And so the carousel went, and Manny got off. Or perhaps ’twas more a 3-ring circus. I think all 3 teams ended up winning somewhat with this trade: the Dodgers haven’t had a hitter like Manny for a while, and were criminally undervaluing Andy LaRoche anyway. Jason Bay’s a decent hitter, as long as tehre’s no expectation that he’ll replace Manny’s production purely through offense. And I hope LaRoche and Hansen, both full of promise but needing a change of scene, blossom at the Pirates. There’s no way of course that was truly fair value for the production of one of the greatest right-handed hitters of all time (even if he’s not the >1.000 OPS guy he used to be). But I suppose hands were tied.
For two World Series; for the amazing ability to hit any time, anywhere; for all the great Manny Being Manny moments, American flag-waving and all… behind Pedro, Manny will always be one of my favourite Red Sox players. I hope after all the dust subsides that the next time he comes back to Boston he’ll get the warm welcome he well and truly deserves. I’ll miss Manny. And I’ll miss the fear of God he placed into opposing pitchers, and opposing fans - Yankee fans in particular. And I’ll miss that sweet swing of the bat, elegant and seemingly effortless, launching balls into orbit.