Only Everything

Title above in homage to the research Whitney and I performed last night, catching Scott Miller solo at Iota in Arlington, VA and taste-testing several Shiner Bocks, Harpoon IPAs, and Guinness drafts. We probably talked about baseball, too, though I can't really recall. For what it's worth, Shiner's overrated - it's nearly indistinguishable from Bud Light.

Those of you not familiar with Miller should be - he's the former frontman of the V-Roys, and a proud product of the College of William and Mary, Class of '90. He appeared to be trying to go drink for drink with Whitney, which resulted in a laid-back, good-timey set of alt-country tunes. (The fact that Whitney tried to make out with him after the show was mostly entertaining, as well, though probably not for him.)

I'm refraining at the moment from buying into Friend of MLC Teejay Doyle's premise that Manny Ramirez is not long for Olde Towne Team. I know it's the popular media hook this week, but I can't see the Sox' front office particularly eager to part with the American League's most potent right-handed bat, especially given the way that contract values for mediocre outfielders have gone plaid this offseason. If Alfonso Soriano gets $17m per season, and Gary Matthews, Jr. gets $10m per, then Manny's an absolute steal at his current $20m or so per year. (Of course, you could argue that the "correction" in the value of Manny's contract makes him easier to trade, and you'd be right. Easier to trade, though, doesn't certify that the Sox would get equal value in return.)

Because Manny's contract is no longer the above-market albatross it once was, the Sox' incentive for trading the enigmatic one has diminished. Unless - and this is a big 'unless' - they can get what they perceive to be value for him. I just don't see that happening, certainly not in any of the deals that have been floated to date. The Sox' front office has been highly disciplined in its approach to the media since Theo's return from the wild, so I'm fairly sure that none of the 'Manny's gone' material is coming from Yawkey Way. More likely, to this uninformed opinionater, that the media is bored and Manny's departure is an easy story to write.

Says here that Manny's in leftfield for the Sox on Opening Day in April, nodding his goofy head in time to music that only he hears. I'd sure hate to have to write a farewell to one of the most entertaining players of my lifetime.