Market Favors a Ramírez Deal - Gordon Edes, Boston Globe

“The list of possible trading partners for the Red Sox in a Manny Ramírez deal shrank by another team yesterday, even as an exploding market makes the remaining $38 million on Ramírez’s contract appear a relative bargain.

The New York Mets, who long have explored trading for Ramírez, appeared to take themselves off the market for his services as they closed a one-year, $8.5 million deal with 40-year-old Moises Alou to replace Cliff Floyd in left field. The Mets are expected to spend their big cash on another starting pitcher, with lefthander Barry Zito their expected primary target.”

Show Manny the Door - Time’s Right for the Red Sox - Gerry Callahan, Boston Herald

“We may never know why he wants out of a city that worships him, warts and all, but if you’re the Red Sox, you don’t waste time asking questions. You pull the trigger before he changes his mind.

The Sox catch a break, for a change. They get lucky with Manny Ramirez. He wants to play somewhere else next season, and apparently he’s not all that picky about where. He has given the Red Sox a list of teams to which he would accept a trade, and according to TV analyst Jerry Remy that list is at least 10 teams long.
So it is time to end this annual charade, and let the bidding begin. The Sox have dangled Manny on the trade market for years, but never found a deal that made sense for the team. Now Theo Epstein and Co. can look back on those trades-not-made and laugh: Can you believe we actually thought about paying part of Manny’s salary?”