Can Manny Still Be Manny?

"Chief Wahoo isn't a real person?"
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It's hard to figure out Oakland's interest in Manny Ramirez, other than it must be that Billy Beane thinks he has more left in his swing than faded memories of former teammate Chief Wahoo.

The 39-year old DH hasn't had a productive full season since 2008 (pre-drug suspension '09 notwithstanding,) and his character issues and mashups with teammates, clubhouse attendants, family members, and retirement are well documented. The man to your left is clearly Dr.-Steve Brule-crazy, just one glance at his eyes will tell you that.

Yet we still have this out of Oakland:

Sox Acquire Conor Jackson

On the eve of baseball's "we're serious this time" trading deadline, Boston acquired 1B/OF Conor Jackson from Oakland for nothing-prospect Jason Rice, according to the Globe's Peter Abraham. The move is meant to bolster the Sox depth against lefties, giving them a right-handed hitting option off the bench not named Darnell McDonald (see: his embarrassing whiff against Boone Logan Tuesday night with the bases loaded).

Before injuries began to plague Jackson in 2009, he was about a .285, 15-HR guy over the span of three seasons for the Diamondbacks.