In a big surprise, the Rays signed Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. This looks like an attempted slap in the Yankees' face, as well as a double replacement for Carl Crawford (who, incidentally, became the Red Sox's forty-fifth outfielder earlier in the off-season). Johnny was probably signed because of his leadership skills, which were even evident when he played for the Yankees. Despite the giant loss of fielding ability in this exchange, Damon seems to be a leadership upgrade over Crawford.
Then there's Manny. The Rays picked him up for two reasons. The first is to replace Crawford's bat. The problems with that are 1) Manny isn't nearly as good when he's not on steroids, and 2) Crawford's most valuable offensive asset is his speed. Hm. Enough said. The second reason the Rays picked up Manny Ramirez is because they have fond memories of when he used to destroy the Yankees. (And, as we know, AL East teams structure themselves purely to beat the Yankees.) However, not only are the Yankees an almost entirely different pitching team than when Manny was with the Red Sox (i.e. Mike Mussina is retired), but Manny is not the same player he used to be, either.
Signing Manny Ramirez is just another example of an AL East team doing something to stick it to the Yankees. The problem is, that strategy doesn't work. Just look what happened to the Red Sox last year. They signed two big free agents, thinking that they were not only getting good players, they were keeping those players away from the Yankees. Turns out the Yankees were a lot better off with John Lackey and Mike Cameron in Red Sox uniforms.
Hydra
6-4-3 double play... Ballgame over! Yankees win! Theeeeeee Yankees win!
