Okay, haven’t written much on this, but I’ve had a hopeless Red Sox affliction since the Cardiac Kids (that would be 1967; I was thirteen). That ‘67 team was awesome; they pulled it out of the fire so many times it was unbelievable. The ‘86 team was pretty good too. It broke my heart when they lost to the Mets. I’ve lived through all the bad owners. I watched T0ny Conigliaro’s career-ending injury. I thought Dan Duquette was a putz. Then, along came Theo Epstein. I live by the Gospel According to Theo. I don’t question the man’s moves very much.

That’s why I believe that the Red Sox are ready for the post season. Epstein just goes quietly about his business of building a team. He may start the year convinced he’s got the right mix, and find out some of the pieces don’t fit the way he intended them to. If that’s the case, he makes the personnel moves he has to without mortgaging the farm. This year, he added V-Mart (Victor Martinez), Casey Kotchman and Alex Gonzales, giving up very little in the process. As a result, the Sox are firing on all eight cylinders at the optimal time.

Now, I’m writing this because I had some chump bring up the Manny Ramirez vs. Jason Bay issue. His premise was that the Sox would be better off with Manny. Yeah, sure. Let’s just pretend Manny didn’t slug an elderly member of the Red Sox staff because he got pissed off over tickets. We’ll just ignore that character issue because he can hit. Manny is garbage in a uniform. No question about it. The “Manny being Manny” crap got old fast this year, but I don’t get the big love affair with this guy to begin with. He’s a great hitter. That’s it. He’s a one dimensional player. He doesn’t bust his butt in the outfield. He’s mediocre at best and that’s because he’s freakin’ lazy. He also doesn’t think it’s necessary to run out ground balls.

Let’s look at Ramirez vs. Bay by the 2009 numbers:

Jason Bay: 34 homers, 107 RBI with 27 doubles and 3 triples

Manny Ramirez: 19 homers, 59 RBI with 22 doubles and 2 triples

Okay, yeah, Manny was suspended for 50 games for using a woman’s fertility drug (considered a performance-enhancing substance). He must have been trying to get in touch with his feminine side. For the sake of argument, let’s assume that kept Manny’s stats low.  Again, this whole episode goes right to character. Manny hasn’t got any.

Unlike Manny, we have photographic proof that Jason Bay is the complete package: He hits, he actually runs and he can play left field. I don’t see how people can make the argument for Manny. Maybe I’m wrong, but I don’t think so. In the meantime,  the Sox should be intent on signing Jason Bay to a long-term contract.

Postscript: Oh, yeah, Jason Bay celebrated his 31st birthday today by whacking a home run and single today, driving in 3 runs.

Okay. Look, I admit to being a Red Sox fan. I’m not a Manny fan, however, and I truly believed it was just a matter of time before he brought his special kind of magic to the Dodgers. He did today, May 7, 2009.

Today, Manny Ramirez was banned from playing baseball for 50 games for testing positive for a performance-enhancing drug. According to sources, he tested positive for HCG, or human chorionic gonadotropin, a woman’s fertility drug which helps the body produce testosterone.

Okay, so he releases this statement saying that he recently saw a doctor for a problem and the doctor gave him a prescription for something he thought would be okay. Right. A woman’s fertility drug that helps the body to produce testosterone. Not a steroid, but a performance-enhancing drug.

What medical problem could Manny possibly have that would require him to take a woman’s fertility drug? Perhaps, they want him to get in touch with his feminine side. Who knows? By the end of the frakin’ season, he could end up looking like fellow sportsman, Dennis Rodman. Different sport; same effect.