Epstein Sets Manny Deal Deadline

Nick Cafardo says the Red Sox "appear to be the center of the baseball universe":

"Red Sox trade Manny yet?" asked Detroit manager Jim Leyland. "What a hitter. Great hitter."

"Red Sox trade Manny yet?" asked Washington president/CEO Stan Kasten.

According to Theo Epstein, we'll have an answer very soon.

The GM has imposed a deadline of midnight tomorrow to trade Ramirez.

[I]f we realistically get past Wednesday, we're not going to take up more of the team's time and energy. We'll certainly be listeners. At some point, you can't let it get in the way of other things you're trying to do. There's also the free agent market and pitching to deal with. You can't spend all your time on position players. ... [W]e're not trading an elite position player unless we get fair value.

Terry Francona (who has not chewed tobacco for 65 consecutive days) doesn't think Manny will be traded. ... Gordon Edes of the Globe writes that "the probabilities have shifted toward Manny staying".

The Globe also reports:

A source with direct knowledge of Jon Lester's medical condition said yesterday that Lester's latest CT scan was clean and his cancer seems to be in remission, so the 22-year-old lefthander expects to be in spring training with the Red Sox in 2007.

Lester's father did not confirm or deny that rumour and Jon did not return the Globe's calls.

While ideally a second baseman, the Red Sox would consider playing Dustin Pedroia at his first position: shortstop. Pedroia did not play move to second until AA ball in 2005.

The Providence Journal has changed its website -- for the worse. There is no print-friendly view for stories and it's next to impossible to select and copy parts of text.