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Duquette shows interest in Manny, again

We can't compare this to the year 2000, but Dan Duquette is showing interest in Manny Ramirez. The man who signed Manny to a monster deal 12 years ago could be Manny's ticket back to the majors with the Orioles. That is if Dan Duquette decides to take it beyond the "exploring the options" stage.

MLB.com

Duquette -- fresh off a morning trade with the Rockies that netted pitchers Jason Hammel and Matt Lindstrom in exchange for veteran starter Jeremy Guthrie -- confirmed the Orioles' long-rumored interest in Ramirez and said that the team had watched him work out.

"We are still considering the composition of this club, and some of the challenges of integrating a player like Manny into our ballclub and market," said Duquette, who as general manager of the Red Sox signed Ramirez to an eight-year, $160 million contract in December 2000.

How nice would that be, Ramirez and Duquette reunited again. Too bad Manny will miss the first 50 games if he does return to the majors as a result of the violation of the league's drug policy. Duquette may be down-playing his interest in Manny, but more likely just doing as he said, and exploring.

If Manny does return to the majors he will be 40 when his suspension is completed. Not very appealing, but team looking to sell a few extra tickets may entertain the idea. That might be a stretch, there is not much appeal in Ramirez anymore.

A's serious about signing Manny

Assuming it happens, this is going to be fun. 

Oakland A's assistant GM, David Forst, during a Q-and-A session with fans, admitted that his team is interested in possibly signing Manny Ramirez.

Via the Herald:

"We’re open to it," Forst told an announced crowd of more than 7,000 inside Oracle Arena. "We do have other things going on, and we expect other additions between now and opening day. We have never been in a situation where we had too many good players."

And bringing Manny aboard is a surefire way to ensure that streak continues.

Lest we forget, Manny still has that pesky 50-game suspension to ride out before he can suit up.  If he comes to Oakland, he would be eligible to play on May 30th.  His 40th birthday.  There's no way this ends well. 

Your Morning Dump... Where the Sox tried to dump Scutaro

Every morning we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump...

Just because the Red Sox [team stats] have not been able to bring in another starter on a major league deal does not mean they have abandoned hope of doing so.

That is why they are still maintaining contact with the agent for free agent starter Roy Oswalt, an alluring remedy for the club’s starting pitching blues. Oswalt may be amenable to a one-year deal worth roughly $8 million.

The fact the Red Sox have not yet made a bold run to lock up Oswalt at that price could be a sign of how close the team is to breaking the $178 million luxury tax threshold.

That could help explain why word spread from the Rocky Mountains yesterday that the Rockies and the Red Sox had spoken about a deal to send shortstop Marco Scutaro and his $6 million salary to Colorado. A low-cost return would likely have been the Red Sox’ goal but the talks fizzled, according to the Denver Post.

Herald - Red Sox still searching

As Scott mentioned last week, Scutaro and Youk are about the only players whose salary we could dump if we wanted to make a run at Oswalt.  And it appears as though the Sox attempted to do just that by offering Marco to the Rockies.  And while I have no real attachment to Scutaro, creating a new hole to plug another isn't exactly wise.  Sure, you could make Punto the everyday short stop (ugh) or slide Aviles in there, or even hand the reigns over to Iglesias prematurely.  But none of those options are exactly appealing.

This does show us that the Sox are in no way content to head into the upcoming season with the rotation they currently have.  Cherington has to be sweating right now, having the fate of his first season rest on the arm of a Cook, Silva or Padilla; not to mention Bard's successful transition from the pen.  But this trade also shows us that the Sox are serious about needing to dump salary to take on a substantial contract. 

But if Oswalt wants to come to Boston (and I have a good feeling he does.  This really is the best situation for him), perhaps he'll be willing to give us a huge discount.  This is a guy that earned $82 million over his past 6 seasons.  Surely he can afford to pitch for $3 or $4 million for a season before cashing in one last time.  What do you say, Roy? 

