Should he stay or should he go?

The (seemingly) yearly great Manny Ramirez debate is once again upon us. Should the Sox get rid of the guy?

Some questions to ponder (with my feelings):

Does there ever come a point where a player, regardless of how good they are, wears out their welcome? Yes! Think Ron Artest, Gary Sheffield and Carl Everett.

Should fans expect someone making a great deal of money ($20 million per year) to "act" like he actually cares? Absolutely. Whether you admit it or not how much money someone makes and their place in society does influence how you think they should act and present themselves.

Is "Manny being Manny" a good enough excuse for pushing down a 64 year old team employee because he failed to come up with your sixteen tickets for a game? No. If the reports of the incident are accurate, there is no excuse for such behavior.

If the team imposed fine was in the $10,000 - $15,000 range is that really acting as a deterrent to such behavior? No. A caller on WEEI said when figuring how much he makes that is like an average person getting a $25 fine.

Is Manny a "bad" guy? No. I've said it before he is aloof to what he does and says.

As a fan, would you rather have a guy that is marginal in talent but also a great teammate and human being playing or could you live with a player that has questionable character issues but gives you a .300 / 30 / 120 every year playing? I like to see the team win. I'll take Manny over Trot Nixon or the like. If you can get me Matt Holiday for the same money, I'd drop
Many in a second.

Should the club exercise its option in Manny's contract for next year? Yes. The back end of the contract is not that bad.

If the team had not won two World Series in the last four seasons would we even be talking about this? Nope, he'd be gone.

If you were the general manager and you believe a player took three straight strikes in a game winning pinch hit at bat just to show his displeasure in how he was being treated, what would you do? If it was Brandon Moss? -- send to the minors. If it was CoCo Crisp -- trade him. If it was Manny -- publicly shut my mouth and hope it blows over, privately, figure out a way I could live without him.

How much is truly enough? If what he has done in the past is bearable, what won't you put up with in the future? Not too much more. Things like leaving the All Star game early, going into the Green Monster during a pitching change or even an argument with a teammate are okay. I would have a hard time backing him if he is striking out on purpose. What message does that send to his teammates and other players in the organization?

Should he stay or should he go? Keep him until we can adequately replace him and his production.