You see, the whole Manny Ramirez situation is not worth really talking about because there is only speculation at this point. We don’t really know the motives, or the behind the scenes crap that is going on, and to say otherwise is just kind of foolish.

I will say a few points about it though:

1. No one in baseball is irreplaceable
2. Manny Ramirez is one of the five best hitters in baseball
3. People who say this is a great move because Manny is a headcase and a detriment to the club house are idiots. These are the same people who think that Pedro should have pitched against the A’s when he was in the hospital, and think that Trot Nixon is baseball incarnate. I get it, you don’t like uppity Dominicans.
4. On Manny Ramirez’s end, this is not about money. For those out of Boston, or for those who have took their “Selfish Millionaire Manny” pills this morning, there was a column written by Dan La Batard after Ramirez signed with Boston. The following came out in the column

:

• Manny had a $30 fake diamond earring because he didn’t see the point in spending the money on more
• He was driving a Taurus when he signed with the Red Sox
• He didn’t think that he could afford to move to Boston full time
• When he traded in his Taurus, there was an uncashed paycheck in the glove compartment from five months ago

Now I think it proves that Manny doesn’t really care about the money, and that Manny is a space cadet. That’s all.

I still don’t know the motives of the Red Sox front office, nor do I know the involvement of Jeff Moorad, Manny’s agent.

As an aside, this is what is really wrong with baseball. The need to find a villian in every story rather then to cover it. I will say that most of the writers have been fair, at least the ones I read. The real problem standing in the way of the enjoyment of baseball is the fact that everything around Boston is a soap opera. Just let us watch the friggen games.

Also, Joe Morgan is hosting his regular baseball chat this morning on ESPN.com. This question got one of the stupidest answers I’ve ever seen:

Aaron (Cleveland): I can understand the Red Sox putting Manny on waivers, because they’d get his salary back to use on other players, but I’ve heard they’ll trade him for virtually nothing and pay half of his salary. Are they nuts??? Regardless of his issues, he’s still one of the top two or three hitters in the AL.

Joe Morgan: (11:08 AM ET ) I can’t answer what they will or won’t do. I don’t think they’ll trade him and pay half. I don’t know exactly what they are doing. Last year they used a bullpen by committee, I don’t know what they’re doing.

If you’ve read this site enough, you know how I feel about comments like the bullpen one, so I won’t rehash why he’s a jackass. I will tell you why Morgan completely misses the boat here. His Big Red Machine teams won baseball games using closer by committee. Someone should tell Little Joe that he is propagating a myth. I sent in a question about it, but I don’t expect it to be answered.

Sorry about the bitterness today. I got on a roll, and bang…vitriol. I’ll post a few more times this weekend I think, with a readjusted roster for you to look at.