The Blockbuster Waiting to Happen

Ok, so there is not much more I can add on this, so this is a quickie. Today in the baseball world all the talk is the potential swap between the Boston Red Sox and The Washington Orioles of Baltimore of Boston's OF Manny Ramirez for O's SS Miguel Tejada.

For those who have not been following this, here is the deal. Manny wants out of Boston, saying personal reasons - the word is that he is uncomfortable claustrophobic fandom of Back Bay.

Tejada, on the other hand, was silent with his unhappiness until a couple of hours after The Boston Red Sox traded SS Edgar Rent-a-Wreck-aria to the Atlanta Braves, leaving a large hole in the Boston's infield. After trading top SS prospect Hanley Ramirez to the Florida Fishguts in the Josh Beckett swap (lighting the match to the fire that caused the fire sale) and with the best free agent prospect on the market being Nomar Garciaparra, Boston is desperate for a shortstop (even to the point of signing Alex Gonzales and his .661 OPS)

So, as Christmas time comes upon us and the same songs are played on every retail sound system from now until Valentine's Day, as i read this story I just can't stop singing "Do you see what I see??"

Yes, kids. And even swap. That would solve both problems, right? Normally you don't want to send your best players to in-division rivals, but in both cases this is a fair swap. Ramirez is owed 57 million on three years, while Tejada is owed 48 over four. This is what the Sox need. A simple one-for-one swap. No brainer.

The Boston Globe's Eric Wilbur wrote, "If you need assistance connecting the dots, perhaps now is a good time to put down the rubber cement."

In closing, I admit as a Sox fan I hate to see Manny go, but for the right deal it should be done. If the guy is unhappy, then it is respectful for the Sox management to try to accommodate him. Unhappy players do affect entire teams, so I think of the team first. And, I won't hide the fact that I am not much of a Tejada fan. He is a whiner and a loud one at that. But, he comes to play and he plays hard.

Plus, in this case he is correct. He came to the O's with a promise from Management that they will get better and be competitive. He has been doing his part while O's management has signed guys like Sidney Ponson and Sammy Sosa, while trading Larry Bigbie and allowing B.J. Ryan to sign with the in-division Blue Jays. Hey Baltimore, how's that workin' out for ya? Tejada has a point. The O's are a mess. Even, Melvin Mora backs him up. I'll take him.

Larry, make the deal!