OK, what about Manny? Minds are made up. Either you accept the idea that a trade was necessary because management feared he'd quit on them, as he did in '06, or you don't. It hurt watching him have those two transcendent months for the Dodgers, but you should feel better now that he already has put them in his rearview mirror as he seeks his next employer, to whom I say, "caveat emptor." Manny only cares about Manny.
Finally, the Captain. In a better world, the Red Sox offer Jason Varitek one year, plus option, at $5 million. They tell him he's hitting ninth unless he does something to deserve better and that he will be pinch hit for when the occasion calls for it. Of course, he'll wind up with twice that. Scott Boras will find a way. Resolving this will be Theo Epstein's first order of business, I would imagine.
