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].
January 9, 2009
Darnell:
Great to see Manny struggling to find teams willing to pay what he (Boras) think he’s worth. I hope he ends up on some last place team for half the money wishing the season would end after his new team is eliminated from the playoffs within the first 30 games!
Boras, of course, is to blame as much as Manny. Greedy bastard! Boras convinced Manny to shut it down to force the trade so he could get a piece of Manny’s next contract. Let’s all hope they both suffer! (If you call take less millions suffering!)
January 9, 2009
RD:
I agree this is plain and simple justice. Great article, like hearing it like it is for a change. I sincerely hope that MLB management as a whole backs off this butt head. He screwed his fans, and his team mates and should be banned from baseball. Unfortunately his bat is so powerful I too felt that someone would pay him the big bucks. It does my heart good to see this guy being ignored for the most part. Unfortunately someone will sign him and most like for more than the $20mil he was going to get but he certainly does not deserve it.
January 11, 2009
LethalInterjection:
I liked your post even if i like manny. Im dominican and i like all of the great players my country has to offer and manny being at the top of that list is surery on my safe’s list. I too think that what he did was dispicable and he ended up hurting the team and himself. I really dont care about boston but we cant be that bias. A las i know some team will give him something close to what he wants because his bat can undo most of that bad image that surrounds him as of now and he will still play another 3-4 years. I personally think that the yeankess for 2 years and incentives with the option for 3 years is the shot for his looking for, or at least, thats whats left. I think he is arguably the best clutch hitter they can have and the one they need, the one thats proven!. Like i said, i like him, but i think that what he did was not the better solution to his take on the situation…