What Christmas season is to the retail industry, November is to the Anti-Manny lobby. This week alone, both Boston papers have had their top columnists run their annual "Manny is a cancer and needs to be run out of town" column. Siiigh...it's been six years of this, and every year it's the same old BS from the Boston press.

Gerry Callaghan wants him gone. "We may never know why he wants out of a city that worships him, warts and all, but if you’re the Red Sox, you don’t waste time asking questions. You pull the trigger before he changes his mind."

Dan Shaughnessy has had enough. "Sorry, folks. It's time for Manny to go. Time and again, he's made it clear that he doesn't want to play in Boston."

Here's the Manny Almanac. You can set your calendar to it; it's more accurate than an Atomic Clock:

• Late Feb/ Early March: Manny reports to Spring Training. He's not talking to the press, but he's in shape and everyone says he's the loosest and happiest he's ever been.
• Late March: He's not hitting.
• April: He's off to a slow start. On 'EEI they're wondering if there's something wrong with him. Maybe the fact that he's a mental train wreck and has the emotional stability of Michael Richards has finally affected his ability to hit.
• May/June/ Early July: He's absolutely raking. No one can get him out. He's driving in runs in bunches and clusters. Easily voted onto the All Star team.
• Mid July: Says he's hurt. Misses the last couple of games before the break and the All Star Game itself.
• Late July/ August: Resumes hitting.
• Labor Day: Pulls some kind of weirdness. Either asks for a day off, says he's hurt or fails to run out a ground ball. The sport pages and airwaves are filled with angry, rancorous screeds about how he's making $20 million and disrespecting the game and how guys like Francona and Schilling are sick of covering up for him.
• September: All is forgotten as Manny goes on a tear at the plate and in the field.
• November: It's Trade Manny Season again.

None of this is to suggest the Sox have to hold onto him at all costs. If the last five years in this town have taught us anything it's that anyone can be replaced. If Theo can flip Manny for a serviceable left fielder and, more importantly, some blue chip, sure thing pitching, I'm all for it. For the 103rd year in a row, the off season for the Sox should be all about putting together the best pitching staff in baseball and letting the hitting take care of itself. But to dump him just for the sake of dumping him because the sportswriters are tired of his act is friggin' lunacy.