You Make Your Own Destination

by Ryan

Sports are supposed to be fun. You invest a certain amount of time in something and you reap the benefits of a successful team. Isn't that the perfect business model?

This week, however, has not been fun. I stole this from a friend's pictures:



The caption: ManRam in his last game as a Red Sock

Wow. That caption sucks.

Like, I've never been more saddened by a facebook album in my life.

There are many things about Manny Ramirez being traded to the Dodgers that have been talked about. When one of the biggest stars in the game gets traded, of course there are going to be opinions on the matter. However, there is only one way I have been able to describe the move:

It sucks.

Today was the first time someone other than a close friend asked me about the deal. I was wearing my Sox hat, and he (of course) was a Dodgers fan. Saying, "it sucks" was about the only way to coherently describe my thoughts on the matter, and that alarms me.

Of course, I have other reasons to be upset. I really liked Hansen's potential, and the thought of Jason Bay doesn't exactly warm my cockles; but for some reason I couldn't form any of those arguments into words. Trading Manny Ramirez sucks. It just does. Done and done.

Now I know there were problems with the whole "Manny Ramirez" thing. Yeah, he had some issues that we as fans looked past. But that's just it: with Manny on your team, when he was yours, you could look past it for some unexplainable reason. I don't want to read things like this trying to tell me what an awful person he was. I'll be honest, I don't care.

This is not a matter of his on field performance, nor is it a case of falling in love with what Manny has brought the Sox in the form of championships. This is different, and something I still have trouble understanding myself. This is a case of having an unique set of intangibles that lets you off the hook for being borderline crazy.

Even down the final stretch, when he was missing games and mysterious injuries came about; for some reason it didn't matter. There was something so predictable about that home run against the Angels in the 9th, just after a grounded into a double play in his last at bat. Just add it to the goofy things he's done, whether to make owners mad or not. No one will ever know what his intentions were, but you can't help but be entertained by them.

This post is all over the place, and predictably so. I still don't know how I feel about Manny Ramirez. I do know I'm not mad at him, and his thoughts on ownership's treatment of players isn't that far fetched. However, I can't get upset about what happened with either party because of how it percolated. This was a move made in order to satisfy both parties. In the end, it will hurt the fans the most.

I guess that's what this is about: I'm hurt. I'm not moved to tears, I'm not sentimental about the good times, and I'm certainly not asking for solace or some sort. The fact of the matter is that it had to happen, and that is depressing as hell. I was sad tonight when I checked the box score and saw Manny went deep for LA. Even seeing Jason Bay go yard was a bit unsettling.

Watching Manny go is that part of sports we all hate. We can't control much of anything when it comes to sports, but watching someone you really care about get taken away is probably one of the most heartless things that can happen to a fan. Sure, we've won two World Series in the last five years. That is fantastic and the most amazing stretch of being a sports fan I've had the privilege to be a part of.

However, seeing this happen again and again with all my other teams only magnifies how crappy the move was. The precedence of watching players go by the wayside magnifies the craptacular result of Manny leaving the Monster's shadow.

This whole thing sounds pretentious and whiny and I'm sorry for that; but I really needed to see it in print to get it out. No one reads this on Sunday, so here it is.

"I don't believe in curses. I believe you make your own destination"

You said it, man.