Jason Giambi couldn't suppress his enthusiasm about Yankee killer Manny Ramirez being deleted from the Red Sox lineup.
"It's huge for us," Giambi said of the deal that sent Ramirez to the Dodgers and Jason Bay from the Pirates to the Red Sox. "He kills us every time we play him. Having him in their lineup makes every hitter around him better. With him and [David] Ortiz it was pick your poison. If you are a Yankee fan you have to be excited big time."
"Obviously he is a great hitter; I am happy I don't have to face him anymore," Derek Jeter said.Psssst...Derek, you're a hitter, you've never had to "face" Manny. (Maybe this is why he's been hitting like crap lately, he thinks he's a damn pitcher.)
Pitcher Mike Mussina had a slightly different opinion to the deal:"We know we don't have to deal with Manny," Damon said. "Nothing surprises me about Boston. Not too many players leave there happy. It's very well documented going back to [Mike] Greenwell, [Roger] Clemens, Mo Vaughn and Nomar [Garciaparra].
"They were the best 3-4 [hitters] in the league since 2003 when Ortiz finally started playing more. They were pretty deadly."
"Bay is a pretty good hitter, I don't know if there is a lot of drop off there," Mussina said.
It's great for the Yankees that they don't have to face Manny anymore, but let's all hope that Bay doesn't like slamming doubles into that big stupid wall they have over there. Fenway has been know to make certain right-handers better, more dangerous hitters.
I feel similarly about Bay, Greg. Look at what the move to Boston did for Lowell, who was hitting so badly in Florida that people speculated that his career might be over. Playing in Boston has revitalized his career. Bay might not have the raw power and sheer ability to steer balls all over the place like Ramirez but, if he uses the wall, he just may be a right-handed JD Drew (2008 version) for Boston down the stretch. I'm not ruling anything out. Not seeing Ramirez is a good thing, but I'm not exactly banking on Boston's going in the toilet without him, either.
ReplyDeleteYes, very well said. I agree with the both of you.
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