Red sox send Manny Ramirez packing

One of the longest running soap operas in major league baseball has ended with the trade of slugger Manny Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Red Sox, who at times seemed almost desperate to get “ManRam” on the next plane out of town heading up to the trade deadline, actually got a decent player out of the deal as they acquired promising outfielder Jason Bay from Pittsburgh in the three team arrangement.

On the Boston end of the transaction, there is a sense of relief tinged with regret. Ramirez is one of the more bizarre characters in a sport that’s historically had no shortage of them. He’s a defensive nightmare who turns every ball hit to him in left field into an adventure. His focus is questionable at times, and frequently seems to be anywhere but baseball. On the other hand, he’s one of the most dangerous power hitters of this generation and played an instrumental role in the Red Sox transformation from “cursed” postseason losers to multiple World Series champs. He’s one of the few hitters in the game about whom it can legitimately be said that they “strike fear” into opposing teams.

For Ramirez and the Dodgers, its still a honeymoon. Despite offering nothing for the highlight reels in his Chavez Ravine debut (2 singles in 4 Abs), his presence alone has energized a franchise that has seen its upstart neighbors in Orange County, the Anaheim Angels, enjoy most of the success in recent years. “ManRam” has also excited a fanbase that is hard to get enthused about anything, resulting in a 55,000+ sellout in his debut (with 30,000+ tickets sold since the deal was announced). Ramirez looked almost jubilant at the response from the fans and the excitement of his teammates. He’s also got a new number—99, which ironically or not was last worn in Los Angeles by Wayne Gretzky. The implication to everyone was that Ramirez has the potential to bring Dodger baseball back to the forefront of the SoCal sports scene much in the same way that “The Great One” made the Los Angeles Kings relevant after years of near anonymity.

Heightening the potential for the “ManRam” experiment in L.A. to be successful is the presence of a number of individuals in team leadership roles that know what “his deal” is and understand him as much as any sane human is able to. This includes his long time foil in the Red Sox/Yankees rivalry, manager Joe Torre, longtime Red Sox teammate Nomar Garciaparra and longtime Dodger coach Manny Mota who became closely acquainted with him in Dominican winter ball. Furthermore, Ramirez could be just the ticket for a clubhouse that, if anything, needs to loosen up and be less serious.

At the very least, he’ll bring some excitement to a franchise that hasn’t had any since the 1988 World Series highlighted by Kirk Gibson’s legendary “one handed” home run.