The Bay State Basher…

Red Sox Talk – Since my last post, the sox have posted a 1 and 2 record with two consecutive losses coming at the hands of Toronto. It seems that old friend Roy Hallady and company have decidedly picked up the pace and I think it’s no coincidence that their surge has come under the watchful eyes of Cito Gaston. Folks, this guy can manage and the Jays will certainly have something to say about who wins the A.L. East, that’s for sure.

Last nights win over the Orioles was the first of a nine game road swing, which will take the sox through Toronto (ugh), and New York. Jason Bay came up big with 2 homeruns and 4 runs batted in, and this is where I get into the discussion about Manny Ramirez. Let me first say that Ramirez is arguably one of the all-time greatest right-handed power hitters in the history of the game. He hits for average and for power. He’s proven time and time again that when the game is on the line and Manny’s at the plate, it’s almost a certainty that he’ll come up big. No doubt, he’ll be a first ballot hall-of-famer.

Now here’s the bad news. Unfortunately, Manny Ramirez became a selfish player somewhere along the way. Here’s a guy that was afforded every luxury by the Boston organization. They put up with his constant Manny being Manny episodes, which included things like showing up for spring training late and several occurrences where lack of hustle reared its ugly head. Then there were the multiple fathom injuries and child-like tantrums that made him seem more like a twelve-year old then a man in his thirties. He’s a guy who never wanted to lead, never played through the bumps and bruises like many of his teammates and rarely played with the heart and motivation of a lion on a game-by-game basis. He shunned the media, and the fans, the ones who truly adored the man and worshiped the ground he walked on. He claimed he couldn’t go anywhere without being bothered though; yet he said he loved the Boston fans.

Yes, this is the real Manny, the one who currently makes 20 million dollars a year and is at the end of an 8-year, 160 million-dollar contract. The same guy who has became obsessed with an organization picking up his option, and when it didn’t happen he took things into his hands. First he pushes down traveling secretary Jack McCormick, a man nearly twice his age because he couldn’t provide him with an unreasonable amount of tickets. Then he cat calls management saying they aren’t being straightforward and were deceiving him? Huh? And finally, as a last defiant stand, he decides his knee is hurting and can’t play; yet he when asked which knee was giving him a problem he couldn’t remember? Oh yeah, this guy’s gone way over the edge.

The finality of it all was that Manny simply gave the Red Sox no choice but to trade him. Even his own teammates when counseled by GM Theo Epstien said he had to go. So, that’s leads me back to Jason Bay. Here’s a guy who is everything that’s Manny’s not. A guy that wants to play every day; he hustles out every ground ball. He’s defensively sound as an outfielder and has a better than average arm along with a fair number of assists. He hits with power, and for a decent average and has already delivered several clutch hits. He’s approachable, he’s sincere, and he’s grateful for the chance to play in a meaningful game every single day. Hell, the guy can even steal you a base. Granted his power numbers may not be Manny’s, but he’s in his prime (29), and is hitting in a lineup loaded with good hitters (unlike Pittsburgh) so he doesn’t need to put up those monster numbers year in year out. The scary thing though is that he just may come close. So I say, so long Manny Ramirez and welcome aboard Jason Bay.

Money Update – Well, the coins have been plentiful lately pulling in a total of 2.77 in coin. Our finds came from the usual places of which I’ve mentioned many times before. We did have one exciting find though, 1943 Liberty Half Dollar! Yes, it’s true, I could hardly believe it myself, but there it was resting in the gravel of popular coin finding spot. I had found several pennies and one nickel at this location before stumbling on the half dollar, but this was by far the best gem of the day.

Good Night and Good Hunting!