Projo Sox Blog

The Red Sox, however, are beginning to piece that world back together . . . helped in no small part by the weekend arrival of the free-falling A's, who were just what the doctor ordered. Yesterday's 5-2 win, recounted here by Joe McDonald, completed a three-game sweep that put the Sox back on their feet in time for a week-long jaunt through the Midwest. The Jason Bay Moment of the Day: His first-inning erasure of Mark Ellis, who was attempting to stretch a single into a double. Steven Krasner tells us all about it in his Inside The Game feature, along with the umpteenth standing ovation Number 44 received from the utterly besotted Fenway Faithful.

It was just another piece of the weekend-long Bay Lovefest, which started Friday night when he first popped his head out of the dugout and didn't abate any over the following 72 hours as he had a hand in both runs in Friday night's 2-1, 12-inning victory and hit his first Red Sox home run in Saturday night's 12-2 rout. (All stories projo.com) And Krasner, in particular, enjoyed Bay's homer: "He simply dropped the bat and started running in a nice professional trot around the bases. Bay didn't jettison his bat, stand at home plate and watch the ball's majestic flight. He didn't pound himself on the chest or point to the sky or the fans. He didn't stare down the pitcher and then milk the moment for all it was worth by sauntering around the bases, though the adoring crowd would have continued its standing ovation for as long as he wanted to take to reach home plate. It was refreshing to see."

The unstated but obvious comparison was to the self-proclaimed bad man, whose departure was greeted with an almost palpable sigh of clubhouse relief. (projo.com) The only person who really addressed the issue in any detail was -- naturally -- Curt Schilling, who basically said the players had had enough of Manny Ramirez' act, of not knowing whether he would put out a full effort or would stage yet another of his personal slowdowns (or shutdowns) over God-knows-what (Boston Globe) . . . with the clear implication that they were sick of Ramirez playing more for himself than for the team. (And anyone who thinks Schilling was acting as a stooge of Red Sox management hasn't been paying attention to Big Schill's relationship with the front office these days.) If the over-the-top embrace of Jason Bay is any indication, the fans were of the same mind. Allan Wood, for one, was disgusted with the anti-Manny sentiments displayed at Fenway over the weekend, but I get it. I really do . . . especially in light of Gordon Edes' story in the Globe on Saturday in which he reported Scott Boras promised that Ramirez would behave for the rest of the season if they didn't trade him, a promise the Sox took as "as a tacit admission that [Ramirez'] disruptive conduct of the last couple of weeks had been calculated, and they had had good cause to suspect more was in the offing . . . " Boras, of course, sort of denied the story -- it was, at best, a non-denial denial -- but what else could he do? And does anyone think the notion isn't, at the very least, plausible?

The Sox certainly didn't come out on the long end of this talent exchange -- Jason Bay's a nice player but he's not in Manny's class as a hitter, and the Sox also gave up Brandon Moss, Craig Hansen and $7 million to receive this offensive downgrade -- and that should tell you quite a bit about the urgency they felt to rid themselves of Manny Ramirez. (Not that it was all about bad manners; Seth Mnookin makes the case that Manny isn't the force he once was.) One thing we can say with confidence about this management team: They're not stupid. They clearly felt this was an untenable situation with Ramirez, and that the team is better off -- now, and going forward -- with a somewhat lesser hitter but better teammate in left field and the middle of the order.

Many have mentioned the similarities between this and 2004; i.e., jettisoning a franchise icon for lesser players in the final minutes of the trade deadline. I think the comparison works for this reason: In the same way that Nomar Garciaparra was a misfit in the Cowboy Up/Idiots clubhouse of 2004, Manny Ramirez was a misfit in the quieter, more professional clubhouse of 2008.

We know what happened in '04. Let's see what happens in '08.

I LOVE L.A.: Ramirez' arrival in Los Angeles has been a rousing success (Los Angeles Times), and I'm sure by now you've all heard Manny gush that he wants to finish his career there. (espn.com) Steve Dilbeck of the Los Angeles Daily News is skeptical . . . as am I.

THE FIRST BATTLE: Joe Torre has asked Ramirez to get his hair cut. Ramirez said he would. So far, he hasn't. The Los Angeles Times' T.J. Simers says it isn't going to happen. Nor, he says, should it.

ANATOMY OF A DEAL: The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette talks to Pirates GM Neal Huntington about the Bay trade, which wasn't finalized until one minute before Thursday's deadline. The Miami Herald's Barry Jackson tells how Manny-to-the-Marlins fell apart.

ANALYSIS OF A DEAL: The St. Louis Post-Dispatch's Rick Hummel talks to scouts who say the Dodgers are the big winners in the flurry of trades this July.

