Ramirez was the biggest deal as the Boston Red Sox sent the head case across the country to Joe Torre’s Los Angeles Dodgers as part of a three-team deal in which Boston got Jason Bay from the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Pirates got a bunch of prospects.

Several friends and I kept up with the trade talks and chatted during the process Thursday and it was exciting. We were invested in our team.

The relationship between Boston and the future Hall of Fame slugger had grown painfully worse over the last few weeks as Ramirez was vocal through the media, portraying the Red Sox management in a negative light. Ramirez also took heat from fans and media when he sat out the first game of last weekend’s series with the hated New York Yankees.

It only got worse for Manny when his time running to first base was clocked at 6 seconds, nearly 2 second slower than the average player. Ramirez made it obvious that he didn’t want to hustle or play with passion, something that didn’t sit easy with the front office. Earlier this season he got in a fight with Kevin Youkilis in the dugout and in another game missed a catch the fell, then rolled on top of the ball and then started laughing.

Finally, after years of Manny being Manny, wearing sun glasses with an MP3 player built in, cooling off in the Green Monster, the long hair, wearing pajama like uniform pants and taking too many days off, the Red Sox were fed.

Boston GM Theo Epstein completed the deal right before Thursday’s deadline after a deal fell through with the Florida Marlins. He worked a miracle and landed a guy in Bay that can produce. The price was steep though. Boston will pay the $7 million left on Ramirez’s contract and they had to give up two major league ready prospects in Craig Hansen and Brandon Moss. But one thing is for certain, Bay will come into Boston with a much better attitude than the drama queen who used to man the Green Monster.

I don’t think the Red Sox are a better team without Ramirez and with Bay, but I do know this, something needed to be done. The Sox are in the middle of a horrible slump in which they’ve lost 5 of 6. They were swept by the Angles at home and lost two of three to the Yankees. Something was wrong.

After listening to Curt Schilling’s comments Thursday about the situation it seemed the clubhouse had issues. Schilling isn’t even playing right now, but was still affected by Ramirez’s attitude. He said that that Manny didn’t even want to play anymore and it was so different from his attitude during Spring Training. He just turned off the switch.

I spoke to my Dad Thursday to get his take on the trade and he said “I can guarantee you one thing, Jason bay will be in uniform Friday night and Manny won’t.” Friday’s reports are that Torre expects many to be in the lineup, but I seriously doubt he will be. I also doubt he’ll cut his hair and clean up his look the way Torre expects of his players. I’m also not sure he’s going to play any harder for L.A. than he did in Boston.

Manny had some huge hits for Boston over the years and he had great seasons with the Red Sox. I loved Manny Ramirez and so did all Sox fans, but we just got tired of his antics. It used to be that he could do what he wanted as long as he was producing; well that just isn’t the case any more. He became a distraction to his teammates and the organization and I think the move had to be made even though the Sox look to have taken a hit in the lineup.

Bay is going to love playing for a contender, but he’s never played in big games and every game at Fenway is a big one.

This move could come back to haunt Epstein, but right now I think it was the only way to go.

The Atlanta Braves, fading fast, sent Mark Teixeira across the country to the Angels for first baseman Casey Kotchman and pitching prospect Stephen Marek. This trade adds quality offense to the Angles who probably have the best pitching staff in all of baseball right now.

The Angels’ bullpen is unhittable with anchor Francisco Rodriguez molding himself into the game’s best closer and probably picking up a nice pay day in the process. He’s got a league-leading and near record-breaking 44 saves.

To add to their great day Tuesday, Angels ace John Lackey almost no-hit the Boston Red Sox. Tuesday night Lackey two-hit the Sox and won 6-2. He took the no-no into the ninth before allowing a two-run homer to Kevin Youkils. Despite the homer, it was a great outing for Lackey and the Angels continue to own the Red Sox this season.

Los Angeles has a double-digit lead in its division will allow it to rest some guys as the season chugs along. The Angles just about wrapped up the division crown and have baseball’s best record. And adding Teixeira, they’re only going to get better.

