Empyreal Environs

When there were rumors that the Red Sox front office may have engaged the Diamondbacks for a trade of Manny Ramirez, I was encouraged. I thought Boston would get a smattering of the young positional talent Arizona hoards.

Then there were stirrings of a deal with the Giants, and my spirit waned considerably. Steve Phillips’s outlandish conjectures that a Barry Bonds signing to replace Manny Ramirez was imminent played on ESPN in a Sisyphean loop. I very much regretted that I was not a religious person and could not resort to supplication against the repetition of such obvious drivel.

Instead, two players most recently of Dodger vintage were added to the team: shortstop Julio Cesar Lugo and right fielder David Jonathan (a.k.a. J.D.) Drew. The 31-year old infielder was signed to a four-year, $36M deal pending his physical. The outfielder, also age 31, has agreed to a five-year, $70M contract after opting out of his deal with the Dodgers. One season after the Dodgers had picked up several former Boston players, the tide has turned red.

By signing these free agents, the Red Sox did not lose prospects. A further depletion of their young talent was probably a concern, particularly after having seen so many of their former products perform brilliantly this past season. To name a few, Hanley Ramirez was elected NL Rookie of the Year, Anibal Sanchez threw a no-hitter, and Freddie Sanchez earned the NL batting title.

Lugo and Drew are obviously not the young though untested talent that a trade of Ramirez could net, but the length of their contracts stop them just short of their late 30s and perhaps tides the Red Sox over until the most recent round of irrational exuberance has expired.