Boston.com - The commissioner's office is investigating the circumstances of Manny's final hours with the Red Sox. The Globe has learned (from a source with direct knowledge of the inquiry) that Bud Selig directed Major League Baseball executive vice president Rob Manfred to contact all parties for an explanation of how things unfolded around last week's trading deadline. According to the source, Manfred has yet to report back to the commissioner. Here's why Selig's office is looking into the matter:The Red Sox had an option to retain Ram�­rez in 2009 for $20 million. They had the same option for 2010. Ram�­rez, who will turn 37 next season, wanted to be a free agent at the end of this season. His agent wanted the same thing. Boras inherited Ram�­rez's old contract and stood to earn nothing until Manny signed a new one. It was in the interest of the player and the agent to have the options dropped.Manny's only leverage was withholding services and playing at half speed. So that's what he did. Sitting out games against Seattle and the Yankees, jogging down the first base line (and maybe even looking at those three strikes against Mariano Rivera), he sent the message that he wanted out. He made sure the Sox knew he could not be trusted to play hard if they kept him until the end of the season with the options intact.After the trade, the Globe reported that Boras called the Sox and said Manny would stay and play hard for the rest of this year if the club merely dropped the options.

First of all I don’t know why Dan Shaughnessy insists on saying “a source” whenever he quotes a Red Sox official.  Everybody knows it’s Larry Lucchino.  But that’s neither here nor there.  I just don’t get what the point of this article is.   Does Shaughnessy/Lucchino think they’re breaking news here by saying that Manny tanked it?  Everybody with half a brain knows that Manny quit on the Red Sox.   Just like how everybody with half a brain also knows that there is no way to prove it and there is NO way Bud Selig is going to do anything here.    But the bigger issue for me is how Manny’s recent tear just reinforces what I’ve been saying all along about the difference between Manny and Nomar.   For the past two weeks I’ve heard everybody compare the two guys and it’s just not fair.    Nomar never tanked games in Boston.  Manny did.   And the proof is in the pudding.  When Nomar left Boston he missed 75% of the games with the Cubs that season with the same ankle injury that he was missing games with in Boston.  Meanwhile Manny is suddenly 100% healthy and playing his best baseball of the year.    That’s the difference!   Sure Nomar sulked and was unhappy, but he never quit on the team. People who point to that Yankees game when Jeter jumped in the stands fail to acknowledge that the injury that forced him to sit out that game also forced him miss almost the entire 2nd half of the season.    I’m just sick and tired of seeing his name dragged through the mud.  All I can say is thank god we have Lou Merloni on NESN 24/7 to restore Nomar’s good name.