It's so hard to say goodbye to Manny....

I will start by saying this: Damn you, Theo, you goddamned moron. What have you done?! Talk about having your head up your ass... have you not seen our bullpen? Why is trading Manny Ramirez your number one priority when we have NO reliable set-up guys?! What the hell is wrong with you?! You got SPANKED on this trade. SPANKED. I can't STAND you!

Jason Bay better be batting .500 for the rest of the damn season. Even then, he won't match what Manny brought us. And by that, I mean he won't match the joy. Manny brought me a lot of joy.

The world as I see it is broken up into three categories: Manny-bashers, Manny apologists, and Manny-neutral folks. I'm a Manny apologist, so obviously my arguments are going to be siding with good old ::sad gulp:: 24... who I guess is going to be #28 now. This is not right. This should have never happened.

To people who say this had to happen because Manny would have shut down: You. Don't. Know. That. The magic of Manny was that he was unpredictable. I believe wholeheartedly that if Manny stayed, he would have shut up and put up the numbers he needed to get that big contract, and he could have walked at the end of the year, and we could have all waved and smiled and shed a happy tear during his last at-bat, because despite all the crap that has happened, we loved our Manny. You don't get paid if you can't produce, and he would have needed to produce a lot in order to warrant that contract. Don't think for a second that Bora$ would have let him get away with that.

and now...

Dear Manny,

I hope you can be happy now. I honestly do. Watching you for these last wonderful years has been my pleasure. And now I see you're heading out west, and yes, my eyes water a little. You brought so much happiness to this city, but it always seemed to be overshadowed by the media for one reason or another. I don't blame you for wanting to leave. I blame you for how you handled it, but I will never villainize you the way the media has done. I want to thank you. Thank you for the two championships you helped bring to Boston. I'm absolutely lucky to have seen one, nevermind two. Thank you for wearing baggy uniforms and letting your hair grow. Thank you for playing the game like a little kid, the way it should be played. Thank you for admiring your home runs, high-fiving fans, hiding in the monster, bringing bottles of water on the field, cutting off throws from Damon, rolling around on the grass, and being just a fun guy to watch. Not everyone appreciated it, but I did, and damnit if I'm not missing you already. Thank you for giving this team character, and being a reason Ortiz got the chance to carry the team. Of course they had to pitch to him. Either that, or pitch to you. And you're Manny f*&^ing Ramirez. I didn't want it to end this way. I wanted you to remain a Red Sock. I wanted you to be happy here. I guess it just couldn't be, and one day I will accept this. I'll miss you and your bright smile. Nothing will ever match Manny being Manny. Thanks, Manny, and good luck.