Sunday, December 07, 2003
Trade Talk Continues
Poor Massarotti thinks any discussion of a Manny for A-Rod trade is all about catering to Manny's whims:
What if a new contract is doable, but the Red Sox decide to trade Garciaparra strictly because it is their only chance to dump Manny?
The answer is that Manny Ramirez would be responsible for the departure of Nomar Garciaparra, which just doesn't seem like the right thing to do. Realistically, shouldn't Garciaparra be catered to before Ramirez ever is? (Massarotti, Herald)
Here's another theory: Maybe the Red Sox don't think Nomar is worth the dollar numbers he's going to demand in a new contract after this season?
As Bill Simmons puts it so well,
There's a nagging sense that, like Julia Roberts, Nomar's best days are behind him. It's not like he's washed up -- he just isn't someone who gets mentioned in those "Who's the next guy to hit .400?" articles anymore. At his absolute apex, he strode to the plate, did his "Rain Man" routine with his gloves, swung at the first pitch -- whether it was at his head, his feet, rolling to the plate, or whatever -- and belted the living hell out of it. He sprayed line drives like a machine gun. It was almost freakish. And then he broke his wrist ... and three years have passed, and he's settled into that ".301 BA, .340 OBP, 25 HR, 115 RBI" stage of his career. Yeah, it's good enough to make the All-Star team. But it's not the same Nomar.
The bottom line: You can pitch to this guy. Good teams get him out, as we discovered during the playoffs (ESPN, Page Two).
Catering to Manny? I don't think so.
Hey, did you read what the new public editor of The New York Times wrote today?
… I'd rather spend my weekends exterminating rats in the tunnels below Penn Station than read a book by either Bill O'Reilly or Michael Moore. I go to a lot of concerts. I hardly ever go to the movies. I've hated the Yankees since I was 6.
Doesn't mean much in the big scheme of things, but it's one of those tidbits of trivia I like to put in my file labeled "miscellaneous good Red Sox omens."
