Projo Sports Blog

By Jim Salisbury
The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA - Manny Ramirez has proved to be one of the biggest difference makers of the 2008 season - for what he's meant to the Los Angeles Dodgers and what he hasn't meant to the Boston Red Sox.

The Dodgers finally ran down the Arizona Diamondbacks last weekend, taking over first place in the National League West for the first time since April 4. The Dodgers went from 4 1/2 games back to 1 1/2 up thanks to an eight-game winning streak in which Ramirez hit .455 with four homers, 11 RBI, and a 1.136 slugging percentage.

Ramirez joined the Dodgers on Aug. 1, after being traded by Boston. The Dodgers were a .500 team when he arrived. They were 21-17 in his first 38 games and he hit .396 with 14 homers and 40 RBI in that span.

Clearly, the addition of Ramirez has had a big impact on the Dodgers.

Likewise, his subtraction has had a significant impact on the Red Sox.

"We're a completely different team," Boston manager Terry Francona said in a telephone interview. "We're doing things a lot better. Whether it's coincidence or not - that's for other people to figure out. I don't care as long as we win."

Not many clubs can trade away a sure-thing Hall of Famer and get better, but the Red Sox have. They had a .560 winning percentage and were a game up in the American League wild-card race when they traded Ramirez. In their first 36 games without him, they were 24-12 (.667) and had opened a 5 1/2-game lead in the wild-card race as they chugged toward their fifth postseason berth in the last six years.

Ramirez was a huge force during his 7 1/2 seasons in Boston. He helped the Sox win the World Series in 2004 and 2007. After a slow start, he put up big numbers for the club this season. But in July, when Red Sox management indicated that it was undecided if Ramirez's $20 million option for 2009 would be picked up, the slugger turned into a headache. The once-cute phenomenon known as "Manny being Manny" reached its expiration date. Veteran teammates reportedly approached management with a message: Ramirez had to go.

"I don't think I've ever criticized a player publicly, and I'm not going to start when he leaves, but we just felt like it was time for a change," Francona said. "Some distractions were going on. Whether that had to do with Manny or not isn't fair to him. Our job is to handle distractions and we got to the point where we weren't handling them well. It got to the point where we had to do something."

Boston replaced Ramirez with Jason Bay, who received a parole from Pittsburgh. Bay is not Ramirez, but he's not bad, either. He hit .299 with seven homers, 33 RBIs and zero headaches in his first 35 games. In recent weeks, the Red Sox have replaced injured rightfielder J.D. Drew with Mark Kotsay. They have also added Paul Byrd to a starting rotation that includes top arms Josh Beckett, Jon Lester and Daisuke Matsuzaka. Boston has a pair of MVP candidates in Dustin Pedroia and Kevin Youkilis. All this will make the Sox a tough out in the playoffs.

"We got pretty scrappy all of a sudden," said Francona, hinting at a team character change that began when Ramirez went west. "All of a sudden we're a pretty interesting team, a pretty likable team."

As strange as it seems not seeing Ramirez's dreadlocks covering the top of a No. 24 Boston jersey, it might be more strange not seeing the Red Sox battle it out with the arch-rival Yankees this season. In nine of the last 10 seasons, the Yanks and Red Sox finished either first or second in the AL East. Now, the Yanks' run of 13 straight playoff appearances is about to end, and there's a new team - Tampa Bay - atop the division.

"It might seem weird to fans that the Yankees aren't there, but for us, we're just battling another good team," Francona said. "We're trying to win games - it doesn't matter who it's against.

"But I will say this," Francona added with a laugh. "Life is easier in this town when the Yankees lose. If we lose and the Yankees lose, there's not as much wrath."

After 10 losing seasons, the Rays recently clinched their first winning season in club history. Since June 29, they have been in first place all but one day.

Francona has been in the AL East for five seasons. He is not surprised by the Rays' rise.
"You could see this coming the past couple of years," Francona said. "They were very athletic and when they got pitching they were tough. They just didn't have enough pitching. There were a number of times they played us even until we got to their bullpen and won.

"Now they have pitching. They have a good bullpen and their starters go deep enough so they don't overexpose the bullpen. They played 14 innings in a visiting ballpark (Wednesday) and allowed two runs. That's pretty impressive.

"What that team has done this season is good for baseball - not good for the Red Sox, but good for baseball."

Boston and Tampa Bay have played 15 games this season, with the Rays winning eight. The two teams have another first-place showdown this week, with a three-game series beginning in Florida on Monday night.

Manny Ramirez will not be there, and the Red Sox will feel his absence - in a good way, strangely enough.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez

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