Thursday, January 8, 2009
Manny Being Manny Cost Manny Millions
Back when the Red Sox were forced to trade Manny Ramirez, one of the things that really bugged me was the fact that he was likely to get a ridiculous contract after the season was over.
Manny refused to play in his final days in Boston. He faked an injury (I think we can all agree that the migrating knee injury wasn't real). He wanted to be put on the DL. The Red Sox had to threaten him with a suspension just to get him on the field.
In a game against the Yankees.
Manny wanted out of Boston. He wanted to become a free agent at the end of the season. He saw this as his last chance at a huge payday.
His new agent, Scott Boras, told him that he was worth four-year, $100 million on the open market. Teams would be lining up to sign him.
All he had to do was produce once he got out of Boston.
So Manny forced his way out of Boston. Then he produced. Not just good numbers, but super-human numbers.
And the scene was set.
Manny was going to get himself the contract he wanted. Once again, a spoiled athlete was going to screw over a group of fans that unconditionally loved him and make out like a bandit.
Have to feed the family and all. It's a business.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.
The absence of Manny Ramirez cost the Red Sox a chance to repeat as World Series champions. Manny's selfish temper tantrum forced the Red Sox to trade him for a nice player (Jason Bay), but a guy who was in no way Manny Ramirez.
The Red Sox had trouble scoring runs this postseason. A couple of runs here, an extra inning home run there, and the Sox would have been in the World Series.
Manny has spent his entire career driving in those runs and hitting those home runs.
Manny screwed over his friends, his teammates, and his fans when he bailed on the Red Sox last summer.
Which is why it was so upsetting that he was going to get another insane contract. Don't baseball owners and GMs watch TV? Didn't they see what he did in Boston? Why would they give him a four-year deal when they know he'll likely bail in year three, no matter what the cost?
But something strange happened. Nobody wants Manny Ramirez. Or, at least, nobody wants him for the money he thinks he should be getting.
I apparently underestimated the GMs and owners involved.
The market for Manny has been cool, to say the least. The only real known offer on the table is a two-year deal from the Dodgers.
The Yankees? Not interested.
The Giants? Can't afford him.
The Mets? Thus far, not interested.
The Angels? Not interested.
The Red Sox? Ha!
Manny's big market options have been dwindling since the free agent season began. It's gotten so bad, he's discussed retirement.
He calls it unfair. I call it justice.
Under normal circumstances, someone with Manny's resume would have been the most sought-after free agent on the market. But when Manny screwed over the Red Sox, he unwittingly screwed over himself, as well.
It's not often in the world of professional sports where a greedy, scumbag player gets what's coming to him. This was one of those times.
Of course, the Yankees will probably eventually give him a three-year deal for like $60 million, since they're buying everyone this offseason. But even that deal will be half of what Manny bragged about getting earlier this year.
Greed and arrogance cost Manny Ramirez around $60 million dollars this offseason.
But hey, that's just Manny being Manny.
Sean Crowe is the New England Patriots Examiner at Examiner.com. He writes a column every other Thursday for Sports Central. You can email him at [email protected].