No one has a winning percentage over .590, but Los Angeles has one of .623. They have quietly jumped way out in front of everyone else and seem to have a great chance of winning its second World Series title. With this one, the Angles won’t need any rally monkey.

There’s still a lot of season left and many debate whether Rodriguez’s arm will fall off with the amount of appearances he’s had this year. But he’s doing pretty good so far.

All I have to say is, I hope the Sox never have to see the Angles again after tonight.

New York sits just three games back of Boston and Tampa Bay who are tied for first place in the A.L. East. This series will have a huge impact on the division. If Boston is able to sweep the Yankees it would erase the hard work New York has put forth in the last few weeks to creep back into the race. But on the other hand if they can sweep the Red Sox it will tie them with Boston.

Most experts have the Sox and Yanks finishing 1, 2 in some form at season’s end and although the Rays have fought hard and will continue to fight the rest of the way, they’re not seen as winning the division.

So, with that said, every game Boston and New York play against each other from here on out is huge.

This is also the first game in this series back in Boston since the All-Star Game where Yankees fans ripped every Sox player a new one. Closer Jonathan Papelbon got booed off the field and the Yankees fans shouted “Overrated.”

They also booed J.D. Drew when he received the M.V.P Award after his clutch two-run homer to help the A.L. capture home field advantage in the World Series. The fans kept booing despite manager Terry Francona respectfully pitching Mariano Rivera in the closer’s role instead of his own guy, Papelbon. Despite Francona taking Derek Jeter and A-Rod out of the game in the middle of an inning so that the fans could give them a standing ovation.

But what else can we expect from a class-less city full of Yankees fans.

Friday night’s game could be the best with Sox ace Josh Beckett pitching against Joba Chamberlin. Also, Big Papi David Ortiz returns from the DL for Boston.

Unfortunately baseball fans outside of New England won’t be able to watch the game since it’s not on national T.V. Fans in the South can’t watch Saturday’s game either because FOX is also covering the Atlanta Braves which for some reason always have priority in North Carolina. I never understand this seeing that the Braves are always on anyway and Saturday they end up being on two channels. But hat can you do about it right?

Anyway, I’m going with the Sox winning two of three. I think they win tonight and Sunday night, but fall tomorrow against Andy Pettitte.

My friend Ben told me earlier today that his younger brother hung out with none other than Big Papi last night. His brother, Sam, was out celebrating his 21st birthday in the Portland, Maine area when he ran into Red Sox slugger David Ortiz at a local bar. Ortiz is rehabbing with the Portland Sea Dogs.

Because I live in Burlington and celebrity appearances are 1 in a million, I like to live vicariously through other people’s encounters and stories.

The last encounter I had was when I was in Columbia, SC for a conference. I was getting some delicious food from Five Guys, the best burger joint in existence, when I spotted a semi-celebrity. Kurt Fuller walked in and ordered a burger. You’re probably thinking who the hell is Kurt Fuller?

You’d know him from films like Ghostbusters II and Wayne’s World. He had minor rolls, but was classic and unforgettable. OK, honestly I didn’t know his name until I looked it up. I remembered his face and knew what movies he was in, but had no idea what his name was. Take a look at the photo to the right. He’s so handsome.

He had lines such as “I love you man,” in Wayne’s World and he had the Ghostbusters committed against the mayor’s wishes.

But that encounter doesn’t really count.

It used to be cool back in college when Chris Duhon, former Duke basketball star, would come and hang out at Lighthouse Tavern and spend time in our dorm building since he was shacking up with the girl across the hall. But that doesn’t really count either.

It was neat to Shane Battier last spring at Elon’s graduation. He was in attendance to watch his sister get her degree. I was surprised to see Carolina Panthers coach John Fox having a sandwich at the Acorn Coffee Shop on Elon’s campus a few summers ago, but that too doesn’t really go down as an encounter.

I didn’t really hang out with any of these celebs, not in the way that Sam did. I have hung out with a few at events outside of town, like Kid Rock and Cuba Gooding Jr., but nothing in good old Alamance County.