On Page 2, Manny may actually get a job

Manny still talking comeback

Manny Ramirez is serious about returning to baseball.  While we can speculate about his true motives, one thing is clear:  Manny doesn't want to be remembered as the once-great slugger who hit .059 in his final year before abruptly retiring due to another PED scandal.

ESPN.com has some quotes from an interview with Pedro Gomez:

"I want to show people that Manny can change, that he can do the right thing... And to show people that I still can play. I don't want to leave the game like I did. I also want to show my kids that if you make a mistake, don't quit. Just go back and fix it. And if you're going to leave, leave the right way."

Ramirez, who's currently working out in Florida, taking swings in a batting cage and getting in shape by working out in a pool, believes he can be a role model if a team gives him a chance.

"A bunch of guys are going to look at me and say hey, this guy made a mistake but he didn't quit. Look how he finished. He did the right thing and came back," Ramirez told Gomez.

I'm not 100% positive that Manny coming back is the "right thing".  He's more than worn out his welcome in the majors.  It's as simple as that.  Manny's never come across a bridge he couldn't burn.  While his bat has always forced us to ignore his transgressions, if he proved anything in Tampa it's that he flat out can't hit anymore.  He looked slow and lost at the plate. 

When he retired, we justifiably worried about Manny's life without baseball.  Coming back is probably the best thing for him and his family.  But I just can't see any team serious about bringing Manny aboard.  He'll be lucky to get one minor league invite to prove that he still has some juice in his bat.

If Barry Bonds taught us anything, teams are willing to ignore talent to avoid black clouds and side shows; which Manny certainly is at this point.

Your Morning Dump... Where the pitching staff is taking shape

Every morning we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Andrew Bailey’s arrival has started a positive domino effect on the rest of the pitching staff.

Newly acquired reliever Mark Melancon doesn’t have to deal with the pressure of closing in Boston and instead can become an eighth-inning arm.

In turn, Daniel Bard can more easily shift into the rotation rather than be held in reserve as a possible closer. And Alfredo Aceves can remain a swing man, slip into the rotation or maybe even assume a late-innings relief role.

Bailey makes those options much more palatable. But even with the back of the bullpen and the top of the rotation more clearly defined, the Red Sox still will be in the market for another starter this winter, particularly if they want to keep Aceves in the bullpen, where he was so valuable last season.

Herald - Deal puts staff ahead in count

Melancon + Bailey ≠ Bard + Papelbon

Let's get that out of the way now and temper our expectations.  Bailey is a good, young closer, but he's not elite.  He went from being dominant in 2009 and 2010 to being just plain good in 2011.  In fact, he gave up 34 hits in 41 innings last year (34 in 49 the year prior, and 49 in 83 in '09), compared to 50 surrendered by Papelbon through 64 innings.   Taking it a step further, Bailey's WHIP last season was 1.10 and Papelbon's was 0.93.  So if you were one of those people that were ripping their hair out because Papelbon always seemed to have a runner or two on base, well, you may want to prepare yourself for more of the same.

But bringing in Bailey for what seems like a pretty low price is a monumental stepping stone for the pitching staff as a whole.  Bard can now move to the rotation without having to worry about being plugged into the closer role.  Melancon's role is now clearly defined.  The last pieces are Aceves and the 5th spot in the rotation.

Aceves can prepare to start and Cherington can look for another starter or two.  You know, that whole depth thing we keep hearing about.  And if they do bring in another starter (or two), Aceves is going to be the long man in the bullpen anyway, so getting his arm strength up and preparing to go 5-6-7 innings is in everybody's best interest. 

Roy Oswalt makes too much sense not to bring aboard.  He's the Sox dream free agent: veteran with somethign to prove, willing to sign a one-year deal to prove it.  I could be very happy with a rotation of Beckett, Lester, Buchholz, Oswalt and Bard. 

