Manny Wanted To Stay?

So, why didn't the Red Sox just decline the options and keep him, given that they might not have renewed him anyway?

Flipping through the Red Sox page on Cot's Baseball Contracts, the answer hit me like a ton of bricks:

Tim Wakefield.

Remember that weird contract Wakefield signed a few years back? The one with the perpetual one-year team options at $4M per year? They've renewed those on Wakefield the last two seasons, and I'm sure they'll be doing it again this year.

Imagine if the Sox agreed to shut Manny up and stop his "ow, my knee hurts" antics by declining his options in the middle of this season? Imagine if you're Theo Epstein and you have to look Wakefield in the eye and say, "yeah, sorry pal, we know you're a good soldier so we can't help you. Manny won't play unless Manny gets his way, so he doesn't have to honor his commitment to us. But you do."

The team also holds options on David Ortiz ($12.5M in 2011), Josh Beckett ($12M in 2010), Coco Crisp ($8M in 2010), and Hideki Okajima ($1.75M in 2009). They might not pick up all or any of those options, depending on what the future holds. But how could they hold any of those players to those options against their wishes if they declined Manny's just to shut him up?

I give the Red Sox management all the credit in the world for sticking to their guns here. They'll face a lot of criticism if Jason Bay wilts in the heat of the pennant race or the playoffs. But they did the right thing with Manny.

Oh, and I'll be amused if Manny tweaks a knee down the stretch and needs assistance on the field. The $64,000 question: would the Dodgers send out a trainer or Ned Colletti to negotiate a multi-year extension?

Well I think the biggest question is in the off season who wants Manny and at the price/years that Boras will want? I'm really not sure who will step up, it could be "close" to a Bonds thing for a while he pissed off the 1 team that more or less accepted him.

Once Manny dropped his old agent for Boras, everyone in Boston knew he was going to be a problem. This is because if his options got picked up, Boras wouldnt get commission on it, his old agent would. Nobody ever thought Boras would work for free for two years, the only way for Boras to get paid was to get Manny a new contract, either through dbaggery, or Manny becoming a free agent.

Supposedly Epstein had a veterans meeting asking if Manny would be a distraction going forward. Rumor has it they were pretty unanimous in saying Manny was a problem.

Good move by the Sox and I hope they do well going forward. Shows that putting yourself before the team will not be tolerated no matter if you are one of the better hitters in the league.

I can't decide which baseball personality I hate more, Manny or Bonds.

I am on Manny overload, I am now indifferent to that moron. This guy has an interesting view about it:
http://droppedthirdstrike.typepad.com/dropped_third_strike/2008/08/imho---8208.html

The Rays are the 2nd best team in baseball. You would hear about it if Manny played there.

Colonel, very interesting theory, but I think that you may be overanalyzing things a bit. First and foremost, the Sox did not trust that Manny would honor his post-trade pledge to play out the year because they are absolutely convinced that he bailed on the team in '05 - history is the greatest predictor of the future. That and that alone was why they were 100% resolved to trade Manny without receiving equal value in return. (That being said, I like Jason Bay and think he'll fit in nicely. He's just not a HoF hitter.)

As for the Wakefield contract - he agreed to that deal because he WANTS the Red Sox to pick that option up every year. He was 38 years old at the time of the deal and made a decision that we wanted to play the rest of his career in Boston, giving the team a very affordable option to exercise annually. I have NEVER heard him complain about the terms of his contract and highly doubt that either his option or those of his teammates were factors in the Sox' decision.

The bottom line is that Manny did not want to abide by the terms of a contract that has already made him one of the highest paid players in the history of the game. He decided to play another game of "chicken" with the Sox, but this time, with only two months left on his deal, they didn't give him a pass. I think they made the right call.

What I'm surprised about is that nobody is pointing out the obvious: Manny is crazy if he thinks that he is going to get a 4-year/$100 million deal this offseason. And THAT is only reason Manny just forced his way out of town. Good luck to Boras with that one. (Not!)

elguapo, Wakefield did offer those terms in his contract, and for better or worse, he's bound by them. Same with the other guys. If you agree to drop team options for one player in exchange for getting him to play 100%, what happens to all the guys who were giving 100% all along? You have to do the same for them, or else you're rewarding Manny's dogging it at the expense of all the other guys who gave a full effort and were willing to honor their contracts.

