Do the Sox Lose the World Series Today?

I haven't written one word about the Sox this season so far. My Celtics obsession took over all sports talk. But today seems like a good day to talk about them.

Of course, they've been stinking out the joint lately. But they're still firmly in the playoff mix. But they might lose the World Series today. The Manny Ramirez rumor mill is on high alert this morning, and likely will be all day. Update boston.com relentlessly, y'all.

Manny's gone before the 2009 opening day. It might not be until after the season, it might be today, but he's very much gone, from all reports. But if it happens today, the Sox might knock themselves out of the World Series before we get into August.

This isn't a defense of Manny, just a defense of his 30-something homers and 100-something RBI. The big rumor this a.m. is a three-way deal that ends up with the Sox getting Jason Bay from the Pirates. Bay has some 30-HR, 100-RBI seasons in his recent past, and by numbers he'd replace Manny's thump in the middle of the lineup. But can he get settled in a new league -- and more importantly go from meaningless baseball to the game's biggest pressure cooker -- and perform? It's a question that you have to consider.

Most other options for the Sox at this point is the usual buffet of prospects. Rarely do you get even money when you trade a superstar. And while a bucket of prospects for Manny might be a long-term decision, it means the end of this season. And if they offer Manny arbitration in the offseason, they'd get two sandwich picks for him, which is a nice little haul.

Trying to see past the current lackluster stretch, the Sox lineup is keyed around the 3-4 spots (nothing too revealing there). Losing Ramirez means it's quite likely Ortiz sees fewer quality pitches in the 3 hole. It means, perhaps, that Jason Varitek moves back up a spot in the lineup. It likely pushes Youkilis back down in the order. And so on.

The chance to win a World Series is precious, despite what recent history might tell us. If the Sox trade Manny today, they might be throwing away a chance to win it all. In the end, I hope Manny stays through the end of this year, and then they say goodbye in the fall and find a big bat to get in the lineup. I like the Sox' chances a lot more with him than without him this year.

-----

I have very minimal interesting in touching off a public rehashing of yesterday's chaos. But if anyone has questions about how I operate or what I'm trying to do here, you can send me a comment with your e-mail address or e-mail me at savefitchburg@hotmail.com. I won't post either the comment or the e-mail (when I said "minimal," what I realy meant is "no interest at all," but I will discuss things with you. Also, while I'm here, barring a disaster today Save Fitchburg will get its 300,000 hit in less than three years. Good stuff.