So Manny must be an awful guy to get the Red Sox, a team actually fighting for a playoff spot to pay someone, in both dollars and prospects, to take him, right? Well, perhaps after the earlier altercation with Kevin Youkilis this season, and then the later altercation with their traveling secretary, it was just time for Manny to leave.  Perhaps his ability to jibe in the clubhouse had been lost. Today, Bill Shalkin of the Los Angeles Times does a nice job of finding folks who have some good things to say.  He finds the reasons why a team might let Manny be Manny.  He’s clearly not the thinker, but he still hones his craft.  He isn’t going to sit a younger player down and tell him what to expect from a certain pitcher in a 3-2 count, but he can show that kid.  Manny wasn’t a great fit for Boston fans, and would have been gone long ago if the Sox hadn’t won two World Series with him.  He clearly tips the balance of power for the Dodgers, and though pitching and defense win playoff games, the NL West will be the great test of whether that combo works in the regular season.  The Dodgers clearly have the bats, while the Diamondbacks have the pitching.  And with moments like his Wednesday move of carrying a sign onto the field that said he was going to Green Bay in a straight up deal for Brett Favre, well, Hollywood could embrace him.

The big question left for the Dodgers is how they will deal with 5 outfielders, but I bet during the next month they find a way to trade one of those young guys for a short-stop to replace the injured Furcal.  A team can still trade a player during August if he has been put up on waivers.  Tom Phillips wrote a great explanation of the waiver period for us last year, so for more details check it out. The other outfielders though could also be kept for next year, as it is doubtful that the very cash-poor Dodgers could afford to keep him without unloading Andruw Jones somewhere first — and that seems impossible.