Projo Sox Blog

You might want to read this one quick, because the way things go today, it could all change soon.

THE FINAL CHAPTER? If last night was Manny Ramirez's last night in a Red Sox uniform, he went out like a lamb on the field, and like a lion off it. Ramirez was 0 for 3 as the Red Sox continued their brutal play against the Los Angeles Angels, losing to L.A. for the eighth consecutive time. (projo) Before the game, speaking to ESPNdeportes.com's Enrique Rosas, he issued perhaps his most severe indictment of Red Sox management, saying the club does not deserve a player like him. And suddenly, on deadline day, the chances look better than ever that Manny's days here are numbered. Sean McAdam outlines a potential deal that would send Ramirez to the Florida Marlins and bring Jason Bay and John Grabow back to the Sox via Pittsburgh. We want to know what you think of the idea.

STILL WAITING: The Palm Beach Post is reporting that there is a tentative deal in place between Boston, Florida and Pittsburgh. But The Associated Press reports the opposite. SI.com's Jon Heyman says a deal is close and the teams have been in contact with the commissioner's office. But Peter Gammons thinks the Pirates might hold things up. And the Herald's Tony Massarotti goes through some potential drawbacks in the deal, and asks, what is the proper price to pay for sanity?

READY TO POUNCE: If the Red Sox don't end up with Bay, the Tampa Bay Rays would sure like to have him. (Tampa Tribune)

TO THE DEFENSE: Joy of Sox blogger Allan Wood is a contrarian when it comes to Manny these days, and he has no time for Jim Rice's criticisms of Ramirez during a recent XM Radio broadcast.

STILL FOCUSED ON THE 'PEN, TOO: McAdam reports that the Royals have offered Ron Mahay to the Sox for Brandon Moss. He doesn't think Atlanta's Will Ohman will be headed this way, and the St. Louis Post Dispatch doesn't see Ohman going to the Cardinals, either.

NO ARGUMENTS HERE: With Mark Teixeira in the fold, and with the team totally clicking right now, lots of people say the Angels are the team to beat. Sean McAdam said it yesterday, as did Touching All the Bases' Chad Finn.

HE'S UNREPENTANT: Surprisingly, the Globe's Bob Ryan has never covered a "real" no-hitter (we'll forgive him for saying that Joe Cowley's seven-walk, one-run, no-hit effort for the White Sox doesn't really count), and so if he was rooting for John Lackey to get it done Tuesday night, which he was, he refuses to apologize.

HE WON'T BE WEARING THEIR HAT ON HIS PLAQUE: But if he helps bring a World Series to the final season at Yankee Stadium, New York fans will still have a fond place in their hearts for Pudge Rodriguez, acquired in a trade with the Tigers for less popular fireballing reliever Kyle Farnsworth. (N.Y. Daily News) Subway Squawker blogger Lisa Swan says that "now was the right time to trade Farnsworth -- when he finally was pitching well -- before he faltered again and turned back into Kerosene Kyle!"

CONTRARIAN VIEW: But Ken Davidoff of Newsday protests that the Yankees gave away their bridge to the ninth inning in exchange for a guy who has become a below-average offensive player.

IF IT WORKS, BLAME DETROIT: Peter Abraham posted the full audio of Brian Cashman's news conference following the Rodriguez trade. One of the more interesting assertions by Cashman is that he was not looking for catching help until the Tigers' Dave Dombrowski called him to suggest the swap.

HIGH NOON: The Seattle Times says the Jarrod Washburn talks are continuing, and what we have now is a classic stare-down between the Yankees and the Mariners.

AL EAST WARS CONTINUE: Before the Pudge deal, the Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 13-3, to avoid a three-game sweep. Joba Chamberlain was on the mound, but it was Edwar Ramirez who made the most memorable pitch, throwing over the head of Baltimore's Kevin Millar. Ramirez was ejected for the pitch, which came a day after Daniel Cabrera beaned Alex Rodriguez. Millar's postgame quote: "One hundred percent [the pitch was intentional]. I was upset they threw him out of the game because he's really good hitting. He's a cute little fella, he didn't throw that hard and he doesn't have very good stuff. So it's probably a good idea they threw him out, because it probably would've been in Monument Park." (Both stories Newsday)

IN OTHER YANKEE NEWS: The Bombers traded relief pitcher LaTroy Hawkins to contender pretenders Houston in exchange for minor league infielder Matt Cusick. (AP)

DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING: There have been a lot of rumors in the past couple years about Ken Griffey Jr. going a lot of places (Seattle, Boston, New York), but to my knowledge, the Chicago White Sox had never been mentioned as a likely destination. Well, today, Griffey appears destined to be a South Sider. The Reds have agreed to trade Griffey to the ChiSox for an unknown package of players, and the deal just awaits Griffey's approval, Ken Rosenthal reports. (Foxsports.com)

THAT'S NOT ALL: The White Sox are also reported to be talking to Oakland about Huston Street, but whether they have enough prospects to satisfy the Athletics remains in question. (Chicago Sun Times) Not to be deterred, the White Sox are trying to get other teams involved to make the Street deal happen. (San Francisco Chronicle)

STAYING IN THE CENTRAL: The White Sox' division rivals, the Twins, would like to bolster their offense with third baseman Adrian Beltre. But right now the Mariners' price is too steep for them. (Minneapolis Star Tribune)

ROADBLOCK: ESPN's Buster Olney reports that talks between the Dodgers and the Padres involving Greg Maddux have ground to a halt.

WELCOME BACK: Chris Carpenter looked good pitching four innings for the Cards in his first start since Tommy John surgery.

OLD FRIENDS: Kelly Shoppach homered twice and doubled three times against Detroit, becoming the eighth player ever to collect five extra-base hits in a game. (projo) And even though the game went 13 innings, Shoppach had all of his hits in the first nine. By the way, Shoppach plays for the Indians, which means there's a good chance his team lost the game, which they did.

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