I’ll end with saying that I’m jealous. But let’s be serious now, Ortiz should have been busy rehabbing instead of getting friendly with the bottle. I’m just saying, the Yankees are coming to town this weekend.

At NewBridge Bank Park, a customer is only allowed to purchase one beer at a time, even on Thirsty Thursday which was last night. I have several problems with this.

As a big beer drinker and a baseball fan I want to be able to have both when I go to the ball park. By only allowing me to buy one beer at a time that means I have to get up twice as much and miss twice as much of the game and wait in line twice as long.

I’ve never seen another stadium limit one beer per customer. Every where else I’ve gone and drank beer you can get two. It’s stupid to limit it to one.

Another reason is that I was with a group of five people last night and four of us were drinking. Well, all four of us needed another beer and instead of sending two people to go get everyone another beer, all four of us had to go. And as a result of all four of us leaving, the fifth person was left by herself while we waited in line. Also, the four of us all had to miss part of the game.

I just don’t get the point in limiting one per customer. I guess it’s to limit the drinking, but then why have a night called “Thirsty Thursday” if you don’t want people to drink too much. And in my opinion, if you don’t want people drinking a lot, then just don’t sell alcohol at all.

There’s no reason I can’t get two beers so that I don’t have to get up again and wait in line again and miss more of the game. But I guess the good thing is that last night a 16 oz. beer was only $2 and at other parks it’d be a lot more.

Camden Yards in Baltimore has beer for $6 and it’s a 12 oz. cup. Cans are more expensive there. At Fenway Park in Boston, the last time I was there I believe it was around $8 for a 16 oz. cup, but I might be wrong. When you go to concerts or other venues you sometimes see a 24 oz. can being sold for around $12 or some places sell a 16 oz. beer for $11.

The price of alcohol is out of control at sporting events so I recommend they all switch to NASCAR’s regulations and just let you bring your own. Problem solved.

Tuesday night’s All-Star Game was just too good to abandon after hours of dedication. I watched in anticipation at every pitch in a game that had an October feel.

The American League somehow pushed out a 4-3 victory in 15 innings after being denied at the plate again and again. A sac fly by Michael Young scored Justin Morneau with a play at the plate, a fitting ending for an exciting game.

In what might go down as the best All-Star game ever, players from both sides dug in and left their hearts out on the field. The marathon was supported by players standing on the top of the dugout steps rooting on their teammates.

For one night, Yankees and Red Sox players cheered and supported each other, but I can’t say the same for the fans. I won’t be a hypocrite since I wasn’t rooting for the Yankees players even though they were playing for the A.L., but Yankees fans went above and beyond to boo every Red Sox player uncontrollably all game long even when they did good things for their team.

J.D. Drew, the eventual M.V.P at 2 a.m., hit a game-tying two-run home run which was the biggest hit of the game even though it happened in the seventh inning and before midnight. The cheers were mixed with boos; it was tough to hear who was doing what. When Drew got his M.V.P award the remaining Yankee fans booed him despite having just won the game.

Then when Jonathan Papelbon entered late in the game he was basically booed into giving up the go-ahead run, although it was unearned.

But rivalries aside, the game was outstanding. Colorado Rockies pitcher Aaron Cook could have been the M.V.P had the National League won after pitching three innings of shutout ball, getting out of crucial situations, several when the bases were loaded.

Tons of players were used with each team struggling for players. It may be the longest box score of all time.

I thought the N.L. played amazing defense led by catcher Russell Martin of the L.A. Dodgers. Martin made several plays at home including one insane plate block and tag to keep the game tied in extras. Dan Uggla, playing second base for the N.L., was miserable, but the rest of the N.L. picked him up for his poor defense.

The ending was fitting and it happened at a historic place. It was a great way to close out Yankee Stadium. The A.L will have home-field advantage in the World Series again, something that seemed to mean a lot to the players as they put forth every ounce of effort. It’s a game that will be remembered forever.

OK, that was harsh, but seriously, you missed out big time. Josh Hamilton put on the greatest performance ever in a Derby and made a lasting impression on sports fans of all kinds last night. Click here to watch his performance.