DISSENTING VIEW: About the only guy unhappy with Ramirez' landing in Los Angeles is Juan Pierre. (Los Angeles Daily News)

EITHER WAY, IT'S A TAMPA BAY VICTORY: The Rays -- or at least members of the central Florida media -- chose to look at it as another example of the heart and spunk of those never-say-die Rays. (Tampa Tribune) In Detroit, well, they were simply speechless. (Detroit News) Regardless, the Tigers' failure to hold leads of 3-1 in the eighth -- Kyle Farnsworth strikes again (Detroit News), and you knew Peter Abraham would have something to say about that (LoHud Yankees Blog) -- and 5-4 in the 10th resulted in a 6-5 Tampa Bay win (Tampa Tribune) that enabled the Rays to hold off their A.L. East pursuers for another day. It appears they also escaped physical peril; Fernando Rodney's 10th-inning walk on the wild side (Detroit Free Press) resulted in near-catastrophe for two Rays, but they seemed to be okay when it was all over. (St. Petersburg Times) Though Jim Leyland may not have had much -- okay, anything -- to say afterwards, his pregame comments (Detroit Free Press) never rang truer than after yesterday's circus was in the books . . . much to the Red Sox' and Yankees' chagrin.

EITHER WAY, IT'S A YANKEE VICTORY: That yin-and-yang between great comeback/unspeakable collapse was even more pronounced in the Bronx, as the Yankees erased deficits of 5-0 in the fifth inning and 9-8 in the eighth in beating the Angels, 14-9. (New York Daily News) Even the Yanks couldn't deny the Angels' culpability in this one; Los Angeles of Anaheim made four errors, including three in New York's six-run rally in the eighth, leading to 10 unearned New York runs and a sour ending to what had been a pretty good road trip for the Angels. (Los Angeles Times) Alas, all was not blue sky in Yankee Universe: Jason Giambi shaved his mustache, claiming there are "no more hits in it". (New York Daily News) Can't argue with that; he's batting .182 since July 2. A little more serious problem was another poor outing by Darrell Rasner, which may cost him his spot in the rotation to either Phil Hughes or -- he's baaack! -- Carl Pavano. (New York Post)

NO MO? A potentially far more serious problem is the spasms and soreness Mariano Rivera felt between his shoulder blades on Friday and again yesterday. (New York Daily News) Rivera channeled Kevin Bacon in telling the masses to be calm, all is well -- "Am I concerned? Not at all." -- and the Yankees also say they're not worried. We shall see.

THE LAST ONE: SI.com's Alex Belth was on hand Saturday for the final Old-Timers' Game at the old Yankee Stadium.

IF MYSTIQUE HAS PASSED ON, WHAT ABOUT AURA? Anthony Andro of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram lists five reasons why "Yankee Mystique is dead." (Reason No. 2: "It's Boston's league now.") He also lists five reasons why it's still alive.

HE'S NUMBER ONE: The New York Daily News' Mike Lupica picks Carlos Beltran as New York's "biggest offensive disappointment" this year.

WELCOME BACK: Francisco Liriano returned to the Twins with six shutout innings as he pitched Minnesota back into first place in the A.L. Central. (Minneapolis Star-Tribune)

GOING DOWN FIGHTING: The team they supplanted in first place was the White Sox, who had two separate brawls in their 14-3 loss to the Royals yesterday. (Chicago Tribune)

PASSAGES: Long-time Braves announcer Skip Caray -- who, thanks to the rise of the superstation in the 1980s, became one of the first local play-by-play voices to develop a national following -- died in his sleep at age 68. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) Among the mourners: Craig Calcaterra of ShysterBall.

LOCAL BOYS: Rocco Baldelli apparently has vowed not to shave until he plays another game for the Rays. That could happen momentarily, as Tampa Bay may activate him in time for tonight's game against the Indians. (St. Petersburg Times)

MINOR ADJUSTMENT: The Los Angeles Times' Bill Shaikin says the Dodgers ought to ask the appears-to-be-washed-up Andruw Jones to go to the minor leagues, and he ought to agree to go. But when he asks around, Shaikin discovers that option isn't on anybody's radar.

TRADE OFF: But ESPN's Keith Law says if the Dodgers want to trade Jones -- though who'd want him is anybody's guess -- he's one of the players who probably would clear waivers.

HERE AND THERE: Three Cuban players, in Canada for an international tournament, have defected (edmonton.ctv.ca) . . . The Reds are the latest team to discover that players-only meetings don't always work (Dayton Daily News) . . . It looks like Tim Hudson will undergo Tommy John surgery (talkingchop.com) . . . The Mets' John Maine is headed to the disabled list and he may be joined there by Billy Wagner (New York Post) . . . Also on the DL: The Braves' Rafael Soriano (Atlanta Journal-Constitution) . . . Joe Crede's rehab from back surgery has hit a snag (Chicago Sun-Times) . . . Eric Wedge says the Indians need a closer and they need to get one before spring training starts in '09 (ohio.com) . . . The Rockies are interested in Livan Hernandez, who's been designated for assignment by the Twins (Denver Post) . . . Kerry Wood might return to the Cubs this weekend. (Chicago Sun Times)

OLD FRIENDS: David Laurila talks music with Lenny DiNardo (Baseball Prospectus) . . . While he hasn't officially announced his retirement, David Wells says his playing days are over. (New York Post)

-- ART MARTONE