I think you all remember the accusations against Manny Ramirez before he got shipped out of Boston to LA. That he tanked an at-bat, that he practically walked  to first base during a potential no-hitter where a fielder bobbled the ball (he was still thrown out by a mile, of course), and did numerous other shady things.

Well, it seems Major League Baseball is now pretty interested in what was going on, seeing as they've launched an investigation into Manny's trade.


Now, here's why this is important. It actually has a lot to do with money.

The Red Sox had an option to retain Manny in 2009 and 2010 for $20 million per. Manny, however, for some reason, wanted to be a free agent at the end of this season - which a trade would do. I have no clue why he'd want to be a free agent after this year, seeing as he's 36 and no one will pay him $20 mil a season. Oh, but wait, here's why he'd actually do that.

His agent is Scott Boras. But it goes beyond that. Wouldn't you know it, but Boras inherited Manny's old contract when Manny joined up with him and as a result, Boras stood to earn nothing until Manny signed a new one. So it was in the interest of both Manny and Boras to have the options dropped. Manny's only leverage, of course, was sucking on the field.

I've always been a Manny fan, but this, wow, this is pretty bad. Meanwhile, Boras, who already has the tag as the slimeist sports agent out there, somehow just got slimier. Which I didn't think was even possible.

What makes matters worse, and makes Manny and Boras look even more guilty, is that Manny is absolutely hammering the ball since he came to LA, having hit 4 home runs and batting over .500.

But, in all honesty, I don't think this should really surprise anyone. Pro sports are always about money. Most athletes that say "I'm playing for the love of the game" are lying to you. They're playing the game because they get paid $15 million a year to do so. And if they can screw some team to get more money elsewhere or meet whatever their objectives are, they'll do it. And hey, teams themselves often try and do the same thing. It's business.

It's just bad when we actually see the business angle being played out right before our very eyes. But in Manny's case, that seems to be exactly what happened.

Source: MLB investigating Manny's departure [Extra Bases]