Oh, Well...

I really didn't intend on getting swept up in the whole "Manny to the Marlins" thing. Hell, I hadn't even heard about it until yesterday morning.

"Hmm..." I thought, "Manny Ramirez is pretty damn good at hitting a baseball. He would make the Marlins' lineup better."

At first, I wrote the rumors off. Going after high-priced stars isn't really the Florida Marlins' "way."

Then the rumors started to swirl and gain traction. (It was dizzying and easy to remain steady all at once.) By early evening the trade was a "done deal." The important stuff had been worked out and all that was left was picking a couple names out of a hat, lighting a victory cigar and the shaking of some hands via e-mail.

By the time Project Runway came on the Marlins were enjoying their 5-run 4th last night things began to unravel. Talks started to stall and the wheels began to fall off. The Marlins didn't want to give up their prized young prospect, Mike Stanton. (This Stanton character had better end up being a really fucking good player, might I add.)

When I went to bed, all I could think about was Manny Ramirez. I'm pretty sure I dreamed about him.

When I woke up, I saw that nothing had transpired and knew it probably wasn't going to happen. Having a Hall-of-Famer in the lineup to finish the season just wasn't in the cards.

Of course the rumors wouldn't die. At various times throughout the day the trade was on or dead. By 4 o'clock I was ready to throw my computer off my desk. I must have Googled the man a thousand times today.

When it was reported that the LA Dodgers had snuck in at the last minute and basically just replaced the Marlins in the deal, I was a broken man.

Then I remembered that the Marlins were only 1.5 games out of first. Shit man, we'd gotten this far without Manny, we could make it the rest of the way. The Mets are still a volatile melting pot of a club house and remain a misplaced chalupa away from a season ending race riot. Then there's the Phillies - I don't think they've ever won a post-season series in their history. (Someone want to check on that one for me? Thanks.)

And on top of that, the Marlins are only 3 games out of the Wild Card. Shit - second place in the division could be good enough for the Playoffs. This might just work out.

Besides, who wants to rent a goofy, dread-locked, clubhouse cancer like Manny Ramirez anyway?