ramirez turned into a Man-Ram, hammering clubhouse foundation pieces every time he opened his mouth, even the Red Sox had enough. For 7 1/2 seasons they acted as apologists, enablers of his weird behavior.
Too often he decided when he wanted to be in the lineup, leaving manager Terry Francona furious. As he grew older, the injuries always became more serious against better pitchers. Players aren’t stupid.
The act got tired.
So Thursday, about a half-hour before the trading deadline, the Red Sox signed the divorce papers, shipping one of the game’s greatest hitters to the Dodgers. How badly the Red Sox wanted him gone can be seen in the alimony. They paid Ramirez $7 million to go away. That’s not Brett Favre hush money, but you get the idea.
The goofy slugger just wasn’t funny anymore. Two elements motivated a trade that Ramirez had asked for on and off over the last four years: his fed-up teammates and the slugger’s diss of owner John Henry.
For years, the Red Sox players tolerated Ramirez because at the end of the day he was a relatively harmless distraction. Did I mention he savaged the Yankees? Ramirez has played 200 games against the Yankees, batting .321 with 55 homers and 161 RBIs. Sins are pardonable with big wins. And none are bigger in Boston than those over the Yankees.
But Ramirez crossed the imaginary line this season. He pulled out of important games, dogged it in others. This isn’t exactly new behavior, but when he started ripping the organization in daily phone calls to ESPNdeportes, key veterans went to management and asked for them to remove the mushrooming problem.
Ownership would have likely brushed off the complaints a few years ago. They needed Manny. But everything has changed. The Red Sox have won two of the last four championships. They don’t have to sell their soul for one player anymore. And even if they were tilting in that direction, Ramirez’s criticism of Henry prevented it. When Ramirez threw him under the bus, the Red Sox reacted by running him out of town.
He will be missed. Nothing against Jason Bay, but he’s never played a single important game in his career, let alone under the fluorescent lights in Fenway Park. Ramirez will help the Dodgers, a team that has scored three runs or fewer 53 times this season.
In the end it was sad it had to come to this: A man defined by his production left the Red Sox feeling better through addition by subtraction.
Envelope, please.
When listing the winners at the trading deadline, it begins with the New York Yankees. They acquired a functional bat in Xavier Nady, who should be a force against left-handed pitching, a late-inning reliever in Damaso Marte and a frontline catcher, Ivan Rodriguez. The Yankees still lack starting pitching, but there can be no excuses from the players that general manager Brian Cashman didn’t give them every chance to win.
Ironically, the trades pained Cashman, who has spent the last few years restocking a farm system to leave the Yankees in position to deal in July.
“You can tell it was a tough trade when you have buyer’s remorse. The one for Nady and Marte hurt,” Cashman said. “But it addressed the needs of the clubs.”
Neither Nady nor Marte will be free agents, further validating the move. Most in baseball thought the Pirates came up a little slim on the Yankees’ deal. The key should be Jeff Karstens, who combined on a shutout of the Cubs on Friday, and outfielder Jose Tabata.
That said, the Pirates made out like villains in the three-way Ramirez fiasco. While I am not sold on third baseman Andy LaRoche, Brandon Moss is a Seth Smith-type outfielder with more power, Craig Hansen has the potential to be a big-league closer, and Bryan Morris was Los Angeles’ best pitching prospect behind Clayton Kershaw. The Pirates need to fill multiple holes and this is the first major step back to respectability.
Footnotes.
If the Phillies are going to win the National League East, they need more from reigning MVP Jimmy Rollins. There’s been a growing concern that Rollins’ award has gone to his head. He was benched for the second time this season last week after showing up late to the ballpark. Earlier this season, he didn’t run out a popup. Rollins was accountable for that mistake, but his repeated laissez- faire attitude suggests otherwise. . . . Tampa Bay is going to regret not making an impact move at the deadline. The Rays love their prospects, but they needed to land a bat. They were in on Bay, before losing out. Now they are forced to lean on the perpetually unreliable health of Rocco Baldelli. . . . Rodriguez said he would consider signing as a free agent with the Yankees.
Eye on …
Ken Griffey Jr., CF, Chicago White Sox
Background: First overall pick in the 1987 draft after starring at Cincinnati’s Archbishop Moeller High School. Received league MVP votes in nine of his first 11 seasons, winning the trophy in 1997 with the Seattle Mariners. Traded to the Reds before the 2000 season, when his body began betraying him. After failing to advance to the postseason once with his hometown team, Griffey gets likely final shot at the playoffs with the Chicago White Sox.
What’s up: At 2 a.m. Thursday, Griffey Jr. called his dad, asking his advice. The White Sox had a deal in place and he wanted to know if he should waive his no-trade clause. Griffey Sr., who works as a scout for the Reds, told his son that it was time to move on, to chase a ring. “For me, my kids are getting older. It wasn’t about being close to home. It was chance to win a title. That was the draw,” Griffey Jr. said Friday.
What’s next: It’s no secret White Sox general manager Kenny Williams has long coveted Griffey. And with Paul Konerko mired in a season-long slump, the Sox need more power. But Griffey’s arrival is a bit of a stretch. He is going to play every day in center field, with occasional starts in the designated hitter spot.
Renck’s take: This move would have made a lot more sense two years ago. At that point Griffey was still a steady center fielder. When the Rockies were in Cincinnati a week ago, the aging Griffey had trouble playing right field at Great American Ball Park, one of the easiest in baseball. Griffey just wants to fit in, showing his humility by taking No. 17 rather than the “Dirty 30” of Nick Swisher. It’s likely this is Griffey’s last season, so it’s natural to pull for him. The question is, can he provide enough offense to justify weakening the team’s defense?
At issue
Cooperstown deserves to be kept clean of Clemens, Bonds
What: The latest induction ceremony in Cooperstown brought focus about the candidacies of Roger Clemens and Barry Bonds, the poster children for baseball’s steroids era.
When: Both will be eligible for induction in 2012. On statistics alone, they are first-ballot Hall of Famers. They belong in the discussion of the greatest players ever. Had both retired after 10 seasons, they would have been elected. That’s the unwritten standard for excellence. But both allegedly yielded to temptation and greed later in their careers, turning to performance-enhancing drugs to extend their reign of dominance. Both deny they have used PEDs.
Renck’s take: Visiting the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown — Coopersvillage would be more apt since there’s only one stoplight — creates a better appreciation for the honor’s significance. The original Baseball Writers’ Association forefathers included a morality clause to be weighed when judging candidates. Whether dated or not, if they didn’t want that considered, they wouldn’t have included it. As such, there’s no way when I become eligible to vote in a couple of years that I will put Clemens and Bonds on my ballot. The hard part will be deciding the merits of those whom I have long suspected, but who never appeared in federal court or the Mitchell report. In talking to several Hall of Fame members last weekend, none supported Bonds and Clemens. Some, in fact, are personally offended by their actions. That carries heavy weight. If their peers don’t want them in, then it only makes sense for the writers to double-bolt the doors.
Ups and downs
THREE UP
1. Angels: Baseball’s best team has beaten Red Sox eight straight times this season.
2. Diamondbacks: Brandon Webb hasn’t lost to the Dodgers since Sept. 7, 2004.
3. Cubs: It’s as simple as 1-2-3 — Zambrano, Dempster and Harden.
THREE DOWN
1. Brewers: Swept by Cubs at home in biggest series of the season.
2. Red Sox: Lost headache, but also parted with one of greatest hitters ever.
3. Nationals: Thanks for playing, Paul Lo Duca; collect parting gifts at the door.
