Hey remember when we all loved Clay Bucholz? That whole “no hitter, future star thing”? Remember when we waited out that first year with Jon lester until he matured? Yeah, well Clay is in that year now. The poor guy didn’t have a fastball to speak of and when Jim Thome knows a breaking ball is coming, well lets just say it leaves rather quickly.  Credit the bullpen,no seriously, they held it together long enogh for the Sox to get within a run, but they couldn’t close the deal. The Yankees lost, and well, the Rays are now the Brandon Webb of AL teams, seemingly they are never going to lose again.

The following is my last “Manny” post of the season……………..(maybe).

I had tried to hide the Manny trade from our four year old, until he noticed Jason Bay a week ago on Baseball Tonight, “Whose that guy?” That’s right, my four year old recongnizes a new guy in the line up. I explained that Jason Bay would be playing with the Sox now, because Manny wanted to go play somewhere else. Now, my son loooooooooooooveeeeeeees Manny and Papi. Sure he loves pretty much all catchers, he likes watching Griffey Jr, but he adores Manny and Papi. I expected waterworks, like when he found out the “wee-ball” team he was on was called the Braves and not, as he assumed it would be, the Red Sox. That was at least ten minutes of crying and near hysterics. I have created a baseball monster

“Why?” hich if you have a child under five, you hear at least 4,000 times a day. I tried to explain as simply as I could that Manny wanted to go play with the Dodgers, leaving out the ugly details.”Jackie Robinson’s team?” yes the team Jackie used to play for. A long pause, and then without tears, but with some hurt in his eyes he asked me a question I will remember forever:

“Daddy, do you think Papi’s a little upset?”

I almost cried myself. “Yeah, buddy, probably.” He then left to explain to my wife that Manny was a Dodger now. We also had to explain that Griffey Jr wasn’t on the Reds, my son identifies anything with a Reds logo as “Griffey Jr’s team”, and that one of Daddy and his favorites, Pudge, was now, yes, a Yankee. “Why does Pudge want to be a stinky Yankee?” We explained we can still like Pudge, just not his team.And yes, my son refers to them as “the Stinky Yankees”.

I don’t know what I’m gonna do if Manny is a Yankee next season.

I never thought being a parent would change how I approached the looming trade deadline from now on, but it has. I don’t moan about the “good old days” when it seemed players stayed in one uniform forever. I think any player, like anyone with a job, should make the choice that’s best for him and his family. These guys just don’t move for more money. They move be near family, near schools, maybe to a team thats closer to where they grew up. They move to secure a financial future for them, their kids, and sometimes their children’s children.

Now, I don’t think Manny’s motives were as pure as all that. I think MLB should look into colusion between him and Boras, trying to weasel their way out of his option years by dogging it, not playing everyday etc. I just don’t want to have to explain that next………..