Stay the Course: The Don't Trade Manny

The Boston Red Sox should not trade Manny Ramirez. For the past 6 years we have been blessed with Ramirez's presence in Left-Field and especially batting clean-up. Over this period, Ramirez has had an OPS (on-base plus slugging) percentage under 1.000 only once. Clearly Manny is an immense talent which should left alone. For the reasons below we feel that Manny Ramirez should not be traded.
1. No one else can provide better protection to "the best clutch hitter of all time" than Manny Ramirez. Without Ramirez's protection, Ortiz will simply be walked in any clutch situation.
2. Without Ramirez the Red Sox have a significantly weaker line-up. In the past season Ramirez produced 115.9 BsR or .208 per plate appearance. Excluding Ortiz, Ramirez is by far the leader in BsR/PA on the Red sox. The second closest is Kevin Youkilis at a mere .146. Manny has the second highest VORP on the red sox at 66.1 which is coincidently only behind Ortiz, the man whom bats in front of him. Of position players, Mike Lowell is 3rd on the team in VORP at 20.7. What does this all mean? Boston will never get fair value for Ramirez. How important he is to Boston? We will only know once he is gone, and I assure you, we donвt want to know...
3. Much has been attributed to Manny's defensive inabilities. Despite what often is spun about Manny's "lack of effort" in Left-field, he still has managed to have 17 assists in 2005 and 7 in 2006. Manny is a classic Boston Left-fielder. Just like his predecessors, Manny has simply learned how to play the monster, and he does it better than any other left-fielder in the game. The short green and tall wall allows Manny's small range to not affect him as much as it affected him in other parks for it allows him to play in, eliminating the chance for runners to score from second on a single to left. His quick release is also ideal for holding players to singles on hits off the monster.
4. Manny has suddenly become quite affordable. While one may think that this is a reason to move him, (he is now more valuable to other teams) this is not so. With J.D Drew expected to sign for 15m per year, Ramirez for about 17m is a fair bargain. If the Sox choose to move Ramirez we will not be able to replace his production without spending much more than he currently makes.

Manny is surly taken for granted. He has the 6th most homeruns per at-bat ever (14.0), he also has the 8th highest career Slugging \%(.600) and 9th highest OPS\%(1.011). Manny is not just a good player for his time, he is one of the best players ever and has changed baseball with his presence. By trading Manny, Red Sox nation would lose a player that helper alter history (being the MVP of the 2004 World Series) and it would be a shame to see that happen. Please sign this petition if you would like to see Manny play his career out with the Boston Red Sox.