Comments on: Manny of the Hour http://www.thermocaster.com/2008/07/31/manny-of-the-hour/ The part of the knee that, you know, means something. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 09:04:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.5.1 By: D-Fens http://www.thermocaster.com/2008/07/31/manny-of-the-hour/#comment-1668 D-Fens Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:47:45 +0000 http://www.thermocaster.com/?p=1792#comment-1668 It definitely isn't quite the blockbuster that people were expecting. At the moment it looks like the Dodgers can still exercise those option years at $20 Mil a pop. I think the Dodgers are the biggest winners here. I think Manny suits the atmosphere out here, and I see first-hand the kind of love the team gets out here. He's a whore for attention and he'll be the star of the show here. Even if he keeps up the pace in what has been kind of a middling season by his standards, he'll offer a big boost in production to a team that doesn't generate many easy runs. Bay is solid, but obviously that he just doesn't have the same aura/mystique that Manny does. Opposing pitchers will feel that they can take a chance with him in a way they just couldn't with Manny. Boston has to hope he proves them wrong. The biggest boon to Boston may just be in stabilizing the tumult in the dressing room. As for the Pirates, Laroche is a decent prospect at 3rd but I don't know enough about the rest of their pickups to gauge the overall quality of their haul. Time will tell. It definitely isn’t quite the blockbuster that people were expecting.

At the moment it looks like the Dodgers can still exercise those option years at $20 Mil a pop.

I think the Dodgers are the biggest winners here. I think Manny suits the atmosphere out here, and I see first-hand the kind of love the team gets out here. He’s a whore for attention and he’ll be the star of the show here. Even if he keeps up the pace in what has been kind of a middling season by his standards, he’ll offer a big boost in production to a team that doesn’t generate many easy runs.

Bay is solid, but obviously that he just doesn’t have the same aura/mystique that Manny does. Opposing pitchers will feel that they can take a chance with him in a way they just couldn’t with Manny. Boston has to hope he proves them wrong. The biggest boon to Boston may just be in stabilizing the tumult in the dressing room.

As for the Pirates, Laroche is a decent prospect at 3rd but I don’t know enough about the rest of their pickups to gauge the overall quality of their haul. Time will tell.

]]> By: Wes http://www.thermocaster.com/2008/07/31/manny-of-the-hour/#comment-1665 Wes Thu, 31 Jul 2008 22:14:11 +0000 http://www.thermocaster.com/?p=1792#comment-1665 this is kind of a shrug trade to me. does it make Boston worse? I feel like yes, but not by a ton. Certainly not enough to seriously derail the team. Ortiz's health becomes more important, as does JD Drew's newfound ability to give a shit. We're certainly going to learn how important the "Manny" factor was in the middle of that lineup. Even though Bay's numbers this year match up well against Ramirez, he's not going to have the same scrotum-tightening effect. Bay's going to have to step in and keep the pressure (and Intentional walks) away from Big Papi, that's where this trade becomes a win or a lose. Pittsburgh gets some nice prospects. Progress is good. They were never going to win anything with Bay, and they nicked some good pieces. Manny's bat will be welcome in that lineup. His arrival does create a huge backlog in the Dodger outfield, but considering two of those players are basically useless (Juan Pierre and Fat-Zombie Andruw Jones) it's a logjam that should resolve itself with little difficulty. Have the Dodgers agreed not to exercise Manny's option year(s) as was originally suggested? this is kind of a shrug trade to me. does it make Boston worse? I feel like yes, but not by a ton. Certainly not enough to seriously derail the team.

Ortiz’s health becomes more important, as does JD Drew’s newfound ability to give a shit. We’re certainly going to learn how important the “Manny” factor was in the middle of that lineup. Even though Bay’s numbers this year match up well against Ramirez, he’s not going to have the same scrotum-tightening effect. Bay’s going to have to step in and keep the pressure (and Intentional walks) away from Big Papi, that’s where this trade becomes a win or a lose.

Pittsburgh gets some nice prospects. Progress is good. They were never going to win anything with Bay, and they nicked some good pieces.

Manny’s bat will be welcome in that lineup. His arrival does create a huge backlog in the Dodger outfield, but considering two of those players are basically useless (Juan Pierre and Fat-Zombie Andruw Jones) it’s a logjam that should resolve itself with little difficulty.

Have the Dodgers agreed not to exercise Manny’s option year(s) as was originally suggested?

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