just moved on the NY Times wire
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/12/17/sports/b...all/17BASE.htmlDecember 17, 2003
BASEBALL ANALYSIS
For Texas and Boston, Trade Becomes a Must
By JACK CURRY
BaseballAnalysisThe dalliance between the Boston Red Sox and the Texas Rangers about a trade featuring Alex Rodriguez and Manny Ramirez switched to a serious dialogue over a month ago. The discussion about swapping the two highest-paid players in baseball was so delicate that the owners of both teams elbowed the general managers aside to handle the talks. Now, after all the time invested, it would be disastrous for both teams if the multimillionaires failed to trade places.
An official from one of the teams said the potential deal, though complicated, was likely to happen soon. The main principals desperately need it to happen. There has been so much speculation about Rodriguez's relocating to Boston, about Ramirez's loafing away and about Nomar Garciaparra's being jettisoned to free up Boston's shortstop position that, if the talks collapsed, both clubs might have to put Dr. Phil on the payroll.
There were more indications that the Rodriguez saga was inching toward a resolution last night as Tom Hicks, the Rangers' owner, released a statement saying that the negotiations were at a "sensitive point" and that the team would not comment on them. It is doubtful the Rangers would have even offered this progress report if the conversations had stalled. And The Associated Press reported that Rodriguez and Red Sox General Manager Theo Epstein met with an official from the players' union, presumably to talk about ways of restructuring his mammoth contract.
The Rangers realize it would be awkward for Rodriguez to return to their clubhouse, be a believable leader and be embraced by their dwindling core of fans. Rodriguez, who has a no-trade clause, is tired of finishing last with the Rangers, dislikes Manager Buck Showalter and has been working the phones like a solicitor to try to force a change of his baseball address.
If Hicks cannot reach an agreement with the Boston owner John Henry, how will the Rangers spin Rodriguez's continuing presence in Texas as a positive? O.K., we do not mind paying you $25 million a year, even though you would rather be 1,800 miles away at Fenway Park.
Rodriguez is the premier player in baseball and could end up as one of the best players ever, but his relationship with Hicks has fallen apart and several baseball officials said a divorce was the most practical solution at this stage.
The same is true for Garciaparra and the Red Sox. Funny that Garciaparra, who has had more rules than the White House for when, how and with whom he would do interviews, called a Boston radio station during his honeymoon last week and expressed his desire to stay with the Red Sox.
That call, coming after his agent criticized the Red Sox and while the Red Sox surged forward in pursuit of Rodriguez, fits under the heading of learning how to say hello when it is time to say goodbye.
Of course, one of the trickier aspects of the Rodriguez story is Boston's ability to agree with the Rangers on a trade while simultaneously finding a new home for Garciaparra, maybe with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Scott Boras, Rodriguez's agent, spoke of how precise Boston's timing had to be and how gigantic an error the Red Sox would make if they completed one trade and whiffed on the other. Going one for two in trades would be a fiasco because it would leave the Red Sox with two shortstops, or no shortstops.
Unlike Rodriguez and Garciaparra, Ramirez is so oblivious that he could probably return to Boston next season and be unfazed that the team first put him on irrevocable waivers, then feverishly tried to get the Rangers to accept the $97.5 million left on his contract. Although the Rangers would save $81.5 million in a Rodriguez-Ramirez deal because Rodriguez has $179 million left on his contract, they still want about $25 million more from Boston and a pitcher, probably Byung Hyun Kim, before they accept the lethal slugger.
If it were not for Ramirez and his onerous contract, these talks probably would not even be happening. It's unlikely the Red Sox would be interested in simply replacing Garciaparra with Rodriguez at such a huge increase in cost. But acquiring the polished prince of baseball and shedding Ramirez, the aloof, one-dimensional left fielder, at the same time — well, that is appealing.
Because the Red Sox came so close to silencing the Yankees and advancing to the World Series in October, and because they have gone on to bolster their pitching staff with Curt Schilling and closer Keith Foulke, it can be argued that Boston does not need to do any more, that it really doesn't need Rodriguez. After all, with Garciaparra and Ramirez in the middle of the 2003 lineup, the Red Sox scored 961 runs and set the major league record for total bases.
Still, Rodriguez (.298 average, 47 homers, 118 runs batted in and a .396 on-base percentage in 2003) would be an upgrade over Garciaparra (.301, 28, 105, .345) because he is a better power hitter and a superior defensive player. And while Ramirez's absence would create a hole in the middle of the order, the Red Sox added reasonably priced players like David Ortiz, Bill Mueller and Kevin Millar to the lineup last season, and all of them flourished offensively. They probably figure they can follow that approach again and secure a more-than-capable left fielder.
As Hicks said, the negotiations are at a sensitive stage. From Rodriguez to Hicks to Henry, everyone intimately involved with these discussions wants this monstrous trade to finally happen. They want it to happen because, essentially, they need it to happen, too.
