Unless if you're one of about three Americans, you hate baseball. And if you're not one of those three, you will give as much of a shit about this post as the last. Nonetheless, we do it anyway.

There's been this huge deal in the works for the Boston Red Sox to trade Manny Ramirez to the Texas Rangers in exchange for Alex Rodriguez. Apparently, on Wednesday, both teams had struck a deal that both teams were happy with. In addition, A-Rod was happy with the deal as well (he has a no-trade clause and as such has to approve any trade involving him). Issue over, right?

Wrong.

The players' union stepped in and 86ed the deal, claiming that it lowered the value of A-Rod's contract. Which, apparently, it did, but A-Rod was going to be compensated for that loss in pay in other ways (endorsements, hookers, etc.). A-Rod is currently sitting on the biggest contract in pro sports history, so it's not like he was going to really miss the money. This was evidenced by the fact that he approved the fucking deal that the union torpedoed.

Commissioner Bud Selig could have overruled the union and let the deal go forward, but instead just set a deadline which expired yesterday.

As such, A-Rod remains with the Rangers, and Man Ram remains with the BoSox. This is fucking weak.

Now, I don't really care about the Rangers or the Sox, but this trade would have been good for baseball. How could it not? A-Rod is one of the most talented players in the game, talent that is going to waste with the Rangers who are never going to win anything. The Sox have already made some huge deals in the offseason, and this would have been the icing on the cake. They got close to the Series this year, and they're looking strong to go all the way next year. Adding Rodriguez would have cemented that. It would have had Steinbrenner, owner of the Yankees, shitting himself. Okay, he wouldn't be shitting himself, but only because he's George Steinbrenner.

Now, I don't really give a shit about what happens to the Sox, but it would be kinda cool to see them actually win it all. Yeah, I'd be jealous if they lifted their curse when my Cubs didn't, but let's face it, the Cubs are never gonna lift their curse, so fuck it. And if I think it's interesting, just imagine how exciting this could be for other baseball fans, many who actually do give a shit about the Sox.

Now, though, all you've got is a bunch of players who were going to be shipped out but aren't. At this point, it looks like they're going to be playing for the same teams as last year. A-Rod and Man Ram are, of course, the obvious players who will be dealing with this. Then there's Nomar Garciaparra, longtime shortstop of the Red Sox. You see, for those not in the know (i.e. you don't care), A-Rod is also a shortstop. As such, had the A-Rod for Man Ram deal went through, Nomar would have been traded somewhere else.

So here's what we've got. Alex Rodriguez wants the hell out of Texas. Nomar knows that the Sox would be willing to get rid of him if they could. And Man Ram, well, if he's the nutcase people are making him out to be, who knows what he's thinking. Still, three of the game's biggest names have been put in a shitty position.

I can't fucking believe that such a picture perfect deal, one that would have benefited everyone, isn't going to happen. A deal that everyone seemed to agree on, I might add. One that would have pleased baseball fans in general. And the deal is dead. That's just fucking stupid.

This is yet another thing that's wrong with baseball. Amidst declining attendance and whatnot, we have something that might help to spark a new interest in the game, and they fuck it up. The fucking lawyers and the dumbass commissioner either actively do something to ruin it, or they stay passive and don't push things forward. Thanks for nothing, cocksuckers.

Some kind of deal could still go through, but it's not looking promising. Even if it does go through, it should not have been this complicated. And if it doesn't go through, there's just no fucking excuse.

Why don't you assholes just get it over with and introduce aluminum bats already? That way pitchers can start getting killed (literally), but scoring will go up, people will care less, and no one will show up for games. That's where we're headed, so let's just get there and be done with it.