There has to be something symbolic about the Boston Red Sox’s threatened collapse in the playoff race and the arrest of Manny Ramirez for allegedly hitting his wife at their Florida home. I just don’t know what it is.

Even though Ramirez hasn’t played for the Red Sox since July 31, 2008, he remains, in my mind at least, associated with them more than any other team.

They were not his first team; Cleveland was. But he played with the Red Sox for as many seasons, eight, as he played for the Indians.

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Kirk Gibson’s achievement as a manager this year, I think, is comparable to what he did as a hitter in the opening game of the 1988 World Series.

The pinch-hit, game-winning home run Gibson slugged on his one healthy leg with two out in the ninth inning was instant and one of the most electrifying events in baseball history. It is a fixed moment in anyone’s recollection of memorable World Series moments.

In that regard, Gibson’s effect on the Arizona Diamondbacks as their manager hasn’t been electric, but it has been immensely effective and awesomely inspirational beyond expectations.

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If a snapshot had been taken of the major league standings a week after the All-Star game, three of the divisions and the wild cards would have looked much as they do now: the Red Sox and the Yankees on each other’s back scrapping for the division title or the wild card, the Rangers ahead of the Angels, the Phillies comfortably ahead of the Braves, who similarly had a nice wild-card lead.

The other three divisions, however, had different looks: the Indians were tied for first with the Tigers, the Giants led the Diamondbacks by four and a half games and – this is why I chose July 19 for the snapshot – the Pirates were in first place, half a game ahead of the Brewers.

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