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By Sean Connolly

We’ve all witnessed the tabacle that was the Manny Ramirez trade in which the Red Sox traded away a first ballot hall of famer to the Dodgers in a three way deal for Jason Bay. That along with Favregate became the two stories of interest and absorbed sports television. Well, with those two situations settling down(somewhat) who’s to say the Manny situation won’t heat up again. And, the Yankees might be involved…how juicy.

Manny’s love affair with the Boston Red Sox which rewarded both with two championship rings and ended the horrid curse of the Bambino, came to an abrupt end in the middle of this season. The love was gone. And soon enough Manny was gone. The Manny saga became as soap operish(that’s right soap operish) as Favre’s retirement. The two sides bickered back and forth, dissing eachother through the media. I did not agree with the Red Sox getting rid of Manny, because he’s such a great hitter that you can deal with his drama. But, the Red Sox could not. So now he’s a Dodger.

Does Manny want to be a Dodger? Of course not. He doesn’t want to be in the National League where the best pitchers in the world are. He doesn’t want to be in the least talented division in major league baseball in the NL West. He wants to be in the American League where the balls fly out of ballparks. He wants to be in the American League where he can get back at the Red Sox. And, maybe, just maybe, he wants to be the face of a new stadium. A new Yankee Stadium.

If you don’t believe me look at this coming from the New York Post…

According to people who have spoken to the eccentric outfielder since he was dealt to L.A. on July 31, Ramirez wants to sign a free-agent deal with the Yankees this offseason and get 19 chances a year to punish Boston.

George A. King III, New York Post

Ramirez becomes a free agent at the end of this year’s World Series. Brian Cashman may be in risk of losing his job by then because with the way the Yankees are playing right now, the Yankees won’t be the ones in this year’s World Series. Now, what’s the one desparate move that could save both he and the Yankees which will bring enormous crowds to the new Yankee Stadium? Putting one of the Yankees arch rivals in pinstripes and pitting him against his former team. You can’t make this stuff up…well I just did so I guess you can, but it would be awesome, right?

By Sean Connolly

After joining the elite 600 home run club last week, it looks as if Ken Griffey Jr. may be headed to the Tampa Bay Rays. A report says that Griffey Jr. will consider waiving his no trade clause to join the surprising Rays. The Reds are 12.5 games back in the central division in last place and Griffey is still searching for a ring. Whether he’ll find it with the Rays is another question.

Why would Griffey join the Rays? I’m not too sure. If he’s looking for a ring I don’t understand why he would go to a franchise who hasn’t even made it to the playoffs yet. The only thing I can take from this is that he either see something more in the Rays or that he’s just looking to end his career in beautiful Tampa Bay.

Hearing this news both confused me and excited me. Watching Ken Griffey Jr. on the Seattle Mariners was so exciting and this could mean that he could actually end up on a team who actually have some sort of up side. Since his arrival in 2000 to Cincinnati, he has found nothing but injuries and no playoff appearances. Seeing him play on a team with something to play for will definetely ignite his play and garner more interest in one of the best home run hitters of all time. But again, why Tampa Bay? Maybe, just maybe, the Rays are actually going to take advantage of a solid core of players, hold on to them, and continue to build around them to establish a winning franchise. We may finally see a playoff team in Tampa Bay.

So, will the Rays trade for Griffey? I don’t see it happening. Knowing that Griffey is now on the market you will now start seeing the bigger teams begin to get into the Griffey sweepstakes. You know Steinbrenner and the Yankees are salivating at the thought of Ken Griffey Jr. on the open market, and don’t be surprised to see a team like the Chicago Cubs try and snag Griffey. The Cubs acquisition of Jim Edmonds has not been going as planned and Griffey could easily step into his role. Overall I just fear the weaker Rays will be eaten up by the bigger sharks in the water and buy out Griffey. But who knows maybe Griffey will end up a Tampa Bay Ray for the rest of his career.