Hamilton, representing the Texas Rangers, bashed 28 home runs in the first round! And when I say bashed I mean he hit three over 500 feet, giving the packed crowd something to go nuts about. He broke Bobby Abreu’s record of 24. Click here to see a cool slideshow that the Raleigh News and Observer put together of him.

Hamilton hit home runs to places in Yankee Stadium that I didn’t even know existed. His shot of 502 feet, the first monster blast, just about left the stadium. He hit it into a power alley and the ball disappeared in oh-so-famous white fence high above the field. I thought it went up and out. After seeing the replay, I realized it didn’t go out, but Hamilton received a standing ovation anyway and tipped his hat the crowd.

At one point he swung at 13 straight pitches and hit all of them for homers. Hamilton was clobbering the baseballs tossed from his 71-year-old pitcher who was a former American Legion batting practice pitcher of his.

Major League Baseball set Hamilton up to be the story line of the week. They put him last in the contest and he succeeded. What I’ve failed to mention though is that he didn’t win the contest. He was beat by Justin Morneau of the Minnesota Twins.

Why did I forget to mention such an important detail? Because in 20 years, hell even five years, no one will remember that Morneau won the derby, only that Hamilton bashed 28 in one round.

It’s similar to the All-Star Game at Fenway Park in 1999. We take memories of Ted Williams riding in a golf cart to throw out the first pitch and we recall Mark McGwire making a fool out of The Green Monster, sending shot after shot over the giant structure and onto and over Lansdowne Street.

If you didn’t watch and missed out, tune into tonight’s All-Star Game because they’ll show tons of highlights and all that good stuff, plus I’m not sure that he’s done making fireworks.

I wrote Monday about how great Hamilton’s story is, how he’s a recovering drug and alcohol addict. How he blew his $4 million signing bonus as the No. 1 pick for the Rays on drugs and booze and now he leads the league in RBI. He’s doing amazing and remarkable things right now and you can’t help but root for him.

As for tonight’s game, I’m going with the American League to win. Most of this reason is because that’s who I’ll be pulling for, but also because of the two closers they’ll have at the end of the game when they’re ahead. And any lineup that has Manny Ramirez batting fifth is a good one.

The 3, 4, 5 batters for the A.L. are Hamilton, A-Rod and Manny. That is insane, not to mention Ichiro is leading off followed by Derek Jeter. That top five might be the best you can come up with and just imagine if David Ortiz wasn’t hurt. He’d be tossed in there somewhere, but where I don’t know.

Enjoy the game. I know I will.

The Derby might be the most popular of all the all-star events in sports and I always look forward to it. Unfortunately this season the lineup is a little lame. Every year the pool of “true sluggers” dwindles.

Reigning champ Vladimir Guerrero isn’t even in the competition which is the biggest cop out. You’re the defending champion; you should be in the event. That’s just piss poor Vlad. I’ve lost a lot of respect.

One participant I am excited to see is Josh Hamilton of the Texas Rangers. Hamilton is having a remarkable season and resurgence of his life and career after battling drug addiction. Sports Illustrated had a great article on him last month that is a must read. I think I might be pulling for the Raleigh native tonight. This is a chance for him to really shine on the big stage which might culminate a complete 180 in his life.

Hamilton leads the bigs in RBI and has 21 homers

Tonight’s winner will have to paint the corners, meaning they’ll have to pull the ball. Yankee Stadium is deep in center, but has two short porches in left and center field down the lines. A short fly ball can easily turn into a home run down the lines.

I’m going to pick Hamilton as my winner. I think he needs to stay calm though in order to win. Players that get too anxious and jumpy tend to exit early in this competition. He’ll need t take a lot of pitches and pull the ball.

It won’t be easy with the following competitors stepping up to the plate in opposition.

Chase Utley, Philadelphia Phillies

Grady Sizemore, Cleveland Indians

Ryan Braun, Milwaukee Brewers

Dan Uggla, Florida Marlins

Lance Berkman, Houston Astros

Evan Longoria, Tampa Bay Rays

Justin Morneau, Minnesota Twins

But the lack of traditional sluggers is missing. I’d like to see Ryan Howard, Manny Ramirez or Ken Griffey Jr. in the contest. I think Griffey would’ve been an excellent fit. I guess these guys just don’t want to be in it anymore. David Ortiz was going to compete, but had to withdraw from the derby and the game because he’s on the DL.

