Maybe they needed Ramirez to make box office splash after the Angels acquired Mark Teixeira, but contrary to Steve Henson, that doesn’t make the Dodgers “trade winners.”
Rather, I agree with Tim Brown on the reasons this trade is overrated.
Dodger Stadium is a clear pitchers park in general, and in spades compared to Fenway. Along with that, his defensive limitations will be more exposed in the larger Dodger Stadium.
Manny’s never played in the NL before.
It will be easier to pitch around him in the Dodger lineup than it was in the Bosox order.
There’s no DH position to give him a rest from OF duties. (After two years of slim duty at DH, Manny has played one-third his games there this year.)
In spite of all that, Manny’s agent, the brilliant NOT Scott Boras, got the Dodgers to waive his two option years, which were for more than $20 mil each.
Manny will not have a good second half of the year, will start looking old, and, even given the stupidity of baseball owners, will be hard pressed to get more than $20 mil on the free agent market next year.
The Bosox?
Well, Jason Bay is a better defensive outfielder. He’s generally healthier than Manny.
And, in the Boston lineup, he WILL get better pitch views than he did in Pittsburgh.
Plus, he adds a touch of speed, not blazing, but mid-level speed, to the Boston lineup.
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