Rest of the links:

Herald - Ryan Kalish suffers setback | Globe - Kalish won’t be ready to start | PawSox select new broadcaster | Valentine set to meet with more players | WEEI - Still the strength: Taking stock of Red Sox 2012 lineup | ESPN - Valentine: Melancon, Bailey fill a big void

Manny Ramirez wants to come back

For the love of Christ...     

Ramirez has hired Barry Praver and Scott Shapiro as his agents and has applied for reinstatement from MLB’s voluntary retired list, the source said.

Ramirez, 39, will be eligible to play again after serving a suspension under baseball's drug testing program. He appeared in five games with the Tampa Bay Rays this year, going 1 for 17 with zero extra-base hits.

Manny has been exposed as a repeat performance enhancing drug offender, and was also recently arrested for domestic battery.  Furthermore, he just can't hit anymore.  He's almost 40, he's a diva, he's a user, and now he wants to try to hook on with someone? 

Sorry, Manny.  You could have just tried to fade into the sunset and let time heal the wounds.  Instead, you're still trying to hang around. 

Hate to say it, but I've seen this before.  Guys like him who try to hang around this long do it for one reason:  money.  I'm getting the feeling Manny has blown the ridiculous amount money he's made and he's desperate for more. 

I've got no hard evidence of that other than other similar stories.  I'm waiting for the "Manny is broke" story to be written in the not-too-distant future.

via CSNNE.com

"Anonymous sources" trigger the Terry Francona smear campaign

This morning, the Boston Globe’s Bob Hohler put out all the dirty laundry on the Red Sox and what might’ve caused the September collapse. The accusations in the article are flat out disturbing. Players tanking because they weren’t too fond of management rescheduling games due to Hurricane Irene?  Pitchers drinking beer, eating fried chicken (probably Popeye’s since it’s down the street), and playing video games? Ortiz openly suggesting using Alfredo Aceves as a starter is a disrespectful act? All covered in this article.  

But probably the most disturbing of them all, as Chuck mentioned earlier, is what they had to say about Terry Francona. It pretty much suggests that Francona was addicted to pills, albeit in a roundabout way. A flat out ridiculous claim in itself. But then this article puts together a three punch combination in order to knock out Francona’s credibility as a manager:

Here’s the straight right:

Francona spent the season living in a hotel after he moved out of the Brookline home he shared with Jacque, his wife of nearly 30 years. But he adamantly denied his marital problems affected his job performance.

Really? Is this another necessary topic that we as fans need to know? How come this wasn’t mentioned at ALL throughout the whole season?  But of course this CLEARLY affected Francona, just like it affected Lackey on the mound when his wife was going through chemo earlier this year. And how it affected him again in the summer when he decided to file for divorce, but that’s neither here or there.

Before I can say anymore, the left hook is coming this way!

In the face of his team’s corroded spirit, Francona became increasingly ineffectual, according to team sources. Francona was burdened not only by the frustration of coping with the least dedicated group of players of his Boston tenure, but by the likelihood that Sox owners would not exercise his contractual option for 2012.

Yes, I’m sure that Francona was totally thinking me first in this situation. Like when he tried to rally the troops in a players only meeting after laying a 14-0 beatdown on the Blue Jays. He was trying to save his ass! Had nothing to do with the fact that he didn’t like the pitchers drinking beer and playing video games on game days when they weren’t throwing! TITO ONLY CARES ABOUT TITO!

But wait for it… wait for it….

Here comes the uppercut:

While Francona coped with his marital and health issues, he also worried privately about the safety of his son, Nick, and son-in-law, Michael Rice, both of whom are Marine officers serving in Afghanistan.

So not only was he popping pills and trying to save his marriage and job, but he was also worried about his son and son-in-law because they were deployed.  That explains why Crawford couldn’t catch that ball in left field that tied the final game of the season. Or how Robert Andino made everyone in the Sox bullpen his bitches. Or the fact that these group of guys who are paid a good chunk of change couldn’t act like professionals and take their job seriously.  Nope it was all Tito’s fault. 