There’s also no Yankees in lineup which shocks me, but I’m glad. I know the league invited A-Rod and Jeter and maybe Bobby Abreu, but I guess they declined. That has to hurt for Yankees fans. Hopefully the current lineup will provide us with some fireworks in the Bronx tonight.

It wasn’t by choice that I didn’t see a single serve or volley it was because I didn’t have cable until this morning.

You see, I moved into a new apartment over a week ago and couldn’t get Time Warner Cable out to my place until today. It was torture. But now I’m good to go.

I can’t talk much about the tennis match since I wasn’t able to watch nor have I had much time to read about today so I’ll defer to the gobs of other sporting news and notes I want to discuss.

First, the MLB All-Star rosters. The rosters for the July 15 event have been released and they are of course headlines by members of my favorite team, the Boston Red Sox. Hooray. I also haven’t had time to analyze the rosters yet, so I’ll get to my list of snubs later in the week.

One thing I will touch on or rant about is the Home Run Derby. Josh Hamilton, Dan Uggla, Chase Utley, Lance Berkman and Grady Sizemore have already signed on to compete. Defending champ Vladimir Guerrero has also said he’ll participate which leaves two more spots.

Unfortunately, going by tradition, because the derby and game will be held at Yankee Stadium, a member of the Bronx Bombers will probably be chosen. Here’s my argument there.

The main candidates from the Yankees are as follows: Alex Rodriguez because he’s one of the best players in the game, Jason Giambi because he’s the team’s “slugger” and Derek Jeter because he’s the face of the franchise.

Here is why none of them should be asked to participate.

No one likes A-Rod. He’s in the news every week and it’s never for anything positive. He’s overpaid and has never even been to the World Series. Some might even argue that he has cursed the game’s most successful franchise.

The man cheats on his wife, to which she’s filed for divorce, and has been recently paired with Madonna. Madonna? Are you kidding me? Isn’t she like 50 and not hot any more? What happened to the Vegas stripper that made the front page of the New York Daily News? Although dirty, she at least looked attractive.

Giambi shouldn’t be rewarded with a chance to participate because he openly admitted to steroid use. He is and should always be linked to cheating. He is a disgrace to the game and that stupid mustache he’s sporting lately only reminds me of that. Why should someone who openly admitted to disgracing the game be allowed to compete?

Lastly, Jeter shouldn’t be allowed to participate because he’s not a home run hitter. I’m tired of guys without power being allowed into the Derby. Jeter will be the guy to hit zero bombs. Actually, I take it back, let him play, let him zero and let him get booed off the field by his own fans. Down with the Evil Empire!

Not with stadium because the organization made some improvements during the offseason and it looks as good as ever, which wasn’t great to begin with, but it’s better. The field itself is in great shape, but the team stinks.

I went over to shoot some video and stayed for about five innings. What I witnessed should have been embarrassing for the Burlington Royals players.

The Elizabethton Twins were in town and they pounded the Royals all over the field. Burlington’s starter got shelled and he had no help from his defense. Burlington’s outfielders showed no effort whatsoever. I remember one play really well. It was a soft fly ball to short center field and the outfielder came in lazily and just let it drop in front of him and a run scored. He made no effort to hustle after it, to dive or to slide. He didn’t even try.

The left fielder wasn’t much better. He came in slow for a base hit and booted it for an error, allowing another run in. It was sad.

If possible, the offense might have been worse. The Royals couldn’t buy a hit. It was sad. They were facing a tough lefty who had good stuff, but they went out swinging at the first or second pitch every time up. No patience.

I know this is a young team, but so are all the teams in the Appalachian League. I just hope the Royals improve so it’s fun to go watch them play. The crowd out there, granted it was just after 5 p.m. because it was a doubleheader, was really weak. I hope more people come out to watch because maybe with some support they’ll get better. Maybe.