Jared Carrabis	Male 19 years old SAUGUS, MA
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I really don't know how to start this but here it goes. I didn't get the chance to post a bulletin about Manny getting traded right when it happened because I was in the Red Sox front office right when it happened. I was next to Larry Lucchino literally two minutes after the deal went down. I want to say that I'm almost in a state of shock right now. I'm obviously upset to see one of the greatest hitters to ever wear a Red Sox uniform depart from Boston. I hated to hear that he was traded and above all, I hated that it had to end the way that it did.

Given what the Red Sox had to give up to get what they got in return, it was clear to me that the Red Sox front office simply just wanted to get rid of Manny Ramirez. This team is in a pennant race and they have Manny Ramirez as a part of their lineup. To trade a player of his caliber for a player like Jason Bay, but don't get me wrong he's a great player but he is no Manny Ramirez nor will he ever be, just goes to show how badly the Red Sox wanted to rid themselves of Manny Ramirez. His off field antics became too much. It was wearing on the clubhouse and he talked his way off this team.

Manny has run into situations like this before in Boston but the mistake that he made this season was failing to keep his mouth shut. When he opened his mouth about his contract and John Henry responded by saying that his remarks were offensive, the comments by Henry only added more fuel to the fire. Ramirez dug his own grave here in Boston by saying that the Red Sox did not "deserve him" and that may have been the final nail in the coffin.

I think today we are all a little shocked and it will be even worse when we see him in that Dodgers uniform, but what a ride it has been. I don't think there's any question that the money spent on Manny Ramirez was money well spent. The offensive numbers that Manny put up for this Boston offense over the past seven and two thirds seasons have been nothing short of phenomenal. The power behind two World Series titles and a World Series MVP in 2004, Manny Ramirez has been worth every cent that we put in his pocket.

I believe that Scott Boras may have had something to do with Manny's ugly departure from Boston. Maybe filling Manny's head with thoughts that if Ramirez were to be traded that he could get a contract worth $100 million this offseason, but the reality of that is that he probably isn't going to get that kind of deal. In my honest opinion, Manny Ramirez would have made the most money if he kept his mouth shut and played baseball while allowing the Red Sox to actually want to pick up his option for the 2009 season.

That of course did not happen and now he is a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. I believe that time heals all wounds and that the legacy of Manny Ramirez will live on in the minds and hearts of Red Sox Nation for a very long time as being one of the greatest pure hitters to ever grace left field at Fenway Park. Ramirez didn't have the happy ending that we had all dreamed he would have and even he dreamed he would have here in Boston. Retiring as a member of the Red Sox, seeing his number 24 retired among the greats to play in Boston, but his final at bat in a Red Sox uniform has already passed before we even realized it.

I would just like to personally thank Manny Ramirez for all of the great times he has given me growing up as a baseball fan here in Boston. You will always be one of my favorite baseball players to ever play the game. The stories of Yaz that my father told to me, I know that I will one day tell my kids the stories about you. You were an inspiration to all baseball players that baseball is a game that is meant to be played and have the most fun as possible while you're playing it. One of the greatest if not the greatest postseason hitter of all time, one of the greatest power hitters of our generation. It has been a privilege and an honor to watch you play for my team. Thank you for all the wonderful and great memories that you have given me, I will never forget them.

So long old friend, see you in Cooperstown.