Now it’s bad enough that Francona is no longer the manager of the Sox, but what has he done that merits these disgusting accusations?  Why stab him in the back like this?

WEEI’s Mut and Merloni tackle the subject head on and they’re right: no one gets away scot free.

The Sox front office and PR staff have become credibility serial killers. If they have someone on payroll that isn’t happy and following their way, they will do whatever it takes to make that person look like they’re the scum of the Earth. They did it to Nomar after they flirted with A-Rod in the offseason and after the Sox won their first title, nobody seemed to care. Then they did it to Manny, because they didn’t want to deal with his attitude so after a second title and a statistical slip on his part, they somehow got fans to accept the notion that trading the greatest hitter that my generation will ever see was not only necessary, but the right thing to do.

Now they’re trying to do the same to Tito and they went in for the kill. They left no stone unturned. They dug out every last skeleton that was in his closet for the fans to see and so they can shout from the top of 4 Yawkey Way that they have started to right the ship. That this organization will be back on top again.

This time the ownership isn’t getting away scot free. You don’t attack the most successful manager in this franchise’s history and get away with it. Very few are sipping the Kool-Aid anymore and now the only way for people to believe in this team again is when the ownership takes that knife out of Francona’s back and puts it into their dark heart.

Good luck trying to spin this into something positive.

Your Morning Dump...where Francona tries to clear the air.

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Terry Francona maintains that his departure from the Red Sox was a mutual decision. But he did acknowledge during a radio appearance yesterday that he was never asked to stay on as manager during his meeting with Sox owner John Henry last Friday.

“That didn’t happen,’’ he told WEEI. “Again, there was a reason [for] sitting up in that office having some meetings. I have to own a lot of responsibility for what happened because it was my responsibility to not let happen what happened.’’

Francona said last week that he perceived a lack of support from Henry, chairman Tom Werner, and president Larry Lucchino. He initially backed off that statement yesterday, saying the owners were “second to none’’ in baseball.

But later in the interview, he addressed the issue again.

“Eight years together is a lot, and I have a lot of respect for them and what they do,’’ he said. “There were some things that were voiced in meetings I viewed maybe as not being supportive. Maybe they didn’t. Everybody has their own opinion.

“They gave me an opportunity and I ended up being here for eight years. For that, I’ll always be grateful. Again, maybe it was time to move on.’’

Globe: Francona reflects on departure from Sox 

For those that didn't catch the interview on WEEI, here you go. Glenn Ordway went out of his way to ask all sorts of questions that Tito weren't going to ask, particularly about the clubhouse issues. Francona also tried to squash the issue about the beer drinking in the clubhouse that has been driven to the ground by the media. He simply stated that he treated the players like men, which is nothing wrong with that.

The other topics discussed in the interview were his upcoming debut as a color commentator, if he'd work with Theo Epstein again in the future, and if he'd come back if they picked up his option. It's good to hear from Francona but Ordway was awful with the questions and reminded me he embodies everything I hate about Boston sports media. The highlight of the interview was when Tito mentioned he recieved a call from Manny Ramirez and that he appreciated the call. I would love to know what was said on that call but I bet Manny definitely said somewhere "I told you that Youkilis was a puta! You should've let me kick his ass!"

Globe:Cubs should embrace Epstein|Francona reflects on departure from Sox|Herald:Ellsbury all alone in OF|Tito now plays the waiting game|Off to TV, Tito manages to speak out|No clues on Epstein's future|CSNNE:Francona: "I don't have the answers"|Sox don't renew contract of Ron Johnson|WEEI:Billy Beane, Theo Esptein life comes full circle for Red Sox|Manny called Francona after Sox exit

Your Morning Dump... Where Rick VandenHurk happened

This sums up the Sox season pretty well (Photo by Jim Rogash/Getty Images)

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

Erik Bedard didn’t need a thesaurus to describe the third inning of the Red Sox’ 7-5 loss to the Orioles last night.

