Of course, the Boston Red Sox paid too much to get rid of Manny Ramirez, but it was the only way Boston could get a bat close to replacing Ramirez (Jason Bay).

And Boston can afford it.

The Red Sox have both deep pockets (so they can over-pay for a player) and they have a deep farm system (so they can give too much away in a trade).

The prospects help solidify Boston's future, and maintain the present goal of contending for a championship every year.

The system works as long as you don't get emotional about it. I did not want Boston to trade Brandon Moss. He was humble and a gentleman, and someone you root for. But trading him made sense for Boston, which really did not have a place for Moss. And it makes sense for Moss himself. He hopefully gets a chance to play every day in the majors and show he really belongs (ala David Murphy).

Speaking of Murphy, he was dealt last year in a trade sending him, Kason Gabbard and young outfield prospect Engel Beltre to Texas for reliever Eric Gagne. In hindsight, the trade was a disaster because Gagne was terrible. But the deal made sense at the time. Boston sent two players who were not going to get playing time in Boston (Murphy and Gabbard) and one unknown commodity (Beltre) for a chance to secure a bullpen on a playoff run.

As it turns out, Gagne was not needed. But who knew at the time?

Now look at the deal sending away Ramirez, Moss and Craig Hansen, to get Bay.

From all reports, Ramirez' latest act of childishness was no longer a roll-your-eyes Manny being Manny moment. He really had become a problem to everyone around (teammates included). I thought it interesting that Peter Gammons said Boston would not get to the World Series this year with Ramirez (when so many people, myself included, figured Boston had to have Ramirez to get there).

To get rid of Manny, Boston needed to find a close replacement. Bay was the guy. But that meant trading Hansen and Moss. Hansen may develop into a dominant reliever, but I don't think it was going to happen in Boston. Too many incidents of failure. A fresh start in a small market sounds like a good idea.

Moss proved he can play in the majors. But Boston was not ready to give him a starter's role. A back-up role did not make much sense. It hurt Moss' development, and the Red Sox would rather have a right-handed outfielder off the bench (spelling either Ellsbury or Drew).

Hansen and Moss were expendable. If they develop into solid players, people will scream (especially if Bay does not come through). But, if the Red Sox truly believed Ramirez was going to be a problem for the rest of the season, then they had to make the deal.

Now for a quick look at the minors:

Michael Bowden got hit hard in Pawtucket (5 2/3, 9 H, 5 R, 0 BB, 6 K) ... Jeff Bailey (.300) was 3-for-4, Sean Danielson (.254) 2-for-4).

The prospects are coming along nicely for Portland - Zach Deages (.304) went 4-for-5 ... Jorge Jimenez (.241) 3-for-6 ... Lars Anderson (.303) 3-for-4.

Jason Place (.248) hit his 14th home run for Lancaster.

Greenville got great pitching Thursday night. Felix Doubront (12-6, 3.22) went 6 innings (2 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 8 K) ... Robert McClain (0.00) finished the shutout (3 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 3 K) ... Ryan Kalish (.288) was 2-for-4, and is hitting .382 in his last 10 games.

Kyle Weiland (2-1, 1.85) keeps dealing in Lowell (5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 BB, 5 K).

I'll check in later from Hadlock.

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