Old Ape Face
July 31st, 2008, 04:20 PM
The ring leader to the Red Sox, World Series Champions twice in the past decade is Traded off to the Dodgers and is replaced by Jason Bay.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/31/manny.sweepstakes/?cnn=yes
The Red Sox traded embattled slugger Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers late Thursday afternoon, SI.com has learned.
Jason Bay is headed to Boston as part of the deal, SI.com has learned. Pittsburgh gets pitcher Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss, both from Boston, as well as third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.
The Red Sox went back-and-forth with the Marlins and Dodgers as the 4 p.m. ET deadline approached, with SI.com reporting around 2:45 ET Thursday afternoon that the Dodgers were back in the discussions. There was skepticism that the Dodgers would be able to put together a deal on short notice. One major hurdle was cleared earlier in the day when Ramirez said he would accept a trade to any team, as first reported by SI.com.
The announcement of the trade will be made shortly in conjunction with a World Baseball Classic announcement at Dodger Stadium.
According to people familiar with the discussions, the Dodgers at one point offered outfielder Andre Ehtier, but the Dodgers preferred ultra-talented outfielder Matt Kemp instead. As it turned out, neither player was involved in the final deal.
The Red Sox approached Ramirez in advance of their negotiations, and got his OK. The Red Sox are paying the $7 million remaining on Ramirez's $20 million salary for this year. The two $20 million club options for each of the next two seasons were dropped, which will allow Ramirez to become a free agent this winter.
The Phillies were the involved in trade discussions for Manny earlier this week, but by Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, most of the focus was on a potential three-team trade involving the Marlins and Pirates that would have sent Ramirez to Florida. But that deal hit a snag, at least partly because the Marlins didn't want to give up power-hitting prospect Mike Stanton or minor league pitcher Ryan Tucker, and wanted more money back from the Red Sox.
Dealing such a productive and clutch player is a major risk, but some people in Boston believe the Red Sox finally reached their breaking point regarding Ramirez, who criticized upper management in recent days, came under fire for not playing the first game of a recent series against the rival Yankees, and appeared to not hustle on a couple of ground balls against the Angels in Fenway Park this week.
The Red Sox are 61-48, three games behind the first-place Rays in the AL East. The Dodgeres are currently 54-53, in second place in the NL West, one game behind the front-running Diamondbacks. The Dodgers' offense has been underwhelming this season, ranking 13th in the NL with 449 runs scored. Ramirez, 36, is batting .299 with 20 HRs and 68 RBI this season. No player on the Dodgers currently has more than 12 home runs or 60 RBI.
Ramirez joined the Red Sox with a $160 million contract before the 2001 season. He made the AL All-Star team in each of his eight years in Boston, posting six 30-HR seasons and six 100-RBI seasons in Boston while helping the Red Sox win two World Series titles. Ramirez was the 2004 World Series MVP when he batted .412 with one home run and four RBI as the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918.
Bay's name had also been bandied about in recent days, with the Rays seeming like the most likely destination as the deadline approached. This is the fourth trade of Bay's career. Originally drafted by the Expos, he was dealt first to the Mets in 2002, then to the Padres later that summer, then to the Pirates in 2003.
Bay was the 2004 NL Rookie of the Year and made two All-Star teams, in 2005 and 2006. He rebounded from an off year in 2007 to hit 22 home runs thus far in 2008, already one more than he had all of last season. He is signed through 2009, and is expected to provide protection in the lineup for sluggers David Ortiz and J.D. Drew.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre loved Ramirez from Torre's days managing the Yankees. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, a Bostonian, has added several former Red Sox in his tenure, including Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Lowe, Bill Mueller (who is now a in L.A.'s front office) and manager Grady Little, who preceded Torre in L.A.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/07/31/manny.sweepstakes/?cnn=yes
The Red Sox traded embattled slugger Manny Ramirez to the Dodgers late Thursday afternoon, SI.com has learned.
Jason Bay is headed to Boston as part of the deal, SI.com has learned. Pittsburgh gets pitcher Craig Hansen and outfielder Brandon Moss, both from Boston, as well as third baseman Andy LaRoche and right-handed pitcher Bryan Morris from the Dodgers.
The Red Sox went back-and-forth with the Marlins and Dodgers as the 4 p.m. ET deadline approached, with SI.com reporting around 2:45 ET Thursday afternoon that the Dodgers were back in the discussions. There was skepticism that the Dodgers would be able to put together a deal on short notice. One major hurdle was cleared earlier in the day when Ramirez said he would accept a trade to any team, as first reported by SI.com.
The announcement of the trade will be made shortly in conjunction with a World Baseball Classic announcement at Dodger Stadium.
According to people familiar with the discussions, the Dodgers at one point offered outfielder Andre Ehtier, but the Dodgers preferred ultra-talented outfielder Matt Kemp instead. As it turned out, neither player was involved in the final deal.
The Red Sox approached Ramirez in advance of their negotiations, and got his OK. The Red Sox are paying the $7 million remaining on Ramirez's $20 million salary for this year. The two $20 million club options for each of the next two seasons were dropped, which will allow Ramirez to become a free agent this winter.
The Phillies were the involved in trade discussions for Manny earlier this week, but by Wednesday night and into Thursday morning, most of the focus was on a potential three-team trade involving the Marlins and Pirates that would have sent Ramirez to Florida. But that deal hit a snag, at least partly because the Marlins didn't want to give up power-hitting prospect Mike Stanton or minor league pitcher Ryan Tucker, and wanted more money back from the Red Sox.
Dealing such a productive and clutch player is a major risk, but some people in Boston believe the Red Sox finally reached their breaking point regarding Ramirez, who criticized upper management in recent days, came under fire for not playing the first game of a recent series against the rival Yankees, and appeared to not hustle on a couple of ground balls against the Angels in Fenway Park this week.
The Red Sox are 61-48, three games behind the first-place Rays in the AL East. The Dodgeres are currently 54-53, in second place in the NL West, one game behind the front-running Diamondbacks. The Dodgers' offense has been underwhelming this season, ranking 13th in the NL with 449 runs scored. Ramirez, 36, is batting .299 with 20 HRs and 68 RBI this season. No player on the Dodgers currently has more than 12 home runs or 60 RBI.
Ramirez joined the Red Sox with a $160 million contract before the 2001 season. He made the AL All-Star team in each of his eight years in Boston, posting six 30-HR seasons and six 100-RBI seasons in Boston while helping the Red Sox win two World Series titles. Ramirez was the 2004 World Series MVP when he batted .412 with one home run and four RBI as the Red Sox won their first World Series title since 1918.
Bay's name had also been bandied about in recent days, with the Rays seeming like the most likely destination as the deadline approached. This is the fourth trade of Bay's career. Originally drafted by the Expos, he was dealt first to the Mets in 2002, then to the Padres later that summer, then to the Pirates in 2003.
Bay was the 2004 NL Rookie of the Year and made two All-Star teams, in 2005 and 2006. He rebounded from an off year in 2007 to hit 22 home runs thus far in 2008, already one more than he had all of last season. He is signed through 2009, and is expected to provide protection in the lineup for sluggers David Ortiz and J.D. Drew.
Dodgers manager Joe Torre loved Ramirez from Torre's days managing the Yankees. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, a Bostonian, has added several former Red Sox in his tenure, including Nomar Garciaparra, Derek Lowe, Bill Mueller (who is now a in L.A.'s front office) and manager Grady Little, who preceded Torre in L.A.