It's hard to believe that would be the case if Manny Ramirez were still around.
Love him or hate him, Manny was the kind of player who drew fans to the ballpark. He was someone who made headlines. He is polarizing, but so are some of the most exciting people in any area of entertainment. And since he's been gone, the Red Sox have struggled, at times, to find a true replacement — both in terms of offense and in terms of personality.
Actually, probably more in terms of personality.
For a year and a half, Jason Bay filled in just fine with his offense. During the full season he served as Boston's everyday left fielder, he finished with 36 homers and 119 RBIs. But where he truly shined with the Red Sox was in his first postseason appearance in 2008. In the ALDS against the Angels, he hit .412 with two homers and five RBIs in four games, and in the ALCS against Tampa Bay, he hit .292 with a homer and four RBIs in seven games. There was even a period where it seemed like every time Manny hit a home run with the Dodgers during that postseason, Bay would match that effort with the Red Sox.
In the personality department, though, the two players were vastly different stories. Whereas Manny's sound bites could almost always serve as headline stories for the second half of his Red Sox career, Bay was quiet and reserved and never said anything remotely bombastic (at least intentionally).
Sometimes, that can be a good thing. But it's also just plain boring.
It could never hurt to have Manny's bat back in the lineup — he is, after all, one of the best (if not the best) right-handed hitters of this generation — but this year, Boston is fine without his offense. The Red Sox are first in the league in hits, second in home runs, second in on-base percentage and first in slugging percentage.
But in the personality department, this team is vastly different from the last several Boston squads that featured Manny Ramirez. And while it may be less distracting to have a team that goes about its business on the field and doesn't put on a sideshow off it, it can be really, really fun for fans to have someone like Manny around.
What do you think? Does Red Sox Nation really miss Manny?
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