Manny to La La Land

[Orioles]

What a perfect fit. Dealt to Red Sox West where former Red Sox bidder and Bay-Stater Frank McCourt is content to continue trying to reassemble the 2003 Sox with Grady Little before and DLowe, Nomah and now Manny. All not invited back for the next World Series run in Boston. I smell a Todd Walker signing.

Seriously though, this deal works out pretty well for all involved, imo. Ramirez had to go if they could get any kind of viable replacement, and they did pretty well to get a hold of Bay. If he responds anything like the way Mike Lowell did going from his baseball hell (florida) to Boston then the Canuck could manage a decent Manny impression the rest of the way. They'll probably be able to re-sign him if they want him when his contract expires after next year. At least he won't fake injuries to take days off against the toughest opposing pitchers in the middle of a pennant race.

Manny will fit fine in the relaxed atmosphere out west, he respects Torre, and Joe will know how to handle him. Some of the players there (Nomar and DLowe) also know how to handle Manny. His bat immediately elevates the Dodger offense to another level. They still don't have a real dangerous LH slugging presence in the middle of the order, but they do have guys who can hit, and now a HOF slugger in the middle of the lineup.

The Pirates were going to lose Bay, and LaRoche, Morris, Moss and Hansen is a pretty solid haul. Maybe the LaRoche brothers can wear special pirate superhero uniforms together. Yippee. I hope this deal, or some deal or draft pick or signing or transaction of any kind works out for the pirates at some point, b/c it hurts to watch.

I will miss Manny. Right up until recently I thought his bat was irreplaceable (in any reasonable trade scenario), and did not want to see him go anywhere. He's one of the greatest RH hitters in baseball history, and an entertaining character (unfortunately too often at the expense of his team's performance on the field). Some of the things he's said and done this season went over the line a bit from his past disruptions, and threatened greater distraction than before in the midst of a tight AL East race. An Ortiz-Bay-Drew middle of the order won't be quite as potent as one with Ramirez cleaning up, but he's 7 years younger and won't go take a whizz inside the monster halfway through an inning (as funny as that was). Downside is he's Canadian. Can't win 'em all.

[Giants]

I thought the deal was decent, though to be honest I kind of liked the Florida package almost more than Bay, especially if it included my boy Mike Stanton. I thought it was a great move to deal Moss, who I don't think was ever going to be good enough to hold down a corner spot for a team with an unlimited budget, and Hansen while he still had some value left. I expect Bay to perform roughly as well as Manny for the rest of the year, though in a boring, polite Canadian way rather than the Manny Being Manny we all grew to love. By the way, I'm genuinely curious what the market for Manny is going to be after the season. Do the Yankees sign him? The Mets? The Tigers? It could get really interesting.