Projo Sports Blog

By Joe McDonald
Journal Sports Writer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- In a matter of minutes last summer, the lives of four completely different baseball players changed for the best.

It was July 31, 2008 when the Red Sox, Dodgers and Pirates were involved in a three-team trade that sent Manny Ramirez to Los Angeles, Jason Bay to Boston with Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen going to Pittsburgh.

Ramirez is considered one of the best hitters of his generation and has a persona of "Manny being Manny" wanted out of Boston where he won two World Series Championships.

Bay is a very subdued, down-to-earth Canadian and a five-tool player, who was comfortable in his Pittsburgh surroundings but wanted to play for a winner.

Moss and Hansen were prospects just waiting for an opportunity.

Everyone got their wish.

Two of the three worlds collided at City of Palms Park Thursday when the Red Sox played host to the Pirates in the second Grapefruit League game of the spring. Former teammates were handing out hugs and hellos, and each respective media contingent wanted to know what it was like for the players involved to play in different markets.

Moss, a star outfielder and offensive threat when he was coming up with the Red Sox, remembers the trade-deadline day has hectic.

"It was a mess," said Moss, who was at McCoy Stadium when he was told of the deal. "I had a lot to get together in a short period of time. You come over and you don't really know anybody. It's tough at first, but you get used to it. There are a lot of good guys on this team and they weren't afraid to make me feel at home. . . I love it over there. It's a great organization. But I'm thankful to be where I am and there are a lot of great guys here. I'm getting a chance to play here and that's what every young player wants."

Moss split the first half of the season between Boston and Pawtucket and posted a .295 average with two homers and 11 RBI for the Red Sox. After the trade, he was thrust into the starting lineup for the Pirates and finished the season with a .222 average, including six homers and 23 RBI.

"I knew he was going to get an opportunity to play," said Red Sox manager Terry Francona. "We all like Mossey - a lot. He's a great kid. He was probably going to get an opportunity more there than he would here. When a kid goes to a different league it's easier to root for him. The same thing with Hansen, these guys come up through the organization and it's hard not to grow fond of them. As an organization you're trying to do what's best for your team and sometimes that includes trades. The game is never going to change."

When Bay arrived in Boston he quickly became acclimated in his new environment and helped the Sox in every aspect of the game for the remainder of the year. He hit .293 with nine homers and 37 RBI for the Sox.

"As weird as it sounds and as much time as I spent over [in Pittsburgh], and how normal that became, it's amazing how after a couple of weeks being in the new situation in Boston how normal that became," said Bay. "I was there almost three months last year and it feels natural."

Bay said he thought there could be a chance the Pirates would trade him, but he never believed it would actually happen. Prior to that trade, he had been moved three different times, but never to a situation like Boston.

"To get a chance to come here, and the race they were in, I couldn't have picked a better situation," said Bay.

Hansen, a hard-throwing right-hander and former first-round pick (26th overall) by the Sox, has struggled in his career and did not make the trip to Fort Myers on Thursday.

Ironically, the Sox' David Ortiz and Julio Lugo were sitting in the Sox' clubhouse in the morning watching ESPN's report that the Dodgers offered Ramirez a two-year deal with $45 million. The slugger is still unemployed.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Brandon Moss Pittsburgh Pirates

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