Well, it has been one week since “the trade” that sent Manny Ramirez from the Red Sox to the Dodgers in return for one Jason Bay of the Pirates. So, it must be time for the deep analysis that a handful of games will allow. But first, the results of an unscientific poll taken over the weekend in the heart of Red Sox Nation (a.k.a. Worcester, MA) about the departure of Senior Ramirez:

“See ya, Manny.”

After seven years of “Manny being Manny” the joke grew stale. The perennial whining about being traded, the showing up late for Spring Training and the goofy antics in left field could be, and were, ignored - for years. But this year those relatively minor irritants had given way to actions far more distressing: failing to visit the guys at Walter Reed Army Medical Center after a trip to the White House as World Series Champions, slugging a 64 year-old traveling secretary and, sitting out of games with a rare knee injury otherwise known as Mannyitis. Manny didn’t care who he hurt or dissed with his actions and so, the Sox no longer cared about Manny. It was worth the $7 million the Sox gave the Dodgers to take him plus parting ways with Brandon Moss and Craig Hansen (who went to Pittsburgh) to get Manny out of Boston. That’s how poisoned the atmosphere had become in the clubhouse. It was akin to a celebrity divorce where one partner says to the other: “Just take the Malibu house and go away.”

So how’s it gone since the trade? Well, Manny is on fire in Dodger-land (I guess his knee is o.k.). He’s hitting .625 with three dingers and five RBI. But Bay is no slouch either, hitting .429 with one home run and six RBIs before tonight’s game. Plus, the kid has shown he can play defense as demonstrated on Sunday by gunning out Oakland’s Mark Ellis trying to stretch a single. And as far as The Nation is concerned, well, they gave Mr. Bay four standing ovations his first night wearing the red and white. Manny who?

O.k., time to address Mark’s slam that the Sox seem adept at trading future Hall of Famers - the implication being that this was another dumb move by the Sox. No doubt the Sox have been ham handed in the past: Speaker was traded at the age of 27 having never hit below .309 as a starter and after refusing a pay cut in 1916; Ruth was just 25 but had already amassed a 89-46 record as a pitcher to go along with his (at the time) .289 average when he was sold to the Yanks - the result of bad investments by team owner Harry Frazee. But Clemons was 34 when traded to Toronto only to have his career extended by steroids. Fisk, who wore a Red Sox cap when inducted into the Hall of Fame, was 33 when sent to Chicago and not many would have bet he had 13 more years in him.

But to the point about Ramirez; the reason why dumping Manny was the right move is because he was a pain in the neck. It doesn’t matter what he does the rest of his career - he wouldn’t have done it in Boston. For whatever reason he had become the photo next to the word ‘malcontent’ in the dictionary. And at $20 million this year and probably more for the next several (agent Scott Brosius wants $100 million over four years) it would have been stupid to keep him.

That said, let’s look at what some of the best hitters in the history of the game have done after their 36th birthday (Manny will be 37 next May) as a possible guide to what we can expect from Manny over the course of his next contract. Using a list of what the 10 best hitters ever, according to Ted Williams, did from age 37 until their retirement, it’s unlikely the Red Sox will get less with Bay than they would have with Ramirez. To wit:

Player             Ave. after Age 37

Ruth                        .277

Gehrig                    N/A

Foxx                      .268

Hornsby                .316

Dimaggio              N/A

Cobb                      .347

Musial                  .290

Jackson, Joe        N/A

Aaron                   .270

Mays                   .255

Ramirez is no doubt a future Hall of Famer but is he Rogers Hornsby good? Or Ty Cobb good? Heck, if he’s as good as Ruth was from age 37 to 40 he’ll be in great company but won’t be doing anything Jason Bay can’t do for a whole lot less money.

The Sox got the best Manny had to give and won two rings. Which raises the question: When do you get better when dumping a Hall of Famer?

When his name is Manny Ramirez.