|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820
cobra kai 15000+ posts
|
OP
cobra kai 15000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820 |
Ramirez to Dodgers, Bay to Boston in deadline deal
yahoo- he Red Sox finally parted ways with their disgruntled slugger, sending him to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a startling, three-team trade Thursday that brought Jason Bay to Boston.
Pittsburgh gave up Bay and wound up with four young players. The deal was completed just before the 4 p.m. EDT deadline for making trades without waivers.
As of early Thursday, it appeared Ramirez might be on his way to the Florida Marlins. But when those talks fizzled, the Red Sox and Pirates found a willing third partner in the Dodgers.
Foxsports.com and SI.com reported the trade.
Ramirez, the MVP of the 2004 World Series, remains one of baseball’s best hitters and has enjoyed plenty of big moments in October. But his relationship with the Red Sox soured—again—in recent months, prompting the All-Star outfielder to agree to the deal.
And now, Manny can be Manny on the West Coast.
The Dodgers began the day one game behind first-place Arizona in the NL West, and were seeking a big bat. Boston, in the middle of the AL East race and chasing a second straight World Series title, wanted a productive hitter in return and got that in Bay.
The last-place Pirates, looking for young talent, gave up their star outfielder and got reliever Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss from Boston and third baseman Andy LaRoche and pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.
LaRoche, Moss and Hansen will join Pittsburgh and Morris will go to Class A Hickory.
The 36-year-old Ramirez was hitting .299 with a team-leading 20 homers and 68 RBIs for Boston. He hit his 500th career home run this year and is one of just eight players to hit at least 20 homers in 14 consecutive seasons.
Ramirez is in the final guaranteed season of an eight-year, $160 million contract. It also contains club options at $20 million each for 2009 and 2110.
On Wednesday, Ramirez criticized his team, telling ESPNdeportes: “The Red Sox don’t deserve a player like me.”
“During my years here I’ve seen how they have mistreated other great players when they didn’t want them to try to turn the fans against them,” he said.
The often contentious relationship between Ramirez and the Red Sox included him requesting trades after the 2005 and 2006 season.
AP Sports Writer Alan Robinson in Pittsburgh contributed to this report.
giant picture
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 17,801
terrible podcaster 15000+ posts
|
|
terrible podcaster 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 17,801 |
damn. he was the player who got me to 'jump ship' and become a boston fan back when he went there. (that and the fact that I'm from FUCKING CLEVELAND where teams go NOWHERE!) ah, well. not ditching another team, definitely not following the guy to the nl. I guess if it comes to it I could always pick a new favorite ballplayer.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896
10000+ posts
|
|
10000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2001
Posts: 14,896 |
Interesting move by Red Sox, in that it is both very good and also very likely to have its share of detractors. Bay, seven years younger and less than half as expensive, is actually having a better year(at the plate and certainly in the field) and he possesses a better package of skills than Manny, something that is lost on All-Star voters mainly because he plays in a pitchers park on an awful team. At this point, he's the better player, and unquestionably the better bargain. Looking at it from that perspective, its a slam dunk, though I would have thought Manny's perceived value would have gotten a "sexier" return.
Andy LaRoche's minor league record says future star, which the Dodgers didn't seem to care much about. Now he plays with his brother.
Speaking of the Dodgers, a Pierre-Jones-Ramirez outfield would make a ghastly, overpaid, team-killing mess.
MisterJLA is RACKing awesome.
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820
cobra kai 15000+ posts
|
|
OP
cobra kai 15000+ posts
Joined: Oct 2000
Posts: 45,820 |
i really like this move for the sox. as good as ramirez was for the bosox, statistically (and certainly historically) y'simply can't put up with that much bullshit from a player on your own team. he's been a cunt for awhile now, but the whole drama over the past two plus weeks was embarrassing. lots of respect to the sox for executing the move.
giant picture
|
|
|
|
|
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 17,801
terrible podcaster 15000+ posts
|
|
terrible podcaster 15000+ posts
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 17,801 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
