Rhode Island Media Group's chief political reporter, Jim Baron, took a break from his Statehouse duties to reflect on the Red Sox trade of Manny Ramirez to the Los Angeles Dodgers. What do you think about the Manny trade? Post your comments here or e-mail them to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it Please include your name and try not to slander anyone!

By JIM BARON

I am profoundly bummed that the Red Sox traded Manny Ramirez, even if he did all but force their hand at the end. Speaking as one fan, I will miss Manny.

Let's face it, particularly in this era of three-and-a-half to four-hour games, baseball can get dull. Manny never let it get dull.
Every fly ball to left field became an adventure. Manny could either chase the ball down and snag it, rifling a throw to nail a sliding runner at
third or home, or he could misplay it entirely and have the ball fall behind him. He always made nice throws, even if some of them went to the wrong person sometimes.
But Manny with a mitt was just a small part of the story. It was Manny with a bat in his hands that provided the suspense, the excitement, the fireworks and the power that was a big part of making the Sox two-time World Series champs – one of those times he was Most Valuable Player for the series.
Any honest person would have to admit that Manny Ramirez is an exceptional baseball player. So why is everyone so put out when exceptions need to be made for him? People act like this is something new to Manny. It isn't. Superstar athletes have been pampered and catered to since at least those first Olympics in ancient Greece.
So Manny doesn't run out every routine ground ball, or likes to take a day or two off now and again.
You wouldn't want everyone doing that, but Manny is an exceptional baseball player so you make a few exceptions for him. Because when you do, the next at-bat after he dogs it on the baseline, you can watch him stand in the batter's box while he, along with every fan in the stands and those watching TV at home, admires the way the ball he just hit sails into the bleachers.
Baseball isn't the military. Everyone doesn't have to look alike, act alike and be an interchangeable cog in the machine. There is room for
different talents, different levels of talent and – back to breaking baseball's boredom – different characters. Manny was nothing if not a
character.
He is not baseball's first. Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Mickey Mantle all made their indelible marks on the game by being characters who could deliver the goods. And yes, Manny belongs being mentioned in that company. Isn't that worth putting up with a few idiosyncrasies? You let Manny be Manny and you get to watch a lot of baseballs fly over fences and you get to celebrate World Series victories.
But that, alas, is now the province of Los Angeles Dodger fans.

If there is any silver lining in this sorry episode it is this: at least he didn't go to the Yankees.