ANAHEIM, Calif. — When the replay was shown to boos at Angel Stadium, it raised the question: How can any team be better without Manny Ramirez?
The Boston Red Sox began their title defense Wednesday night with Kevin Youkilis hitting cleanup, just minutes after Ramirez homered in the Los Angeles Dodgers’ victory over the Chicago Cubs.
Tired of the distraction Ramirez had become, Boston traded Ramirez on July 31, acquiring Pittsburgh Pirates slugger Jason Bay. He has done fine — a .293 average, seven home runs — but the truth is those numbers will ring hollow if he doesn’t perform well in the postseason. Bay got off to a great start with a two-run homer in the sixth inning.
Before their opener, the Red Sox tried to paint a happy face on life without Manny being Manny. Manager Terry Francona said correctly that the team only was different, alluding to the clubhouse vibe.
“Going into that last week with (Ramirez) we weren’t playing very good baseball. We were allowing frustrations to get in the way of the execution of the game,” Francona said. “The last seven weeks, it’s been an enjoyable team to be around, and we’ve gotten back on track right away when we didn’t play well.”
Catcher Jason Varitek, the team captain, wasn’t critical of Ramirez. The drama, though, had become a bit much.
“People need to understand, Manny wasn’t hurtful in the clubhouse as much as it was a situation that needed to come to an end,” Varitek said.
Don’t think the Red Sox brass isn’t a little nervous now? Ramirez was a headache, but no one in baseball hits good pitching like Man-Ram. That’s why he’s so valuable in the playoffs. And let’s be clear, that Ramirez had become a handful was, in part, because of the way he was coddled. He was treated like an infant, even though when it comes to hitting, he’s a savant.
At the end of the day, the Red Sox enabled the behavior they grew to detest, not unlike the Giants in San Francisco with Barry Bonds. The difference is that Ramirez is not human plutonium. He asked repeatedly to be traded over the last few years, and fed up, acted out by tanking it. The response was unacceptable, but strangely understandable.
In Los Angeles, Ramirez has become the force in the Dodgers’ lineup that Bonds once was in San Francisco. Except without all the baggage. He’s viewed as the perfect antidote for a club that was too tense, too joyless.
Boston had legitimate reasons for shipping out Ramirez. Both parties, though, were culpable. Bay has helped create a better clubhouse, but if it’s not soaked in champagne in four weeks will they still be happy without Ramirez?
Whispered at the park.
A trade that makes sense after talking to a handful of baseball people the last few days: Yankees starter Ian Kennedy, a former high school teammate of Ian Stewart’s, for Rockies center fielder Willy Taveras. The Rockies need more pitching, and Taveras could benefit from a change of scenery.
