Hear that? Yankees fans are STILL cheering...

Yankee fans were cheering before the trade. They did enough on their own to make a postseason run, whatever the other teams did (or didn't) do is irrelevant.

I completely disagree with the assessment the Red Sox didn't improve. Manny would have pouted the rest of the season, 100% of Manny is HOF caliber production, 50% of Manny is JD Drew.

The odd team out here is Tampa. They've played well so far this year, but it's been with mirrors. Their unwillingness to part with a pitcher currently in A ball cost them Bay, and their unwillingness to part with two Triple A pitchers cost them Mark Teixeira. They will get passed like a '68 Datsun at Daytona.

It is most CERTAINLY relevant, especially when you trade away Manny freakin' Ramirez! The fact that the Yanks added Pudge while simultaneously ridding themselves of having to pitch to Manny in September is the nail in the coffin. I think that if Manny were still in Boston I'd agree with you...Tampa would be the odd man out...but it's just a HUGE alteration to that line-up... I still think the Sox miss out...the Rays pitch too well...that trumps anything...

Dude, your comment proves that, as an Orioles fan, you are unqualified to talk about a pennant race.

really? so how about the 15 years or so when the Orioles were the pinnacle of the baseball world? I think I know PLENTY about a pennant race, thank you very much... not to mention that saying that just because someone is a fan of a poorly run franchise that they know nothing about the sport is both ignorant and idiotic...I can't help I grew up in Baltimore...and the fact that I'm an O's fan has absolutely nothing to do with this argument...soooo your choosing to attack me WHY?

Red Sox brass would not have made the trade if they thought Manny's behavior was tolerable. His teammates had had enough, which was the last straw. Are they a better team without Manny? We will see...If Manny was as big of a distraction as the players made it seem, maybe this was just what they needed. They had lost 5 out of 6, all at home, before the deadline. They had to do something. This will be one of the most interesting pennant races in years...

IMO, the Red Sox created this whole mess, not Manny. All he wanted was some type of answer about his option for next year. When the Sox blew him off is when he started pouting and mouthing off. Yes, he was wrong to criticize the organization, but for what all Manny has done for the organization, they were wrong to blow him off, too. How hard would it have been to say, "Geez, Manny, we haven't decided on anything yet," or, "Geez, Manny, you know we don't make contract decisions during the season." But, noooooooooooooo, they chose to flat ignore him instead. Pretty gutless and classless, then again, we are talking about Theo Epstein.

This line made me laugh:

"The prospect of having to face Papi and Manny back-to-back in the bottom on the 9th inning with the season on the line is gone"

The last time Manny had a big at-bat in the bottom of the 9th against the Yankees wasn't exactly intimidating.

And if you honestly believe that the Yankees were "intimidated" by the Red Sox, you have to wake up from dreamland and realize that the Yankees are professional ballplayers. As a fan, it might be intimidating, but I doubt Mariano Rivera is fretting away in the Yankee bullpen in the 8th because Ortiz and Manny are due up.

Okay, while I agree that Boston has taken a hit production-wise for trading away Manny Ramirez, I don't buy into this crap that the Yankees were intimidated by the Red Sox. Sorry, I don't buy it. Yes, Manny was a Yankee killer as far as his at-the-plate success, but hasn't he dominated against a lot of teams as well? I don't have the stats in front of me, but he's beat up on his original team (the Indians) and a number of others. So this whole thing about it all being about the Yankees fearing Manny or David Ortiz is a load of crap. The Yankees have pitched to Manny, they've pitched to Big Papi and while at times have been burned, they've have had their fair share of success getting them out, too.

Both the Red Sox and Manny are to blame for them part ways. This whole "Manny's just being Manny" grew old and quite irritating over time. Look, it's not been just this season. He's been pulling his antics for quite some time now. His behavior in the clubhouse, his on-the-field crap (including the cell phone stunt), his stupid setting off a near-brawl at Fenway Park against Roger Clemens and the Yankees just because Clemens threw high and inside and far too many times admiring his home runs are just a few of the things I cannot stand with him... and after Boston didn't want to decide in JULY whether or not they would pay this clown another $20 million or whatever the hell the salary was is to me disgraceful. Manny thinks it is his God given right to the money? Play the game with class on and off the field and then maybe you'd get that option exercised! But he just had to be a baby, play like a dog and hold up that stupid sign in the dugout for the cameras in reference to Brett Favre...

Boston will certainly still be a contender for the AL East title, but they're no longer to be favored to get back to the World Series. The Angels can argue they've got a better chance with their solid pitching and timely hitting.

The Yankees are struggling to find their consistency with pitching and their bullpen has been better than their starters more often than not this season. And with Joba Chamberlain ending up with a stiff shoulder last night, who knows how long he'll be sidelined. My fear is that he's worn down already. It will be tougher to rely on their own bats and think that Andy Pettitte (who got lit up last time out) and Mike Mussina can carry the team at this stage of their careers. Darrell Rasner has been demoted to the bullpen and Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy aren't here. Chien-Ming Wang can't help this team unless the Yankees make the playoffs. So is Joe Girardi putting Dan Giese into the starting rotation going to save their season? That's asking for a lot here. In fact, you're asking for the moon by doing that.

With the Rays having cooled off and their starters have not gotten the job done like the had done early on, this division race is wide open.

You know, considering where the Orioles are in the standings, I'm surprised that a fan from that team is even mouthing off about the Yankees and making such an assumption the Yankees are cheering Manny was shipped to the Dodgers. Seriously, does anyone here think the Yankees really give a damn? They have more important things to worry about than him and that's their own team staying healthy and performing.

Alex, you have a right to your opinion and respect it as such, but I would rather hear what Megan has to say about her hometown Red Sox than those who aren't as in tune with the ins and outs of the Yankees/Red Sox rivalry. To assume the Yankees are celebrating a trade that doesn't even involve their team is ridiculous.

And I'd also would rather hear in this case Rawbeezeitz's thoughts are on the aftermath of the Red Sox's life without Manny and what the Yankees feel than those that assume New York are celebrating a trade.