The Final Act?

Dan Shaughnessy, Steve Buckley, and Sean McAdam all wrote about "it" today. "It" is the latest sports-talk fodder and, for the first time for many card-carrying Nation-ers, "it" has become a topic of discussion - a formerly unmentionable, unwhisperable proposition for the better part of two or three years.

The "it" is Manny Ramirez being shipped out of town and, while this "it" has been brought up in the past, the Mannymoon has continued in Boston.

All milestones, championships, and high-fives aside, it may be the right time to discuss "it". By many accounts, the whole "Manny being Manny" thing has jumped the shark. Aloof, studious, devastating, frustrating, and funny all rolled into one, lately it's been the negative images attached to the future HOFer. Words like "push" and "64-year-old man" have popped up. Words like "fined" and "disciplined" are inserted into headlines where words of heroics once stood.

One of the last and most prominent remnants of a Dan Duquette era gone, but never forgotten, the $160 million act is getting old and so is Ramirez. If Boston chose to pick up his two option seasons, Ramirez would be swinging the stick at Fenway until he was 38-years-old.

Are we to expect Manny-esque numbers as his youth (at least in a physical capacity) leaves him? Looking at the rest of the 500 home run club, there are very mixed results for post age 36 play.

• Aged to perfection: Barry Bonds "blew up" for 73 home runs at 36, Hank Aaron and Babe Ruth were productive until age 39. Raffy Palmiero, Willie McCovey, Ted Williams, Ernie Banks, and Eddie Murray also enjoyed late success in their careers. 8/24, 33%



• The in-betweens: Ken Griffey Jr. started to fall apart in his early 30's, but has found some of his magic, maintaining a slugging percentage just shy of .500 the last two seasons. Mike Schmidt was a stud at 37 (35/113/.293/.548) and done at 38 (12/62/.249/.405) and Frank Thomas had one good season with Oakland at 38 (39/114/.270/.545) to report. Frank Robinson and Reggie Jackson also fall somewhere in the middle. 5/24, 21%



• Where's my teef?: Willie Mays started to fall off at 36, never besting 28 home runs or .291/.506 averages through his last seven uneventful seasons - trust me, it was quite the drop-off for him. McGwire's .187, 29 home run season was an embarrassment and Sammy Sosa's two stints at or after age 36 came in Baltimore and Texas to .221/.376 and .252/.456 clips. Mickey Mantle's sad final season came at age 36. Harmon Kilebrew, Jimmie Foxx, Eddie Matthews, and Mel Ott also tailed off. 8/24, 33%



• The null set: Ramirez, Jim Thome, and Alex Rodriguez. 3/24, 12%

So the results, as I interpret them, are inconclusive. You can remove older players or more recent players from consideration for various reasons (steroids, medical advances, etc), but the facts are there. What happens from here is impossible to predict, but there are two superstar players being dangled on the market - Mark Teixeira and Matt Holliday - and the Red Sox, for the first time ever, could get a good return for Ramirez. Mike Cameron, Lastings Milledge, and cash were rumored to be Boston-bound at the trade deadline in 2005, but the deal was nixed when the Sox asked for another prospect. None of that.

The only obstacle - and a fairly major one at that - would be Manny's 10/5 no-trade clause. He would have to approve a deal to any team. Would you approve a trade to Atlanta or Colorado? It would have to be a sign and trade, most likely, which isn't likely.

Manny being Manny anywhere besides Boston just doesn't seem like a likely proposition. The double-armed home run salutes, brisk jogs down the first base line, and knee-slapping/infuiating fielding plays (or lack thereof) in left field appear as if they'll be played under the shadow of the Green Monster.

Just like Happy Days was destined for more irrelevant episodes after jumping it's shark (I'm still trying to find out what happened to Chuck Cunningham...), it doesn't seem like Ramirez will be moved. The difference is the Sox' ability to cuts ties with him after this season. It leaves a big hole - one that can't even be filled by a Big Papi.

Holliday becomes a free agent after 2009, but do you wait a season to try and sign him or fork over a couple prospects? Do you find a one-season stopgap til Holliday hits the market? Is it a smart idea to put all your eggs in one Coors Field-enhanced basket?

Teixeira is a free agent after this season, but he can't play left field. Do you sign the best hitter available and try to "work it out"? Do you trade Gold Glover Kevin Youkilis, who Manny sparred with, to get a player who statistically doesn't give you much more at first base? And, then, if you pay to keep Teixeira, do you pay Manny his $20 mil per year to patrol left field?

"It" is not a simple issue, but one day, whether now, next season, or the season after that, "it" will happen and it's up to the Sox to decide when the Manny Ramirez era will end.