the art of Noise

This off-season could be an ugly hatchet job by the Boston media - it is not difficult to imagine that loud noises will be made as decisions are made over the future a number of players - ones they have to deal with (because they are out of contract):

• Doug Mirabelli - who I guess we give one more year to allow Kotteras a year in the system, and to put off the 'Wake' question for another year
• Mark Loretta - who you presume they will let go - Pedroia has presumably shown enough to be worth the promotion
• Alex Gonzalez - who it really is difficult to know about - dazzling defense, but a season beginning and ending offensive slump
  
• Trot Nixon - who the Sox shouldn't retain, but will likely see a slew of criticism over the dumping of a Red Sox 'dirt dog'
• Wily Mo Pena - who the Sox have to keep, but will likely draw criticism over the implications... see Nixon, Trot above
• Mike Timlin - who may or may not be done, but surely is done as the 8th inning guy... but then Francona doesn't even seem to have come to the view that he is done as the emergency 9th inning guy...
  

And ones that they might try to deal with:

• Coco Crisp - who the national media seem to have decided has to go (and for some bizarre reason think that his deal is so out of line with his talent that the Sox will have to pay someone to take), but who I hope the Sox don't give up on after one year where the Sox saw one week of the player many of us think he can be
• Matt Clement ... ... basically untradeable without us paying all of his salary given his inability to return after 3 months out with a strained shoulder

But the noise has started in earnest regarding one member of the Sox - Manny Ramirez. Manny has largely been missing in action since those 5 games that need not be mentioned, and the second clean MRI has allowed the gossip to grow. Gordon Edes case for the prosecution is damning, but it is one of those that leaves you wanting more as a reader - if players are bitching behind his back, but genuinely believe that he is dogging it, put your name to it, if Terry thinks that Manny is dogging it, call him on it, otherwise let's stop trying to kid ourselves that replacing this talent will be easy.

In Buster Olney's blog (behind the Insider wall) today he endorses the ditch Manny noise, but adds the rider...

But at some point, the Red Sox have to get comfortable with the notion that they'll probably only get something close to 40 cents on the dollar in value on Ramirez. Teams are going to tell the Red Sox: OK, we'll take Ramirez and the last two years of his contract, but you guys are going to have to eat at least half of the $38 million still owed to him, because, let's face it, he's not the most reliable guy ever.

And you have to agree, he is not the most reliable guy ever...

	GP	R	HR	RBI	OPS
2001	142	93	41	125	1.014
2002	120	84	33	107	1.097
2003	154	117	37	104	1.014
2004	152	108	43	130	1.009
2005	152	112	45	144	0.982
2006	129	78	34	101	1.049

No, he is he never there when you need him...

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Edit: Thankfully, I am not the only Sox fan that thinks this way -

• The Pain of Manny
• Bileing On