It was a terrifying couple of weeks here in Red Sox Nation as rumors swelled of Manny Ramirez possible being traded. Manny had been ripped in the press lately for not running out ground balls and refusing to play on a scheduled day off when the team was shorthanded (Trot Nixon having sustained an injury the day before). I found the latter inexcusable, and actually found myself wondering if maybe we should trade Manny. That strain of thought lasted about six seconds.

Yeah, Manny can be a pain in the ass and a liability in the field (although he somehow leads the AL in outfield assists), but damn, he's leading the AL in RBI and is tied for the lead in home runs. How do you replace that kind of productivity? You don't. At least, not with the trades that were being offered.

[Was anyone else upset the Devil Rays were asking for so much? Who the hell are they to demand anything--they're the Devil Rays for god's sake]

So Manny stayed a Red Sock. And wouldn't you know it, he pinch hit in a tie game Sunday against the Twins with the score tied 3-3 and men on first and second. And he got a hit. Not only did he get a hit, you knew he was going to get a hit, even when he fell behind 0-2. It just had to happen. So yes, all's well that ends well. But I leave you with a theory. The turning point of last season was the famed Varitek/A-Rod brawl, when the Sox came back to win the game. That became a rallying point and after the Nomar trade the Sox caught fire.

Last Tuesday Matt Clement was bonked in the head and carted off the field, and the Sox won a grueling game against the Devil Rays 10-9 in extra innings, where they really came together as a team.

The A-Rod incident happened 7/24/2004. The D-Rays game was almost a year to the date later, 7/26/2004. Oh, and the Red Sox are 5-0 since that game. Hmmmm...