He summed it up in one word.

“Long.’’

He hadn’t started since Sept. 3 because of a sore knee and a left lat strain, and after the long layoff manager Terry Francona wanted to keep him on a pitch limit.

There was no way, Francona said, Bedard would come anywhere near 100 pitches.

He wound up throwing 54 in the third inning alone, giving up four runs (just one earned) on three hits. His night lasted just 2 2/3 innings as the Sox took their fourth loss in the past five games.

“It was a long inning,’’ Bedard said. “I just tried to battle and tried to limit the damage.’’

Globe - Long third inning does in Bedard

This is my fourth attempt at writing this morning's dump.  The previous three were an odd mixture of vulgarities and incoherent swipes at the keyboard in between violent, heaving sobs.  Did you know it's possible to cry so much that you short out your keyboard? 

The Red Sox lost a game where the Orioles threw Rick VandenHurk on the mound to start.  Not even Rick VandenHurk's mother thought Baltimore stood a chance last night.  And while Rick VandenHurk didn't pitch so well (yes, I really really enjoy the name Rick VandenHurk), the Red Sox pitching was just that much worse. 

Tell me if this sounds familiar: Red Sox starter struggles early, is out of the game by the third inning.  Sox batters battle back, giving the Sox the lead heading into the 8th.  Tito turns the game over to his oh so amazing bullpen, who immediately vomit all over your hopes and dreams. 

With the Yankees taking down the Rays last night, we didn't lose any ground in the Wild Card.  But if this is the type of effort we take to the field against an Orioles squad lead by Rick VandenHurk, I don't know that I want to deal with the anger and frustration of getting blown out in October.

And in related news, I'm pretty sure I've lost the ability to pretend to be optimistic about this season. 

Also, be sure to check out the 'Yankee fan' link from CSNNE below.  What a dick.

On Page 2, Manny is picking up a bat again (to play baseball this time).

Your Morning Dump...Where Epstein remains optimistic

Every morning, we compile the links of the day and dump them here... highlighting the big storyline. Because there's nothing quite as satisfying as a good morning dump.

...“We have an opportunity ahead of us to play good baseball for two and a half weeks and ride that momentum to the postseason,” Epstein said. “If we don’t do it, we don’t deserve to be there. We have to prove that we are the team that had the best record in baseball for 4-plus months, not the team that started 2-10 or has played 3-10 most recently. That’s on us. We have to go out and do it.”

[...]

“We’re not getting very good starting pitching right now,” Epstein said. “Our bullpen is a downturn. We have some guys who are not having the kind of at bats they’ve had over the course of the season. We’re not playing great defense. We’re making some mistakes once the ball is in play. A little bit of everything has contributed to it.

[...]

“I’m glad we play the Rays 4 times coming up (Sept. 15-18 at Fenway),” Epstein said. “If we can’t right ship against these guys, if we can’t do what we need to do, we probably don’t deserve to get into the postseason.”...

ESPN Boston: Epstein sees opportunity in Red Sox slump

Everyone is down on this team and with good reason. It doesn't help that we just watched Tom Brady and the Pats beat up on the Dolphins and we transition to a team on a 5-game skid. The Sox are 2-8 in their last 10 and pitching is horrible. Theo also noted that the bad pitching has a direct effect on the offense. When the offense has to play a game of comeback in the early innings, their mentality has changed. We see cases of over-swinging, swinging at bad pitches, and sometimes, bad base-running.

Theo is also right about playing 4 against the Rays this week. If the Sox can't hack it against the Rays, then they are not deserving of a playoff berth. The Sox have a great opportunity here to gain some ground. They can bury the Rays in the wild card race, and take advantage of the 6 games against Baltimore. Their test begins today, with a chance for redemption against Toronto in a quick 2-game set.

On Page 2, Manny Ramirez arrested