The Futility Infielder

Three days after letting manager Grady Little walk, the Boston Red Sox are in the headlines for trying to usher another key member of their 2003 Wild Card team to the outskirts of town. The Sox placed slugging leftfielder Manny Ramirez on irrevocable waivers on Wednesday, meaning that any team can claim him without costing themsleves another player or worrying that the Sox will pull him back.

The catch, of course, is money; claim him and you owe bigtime. Ramirez will earn $101.5 million over the next five years -- $20.5 mil next year, second only to Alex Rodriguez -- and the Sox have clearly decided that's money better spent on staples such as pitching, defense, and one-year contracts to the likes of David Ortiz, who produced 31 homers, 101 RBI and a .961 OPS for the low price of $1.25 million. Or perhaps the Sox plan to spend their no-Manny mad money on Pedro Martinez and Nomar Garciaparra, both of whom are free agents after next season, and both of who figure to cause plenty of grief until Theo Epstein and company show them proper "respect" in the form of contract extensions.

Ramirez hit .325 with 37 homers, 104 RBI and a 1.014 OPS, terrific numbers right in line with his career production. But the 8-year, $160 million contract to which he was signed by the Dan Duquette regime is a relic. That deal came at a time when baseball salaries looked to be escalating ever higher, and via some combination of collusion, common sense and the Collective Bargaining Agreement, that has not been the case. As good as he is, he's not worth that kind of coin, a defensive liability now on the dark side of 30 (he'll be 32 next May).

Speaking of the dark side, at times Manny exists on his own planet, acting at best like an airhead and at worst like a selfish little brat. As an ESPN report recounts:

He was benched by Little late this season after he missed a crucial series against the Yankees with a sore throat and fever, yet managed to pull himself out of bed to reminisce with New York infielder Enrique Wilson about their days in Cleveland.

Then Ramirez didn't show up for an appointment with the team doctor, and when he joined the club the next day he sat on the bench but said he was "too weak" to pinch-hit.

And in a game at Yankee Stadium in September, the absent-minded Ramirez tossed the ball into the stands after making a nice catch, thinking there were three outs when there were only two.

According to a report in the Providence Journal, those actions by Ramirez set off internal discussions by the club to deal him this off-season, even though the Red Sox would likely have to pay much of the remaining money owed Ramirez.

That doesn't even touch on Ramirez's cowardice in Game Three of the ALCS, when a high fastball over the plate from Roger Clemens induced the hotairhead to charge the mound, emptying both benches. Put a ten-cent head atop a twenty million dollar hitter and you have Manny Ramirez.

Now, there simply aren't too many teams out there willing to take on a $20 million salary; the Yankees might be the only team with the financial wherewithal to do so. ESPN's Rob Neyer speculates that the timing of this maneuver is crucial because George Steinbrenner "is never going to be more frustrated and more aggressive than he is right now." But according to ESPN's Buster Olney, the Boss ain't bitin':

The New York Yankees have no interest in placing a waiver claim on Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez, according to a baseball executive who has had contact with a high-ranking member of the team's front office Thursday...

The Yankees are aware, according to the executive, that if they claimed Ramirez, the Yankees could essentially create circumstances that would lead to the departure of pitcher Andy Pettitte, who is eligible for free agency this offseason. If the Yankees relieved Boston of Ramirez and the accompanying financial burden, the Red Sox could then turn around and make a deal with the Houston Astros -- perhaps for expensive reliever Billy Wagner -- and free up payroll for the Astros to sign Pettitte, whose preference may be to return to his home in Texas...

Adding Ramirez also would throw another designated hitter candidate onto the roster loaded with aging sluggers. There is some question about how much longer [Bernie] Williams and [Jason] Giambi could play in the field, because of their deteriorating physical conditions.

The Yanks have obligations -- big contracts to Williams, Giambi, Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, and Mike Mussina, some of which are already biting them in the ass. They don't need another. But back to Boston for a moment. As my pal Nick notes, one reason the Sox may be attempting to rid themselves of Manny is their managerial vacancy. Theo and company seem set on a manager who will see things their sabermetrically inclined way, and may tap a relatively inexperienced skipper willing to do their bidding. Pre-emptively ridding themselves of one of the new manager's potential headaches may make the job a little easier, though most skips, if asked, would probably put up with those kind of numbers.

Before anyone weeps for Manny (Bueller? Anyone?), Peter Gammons reports that the feeling between Ramirez and the Sox is mutual:

Ramirez talked to the club at the end of the season and expressed that while he likes the Red Sox and Boston, he wouldn't mind seeing what there was in a trade, with his home (New York) an enticing option...

When Ramirez talked to Red Sox officials, they offered to let him out of his contract so he could become a free agent. Obviously he declined, as agent Jeff Moorad knows that the current market might bring four years, $50-60 million, in contrast to the five years, $100 million on his existing deal.

O, fragile equilibrium of unhappiness, sweet harbinger of a winter of discontent in New England, how I cherish thee at a time like this. Would that such feelings of schadenfreude could warm me until Pitchers and Catchers.

Manny Ramirez isn't simply one of the best hitters in the game. He's one of the best hitters in the history of baseball. With his career OPS 1.010, Ramirez is in the all-time top 10 with guys like Ruth, Gehrig, Williams, Foxx, Bonds, Greenberg, Hornsby, and Todd Helton. Now, the latter's presence on the list should clue you into the fact that adjustments need to be made to account for ballpark and era, so if we turn to the career leaders in OPS+, Manny ranks in the Top 20, third among active players behind Bonds and Frank Thomas. That list (which hasn't been updated to include 2003 yet) is still biased because sooner or later Manny's going to decline the way even superstars do. Even so, he's still one of the best hitters the game has seen. But his combination of price tag and attitude is too much for the Boston Red Sox and it's too much for the New York Yankees. The rest of the league isn't banging down the door either.

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As Baseball Prospectus' Dayn Perry points out, prescriptions to improve the New York Yankees after a season in which they don't win are "one of the hoariest media traditions known to humankind." That said, Perry's prescription is worth a gander, as are those of Alex Belth, Larry Mahnken and Bryan Smith over at Bryan's Wait 'Til Next Year blog (which is long overdue for my attention). I won't go into the details or merits of any of them -- I gots my own plan, which will come in due time, probably between those two popular turkey dinners. I'm going to have lots of time on my hands, or hand... but that's a story for another day. Suffice it to say it looks as though we're all going to get real acquainted with Mr. Arthroscope. Will Carroll, I'm headed your way...

Mr. Belth has been a busy man lately. He's got a fantastic interview with writer and former pitcher Pat Jordan at Bronx Banter. Jordan was a Milwaukee Braves farmhand in the late '50s and early '60s who, for want of a better term "went Ankiel," derailing a promising career but providing him with a springboard to a new one. I've covered all of this before.

In the interview, which was done late this summer, Jordan offers his opinions on several pitchers, gets off a good Joe Torre tale, and generally sounds like a guy with whom you'd love to knock back a few beers while talkin' ball. I've got his A Nice Tuesday in my on-deck circle after I finish that Koufax bio (which is excellent), and I'm looking forward to it.