Manny stay or Manny go?

Manny being Manny? Absolutely. Did he really change his mind & now wants to stay in Boston? According to ESPN Deportes, he does. Someone else claims to have spoken to him after the report came out and he supposedly denied making the comment. His agent said he talked to Manny, and his comment was he doesn't recall speaking to the media. Doesn't recall? Ortiz in a recent interview had reservations about the comment, calling Manny a "box of surprises". So who the hell knows what's going on? Manny probably doesn't either...

Should I stay or should I go, now? We've sent Manny a copy of the Clash to help him decide...

Recent reports have also stated that in dealing with the O's for Tejada, Manny has asked for an extension on his contract before he would approve the deal. That means the O's would have to pick up the remaining option years @ $20M. Manny's agent dismissed that notion, but sources close to the O's said it was one of the stumbling blocks.

The bottom line is that the Sox are better WITH him. The problem is that he has hamstrung the team in terms of dealings this offseason. Apparently several deals have been waiting for the first "domino" to fall. It also led to the perception that the Sox were desperate heading into the winter meetings. That's probably why the asking prices have been so high, and why they have been offered so little for both Manny & Wells. This "box of surprises" actually turned into a box of Frosted Flakes, heavy on the "Flake".

Look at it this way, you'd never replace his offense and you're giving up way too much to replace him. Sure, you plug a hole at SS with Tejada, but you still open another in LF. This deal doesn't make the Sox better. That's what matters. Will we have to deal with more antics? Yup. But are the Sox better off? Yup. So we say pass the bowl & pour the milk. 40HR & 140RBI don't taste so bad, even when you come across a bad flake or two...