Lucchino Confirms Manny Trade Request

Larry Lucchino, on WEEI this morning, confirmed that Manny Ramirez has indeed asked to be traded. Dirt Dogs has a transcript (and audio link):

The short answer to the question is yes he did [ask for a trade]. ... I think the privacy issue is the ability to kind of leave your apartment and go to the park with your kid. Leave your apartment and go out to dinner with your wife without sort of being surrounded by well-wishers and autograph seekers ... not the idea that every once in a while you might invite someone in to your house to do a photo shoot. ... [H]is concern was more with the city and the focus on baseball and the lack of some freedom of movement that comes with that obsession with baseball.

I suppose there are teams that could assume his contract in cities that aren't baseball-obsessed -- Texas and Anaheim gave tons of dough to A-Rod and Mo Vaughn -- but not many. If anything is done, it would likely be this winter. No team is going to knock Theo's socks off with a deal over the next month or two, so I don't see the Red Sox moving Manny during this season.

Also, Joel Sherman, New York Post:

The Red Sox will listen to offers for discontented Manny Ramirez, but do not believe they can be satisfied enough to move him. ... With a bad trade market now and a horrid free-agent class upcoming, the Red Sox do not see which players they can spend the money on to make dealing Ramirez worthwhile. Mets GM Omar Minaya long has been fascinated by the idea of obtaining Ramirez, but he has not spoken to Red Sox officials since the winter meetings about the outfielder.