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The Marlins are in town to face the Red Sox, and you know what that means:
It's a bittersweet sight to see the Florida Marlins arrive in Boston. On one hand, seeing those turquoise and black uniforms trotting out onto the Fenway grass is a reminder of the talent the Marlins' organization has fed into Boston in the past — the Red Sox' staff ace and their third baseman are living proof of that. On the other hand, there's the tantalizing sight of one of baseball's brightest young stars returning to Fenway, a Red Sox prospect that was. That, of course, would be Hanley Ramirez.
To this day, the debate rages on — what would you have done? With the future of two franchises in your hands, with the chance to drastically alter the careers of two of the game's superstars, present and future, would you pull the trigger? It's not an easy call.
How is this not an easy call, even in hindsight? As the article itself notes, if the Sox didn't trade Ramirez, they wouldn't have had Josh Beckett or Mike Lowell, and without Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell, it's almost a certainty that they would not have won the 2007 World Series. I know Boston has recently become the city of champions and all of that, but I'm guessing that about 95% of the fan base would prefer a title in the bag to even an All-Star shortstop. The other 5% are either crazy or have an unhealthy fetish for potential and shiny numbers.
To the extent there remains any "debate" about the Hanley Ramirez deal, it's borne of either (a) a latent desire by Sox fans for their team to possess every player worth a damn; and (b) the need for the media to fill the void the morning after almost every team had the day off.
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I'm pretty sure it's option (a).
That and all the SS problems they had since Norma.
Wasn't Hanley a Texas draft choice that they gave up for a pitcher anyway?
Nevermind, not sure why I thought that. Seems like Texas gave up a SS who turned out pretty good a few years back for a pitcher. Guess I was hallucinating.
So a fantastic player that the Red Sox drafted, developed and traded away is back in Boston, and he plays a position that has been a black hole on the team for five years. But god forbid anyone in New England wishes he was on the team or they're just greedy Red Sox fans who want to steal all the good players!!!
Because I'm sure fans of a team like, oh, let's say the Indians, a good, red-blooded American team from a small market in the heartland with a racist caricature for a logo, would never, ever covet another man's shortstop, even with Jhonny Peralta flailing away day in and day out.
Lots of people hate the Red Sox, and that's great. They're very successful and get too much media coverage, so they're an easy target. But it's sort of ridiculous to frame wanting good players on the team as a valid reason to vilify an organization or fanbase. Try harder.
And Craig is absolutely right, no one but the most misanthropic fans in New England would take the Ramirez trade back. Any player is expendable in return for a title.
The 2007 championship, in large part, was due to Mike Lowell and Josh Beckett. I think Hanley and the 2007 World Series victory are mutually exclusive.