Interesting thing about Manny's contract - he had a clause that guaranteed him whatever the strongest no-trade clause was among the Red Sox players. So if the Sox gave someone else full no-trade protection, they'd have had to give Manny that as well. (That became moot when he got 10-and-5 status, but was an issue earlier.) So Manny's certainly aware of his teammates' contract status - you can be damn sure his teammates (and their agents) were aware of his, and were watching to see what the team did as he closed in on those options.

Come on guys! Manny has been whining since 2003 that he wants to be traded. every year its the same thing. this year we thought would be different because he said how much he loved being in boston to start the season. but no, same thing again. and to say boras has nothing to do with it is histerical.

Bottom line is, Red Sox management was sick of his not running, blowing plays in the outfield, ect. Already jason bay has made a spectacular catch for the sox in left. The numbers are close to the same, and lets not forget, playing for a world series caliber team might relight some fires under bay. He had some great early years in pittsburgh and really last year was his only really off season. I expect he'll finish with 35 homers and 100-110 rbi's. I don't see manny clearing that with the lack of offense on the dodgers. It was a great trade. If Manny didn't want to go then perhaps this is a lesson to him.

I'm not saying Bay is a Hall of Famer. I'm not saying they are better without manny. i'm just saying it had to happen and all in all i'm happy with the trade. Jason bay is a class act who makes his team better not only by what he does in the field, but by his presence in the clubhouse. I will personally be buying a Jason Bay uniform next week.

This guy is a loser.....whatever, good riddance.

These guys just did an expanded commentary on it if anyone wants to read it:

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2008/08/02/ramxedrez_lobbied_to_stay/

ARodSucks--

You're a moron. "Biggest fan base in the country" for the Red Sox? Riiight....more like biggest fan base on ESPN.

The Cubs EASILY have the most national and extensive fan base, it's not even close. Half of "The Nation" are just bandwagon college kids that are gone as soon as the team misses the playoffs for a couple years in a row.

Yankees are the #2 team in the US in terms of an extensive national fan base; Cardinals are probably #3. Then maybe the annoying, BS, smarmy, full-of-themselves "Red Sox Nation" at #4. Screw them and their Hollywood entourage.

I hope the Rays bury those cockmunchers.

""Biggest fan base in the country" for the Red Sox? Riiight....more like biggest fan base on ESPN."

Actually according to Elias Sports Bureau, Red Sox had the largest average road attendance of any team last year. Yankees come second. On the other hand as we've learned from bandwagon Cubs fans like yourself, things stated by Cubs fans are automatically correct, and no statistics besides what they say are correct. Speaking of which, did you know that 75% of all statistics are made up on the spot?

While yes, a lot of that can be attributed of fans who have come out of the woodwork since winning 2 championships, you can make that argument about ANY team with a good record. How many Cubs fans who never lived in or around Chicago will say they were always faithful if the Cubs win this year? How many Rays fans were at road games or even home games last year as compared to this year? How many Yankees fns not living in New York would still be fans if they didn't have the historical mystique? Get the point?

"By definition, there are no "bandwagon" Cubs fans"

The Cubs have a legitimate chance this year, you can't argue that every year... think the Cubs have the same number of fans every year? If they were playing 500 ball would there be the same number of fans? And again, if you win the big one this year, how many people next year will say "I was always faithful." So by definition, there can be bandwagon fans.

BTW, love your argument style... were you the kind on the debating club who cried because he thought it would win the argument?

Colonel, again - it's a novel hypothesis, but I just don't think the facts back it up. The Sox turned down Manny's "offer" to behave if they agreed not to exercise his option because: 1.) they don't trust him; and (probably) 2.) the request came AFTER the trade deadline, which may have made reversal impossible or just bad form.

Did the Sox want to set a precedent? Probably not. But there is absolutely no evidence to suggest that the fear of such a precedent motivated their decision.

For the record, here are the quotes from Wakefield's agent after the deal was struck in '05:

Wakefield's agent, Barry Meister, told the knuckleballer during this past offseason that, given age and productivity, he might command $6 million from some club at the end of the season.

"He said, `Is that club the Red Sox?' " Meister said. "I said, `No, might not be.' He said, `If you said the Red Sox, that's one thing.'

"He waved me off and said, `Money is important, but it's kind of down the list for me. My desire is to be in Boston and be a Red Sox. That's just who I am now.' "

Nothing in Wakefield's subsequent actions or words has indicated that his position has or will ever change.

I think your theory is really quite creative, but I just don't think it ultimately was the case.

Just my opinion, of course.