Who Needs Manny Anyways? Look, I'm not going to sit here and try to type away the un-importance of Manny Ramirez because we all know he's one of the best hitters of all-time. Plus, we know he's been a God-Send for anyone who invested in Dodgers Fantasy Seats. I know Cat E's went from 28.00 to as high as 49.00 in a matter of days. But instead of focusing on Manny's new surroundings in "LA-LA" land, let's focus on his former home for about 7 years in Boston.
If you look at the chart below, plenty of traders on the site ran scared of the Red Sox Category A Fantasy Seats once Manny was sent packing. Take a look at the sharp dip the Category A's took.
As i'm writing this right now they are up 31 %. Did I expect there to be struggle without Ramirez? Of course. Did I expect people to get out of their Sox stock? Of course. But I was also very happy for those who were going to get in cheap and be able to make profit on a team who I think was/still is underestimated/undervalued greatly.
Not for one minute did I think pre/post Manny that the Yankees were a better team and would catch up to them in the Wild-Card race. The Red Sox hitting may not be what it's been in past years, but it's still solid enough to win a title. You also can't forget about the mix of veteran/youth pitching they've gotten this year which has basically carried them along the way.
When you think about the division title, well...I've done as everyone else should and thrown in the white towel. "Tampa Bay...You are the division winners." I cannot see anyone taking the division away from them. I also forgot to mention how good of a value they are, but that's for another blog post.
Now can I blame people for jumping off once Manny left? Of course not. People were jumping before. The Red Sox were begging to get out of July with all the trade rumors. Plus, they lost 5 of their last 6 games entering August. But everyone goes through streaks right? I felt getting rid of Manny was somewhat beneficial for the Red Sox. They now know every player on that team is dedicated to winning and wouldn't shut it down whenever he felt like doing so.
Also, the Red Sox may have lost Manny, but they gained a solid player in Jason Bay who is void of any distractions and is batting 375 plus since he got to Boston. So how have the Sox done since the Manny trade? They are 7-3 and faced an easy part of their schedule with Oakland and KC. That definitely helped get them back on track.
On a side note, I also want to stress the importance of schedules in the buying and trading of any stock on our site. The Red Sox played the Yankees 8x, Rays, Angels 6x, and Twins in July. All 4 teams in the thick of the playoff race. Any stock owner of Boston had to expect some up and downs because it's not like they were playing cupcakes. But now look at their August schedule. The only teams in playoff contention they play this month are the White Sox and Yankees. Aside from that, they have series they should win vs Texas, Toronto 2x, and the Orioles. Since the Ramirez exit, they have also averaged 6.3 runs in comparison to 4.9 while he was there. You didn't think a veteran team like the Sox was just going to go away quietly did you?
Now they may encounter their bumps in the road along the way, but the Red Sox will win the AL Wild Card. 15 of their last 21 games in September are at home. Aside from 6 against the Rays and the final series at Fenway against the Yanks, the Sox play no teams over 500.
So if my predictions stay true to form, you can get prepared for one of the greatest ALDS Series of all-time in LAA vs Boston with the Angels looking for some sweet revenge from last year. I can only imagine the trading that will go on during that series. It should be a classic if both teams hold on to their current standings positions.
So as the title says in my humble opinion: "Who needs Manny anyways?" I don't see him leaving making or breaking the Sox chances at another title.
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