Manny being subversive

Manny Ramirez finally got his wish, he was banished from Red Sox Nation and sent to Hollywood to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers. I know, I know ... this is old news. Well, it was brought back to the forefront (for me) when I read a column in the Sporting News written by Detroit RP Todd Jones. The column, titled "In an ugly divorce, Manny beat Boston to the punch", Jones seems to defend Manny's actions.

Jones brings up the Twins' treatment of Torii Hunter and Johan Santana, stating that below market contracts were offered, then the terms were leaked so "The play looks greedy, and the team takes the high road." He said "Manny smelled that coming" and that "if the Red Sox didn't want to pick up his options, they would start a discreet campaign to turn the city against him." Jones points to the situation of Nomar Garciaparra as a case when the Red Sox did this previously.

While Jones does write that "I'm not condoning how Manny got out of Boston," I think he's surrounded by too many trees to see the forest. First, I'll get the Nomar case out of the way. Nomar was offered a fairly lucrative multi-year deal by the Red Sox. He turned it down and then his career took a downward trend. The Twins aren't a big market club. They can only afford to pay a couple veterans big money, and spending $20 million per year on a pitcher isn't a wise investment. The Twins can't wrap one third of their payroll into a guy who's going out there once every five days, especially for multiple years. If Santana got seriously hurt in the first year of a six year deal, the Twins would be crippled financially for years. If Hunter and Santana wanted to stay in Minnesota, they could have accepted slightly below market deals.

Moving back to the Ramirez situation, tanking like Manny did was ridiculous, even by Ramirez's standards. If Manny knew that the Red Sox weren't going to pick up his options for 2009 and 2010, as Jones contends, then why didn't Manny just go all out and try to post the best numbers he could in his last year in Boston? If he knew he wasn't going to be in Boston next year, then he knew he'd be a free agent this winter. While he has been on fire since joining the Dodgers (.424 BA, 6 HR's, 21 RBI in 16 games), he failed to show he could produce for the entire season after having a sub-par (for Manny) 2007 season - maybe he was tanking a little last year, too? Even worse, Manny showed the kind of behavior he is capable of if he isn't happy. No GM with a solid head on his shoulders is going to give Manny the long-term deal he's looking for because of the possibility that Manny will decide that he doesn't want to play hard. At that point, it will be the GM's problem and said GM will have to figure out how to maximize value in a trade (as Theo did in Boston) to pass the buck or figure out how to make Manny happy (good luck).

I'm not sure what went wrong for Manny in Boston, but I think the situation is further evidence that the compensation system in baseball needs to be reworked. The salary structure up front for stars like Ryan Braun, Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, etc. is out-of-whack. Similarly, veterans shouldn't be on 7-year, guaranteed money deals. If Manny could have left Boston (or Boston could have kicked Manny to the curb to pursue A-Rod) years ago, this whole fiasco never would have materialized. And, maybe the Mariners would have a few more wins for all the millions they've spent this year. But, unfortunately, I know a new, improved system isn't on the horizon.