So the A-Rod for Manny trade is dead. For now. When the trade was just speculation, we could all pass it off as a rumor. But now that it's been revealed that the union got involved and killed the deal, we all know it was very real and close to happening. Now what happens to the teams and the players involved in the non-trade?

Actually, it was Bud Selig who killed the deal. He set a deadline for the madness to happen and when the union stepped in, he said that it was over. This was one time where I actually agreed with the commissioner, which proves that there is a first time for everything.

But now that the deal is dead, what happens to those players involved. A-Rod has been unseemly in his attempts to get out of Texas. The players there are tired of it and want him out of there. The Rangers can't go out and get great pitching because too much money is tied up in a player who doesn't want to be there. How chilly is that locker room going to be?

Manny Ramirez is just as unwanted as A-Rod by his team. The Red Sox tried earlier this season to give him away and no one would take him. This is a guy with a .300+ batting average, a gazillion homers and RBI and nobody wants him. How are the Red Sox players and management going to deal with him now that he is staying? How is he going to deal with them? Manny just doesn't seem like that bad a guy. Maybe if he can commit to playing 100% all the time things would change.

What about Nomar Garciaparra. He is a superstar. He is the local hero. This is the team he wants to play for. He is always compared in the top four with A-Rod, Jeter and Tejada. Now his team attempted to discard him as the Red Sox tried to go with who they thought was better. Why did that happen? Was it really because Garciaparra turned down an offer that the Red Sox thought was fair? My gut tells me know. My gut tells me it was all those lame at bats in the post season this past year when he popped up more than Yaz with runners on base.

I don't buy the statements by the Red Sox that Garciaparra blew it by not signing that contract. I think they see him as a batting champ who used to hit the ball all ways to every field in every clutch situation to a player who feels the need to pull everything. And why would he do that? Maybe because A-Rod hits homers and made the huge contract and the Red Sox offered him $8 million a year less?

This is ugly. This is very ugly indeed. The stomachs of Red Sox Nation must be churning right about now. At least they have the Patriots at 12-2 to keep their minds off the whole mess.