Seems Boston Red Sox outfielder Manny Ramirez has torn a page out of Brett Favre’s book on self-entitlement. Ramirez told the Boston Herald this week that he had “earned that respect, for a team to sit down with me and tell me this is what we want.”

Manny wants to know what his future is with the team, and management simply is not ready to tell him. There are still a lot of facts to be considered in Manny’s case, none more important than his performance and behavior and how deep the team plays into the postseason.

Owner John Henry runs a pretty profitable business, but picking up a $20 million option on any employee is still a key move. You’ll have to excuse him if he wants to gather more information before making the decision. If the wait makes Ramirez a little grumpy, Henry won’t lose any sleep over it.

This isn’t like waiting out the retirement of a 62-year old accountant making $50,000 a year. The stakes are much higher, and Ramirez is compensated well enough to tolerate the short-term, performance-driven nature of his contract.

Management is carefully analyzing Ramirez’s merits as a player and how he fits into the club’s future. What will the fan outcry be if Ramirez’s option is declined? How much does he have left in the tank? What kind of buying power does that $20 million have, in terms of acquiring other players?

A business man loves certainty in his investments, and Ramirez is looking like a total crapshoot. Confrontations with teammates and employees, continued flaky behavior, and declining production are pretty key points working against him.

A big second half and an even bigger October are the only things that matter, though. If Ramirez plays like a monster in the postseason, fans will not tolerate seeing him leave town. If he disappears in the second half and displays more loose cannon behavior, Ramirez is as good as gone.

Simple as that. Henry fired back to the Herald on Thursday, saying that Ramirez’s comments were “personally offensive.” At the end of the day, Henry will not hold a grudge, but he will not make a decision until all of the information is available.

The fact that Manny is a little sad won’t change a thing.

Dustin Hockensmith is editor of ImaginaryDiamond.com. He can be contacted at dhockensmith[at]fantasysports101.net.