CLEVELAND -- Indians general manager John Hart didn't bother to watch Manny Ramirez on TV trying on his new No. 24 Red Sox jersey and talking -- for the moment -- to the Boston press.

It's not that Hart couldn't. He had more work to do on Wednesday, Day 1 of the post-Ramirez Era in Cleveland.

And while Hart wishes his former right fielder well with a new team in a new city, he isn't crying over the Indians' loss either.

"He's the enemy now," Hart said.

Ramirez officially said goodbye to Cleveland at a news conference in Boston to announce his signing of an eight-year, $160 million deal with the Red Sox. Local TV stations here carried portions of Ramirez's remarks live, and talk radio buzzed over some what the All-Star said upon being introduced.

"I'm coming to have a better chance to win the (World Series) ring," said Ramirez, who went from a team which hasn't won it all since 1948 to one which hasn't since 1918.

Hart, who hardly slept last weekend in Dallas as he and the Indians negotiated a contract they hoped would bring Ramirez back to Cleveland, didn't seem particularly happy to hear Ramirez's remarks.

"I certainly disagree with that," he said.

Ramirez picked Boston over Cleveland, which offered baseball's top RBI man a deal that was close to $160 million at face value, but included much more deferred money than the Red Sox package.

"It came down to the Boston structure was significantly different than ours," Hart said. "We had a signing bonus, but they had a bigger signing bonus and so much more was paid into the first three or four years of the deal, where ours was backloaded to fit our payroll structure.

"This wasn't like we were low-balling him or anything, it was just a different structure."

Hart has been able to keep the Indians among the AL's top teams by maneuvering through a system that makes it tough for the small and mid-size markets to compete against teams owned by conglomerates or ones with cable TV deals that drive their revenues.

Losing Ramirez to the Red Sox, Hart said, was not that surprising given Boston's ability to go as high as it needed to.

"The Red Sox are up for sale, there's no owner there to say, 'Here's what we're going to do, here's what our long-term strategy is'," Hart said. "I used the Florida Marlins as Exhibit 1. You go out and you make signings, you have a year in the sun and then what happens?

"I'm not suggesting that's what's going to happen to the Red Sox. Maybe they're banking on the fact that they're going to be sold for a large amount of money and being a championship-type club may drive their sale. But at some point in the next two or three years they're going to have a shortstop (Nomar Garciaparra) that's going to cost them some money."

Ramirez's signing came just hours after Texas signed shortstop Alex Rodriguez to a record-shattering 10-year, $252 million deal. The monstrous contracts have shaken many in baseball, including Hart.

Hart, the Indians GM since 1991, worried about where all the money is taking the game. If Alex Rodriguez is worth a quarter billion dollars now, what's Derek Jeter going to ask the New York Yankees for when his contract expires?

"That (Rodriguez) contract was larger than franchise values, it's going to be larger than some club payrolls," Hart said. "I think the underlying rippling effect is what it does to the game. It's disturbing. It's concerning. I do worry about the long-term health of the game."

Hart is also concerned about the grip agents are holding over team owners and GMs.

During the winter meetings, Hart said that when he first arrived in Dallas, he was unaware that he was being taped for an ESPN documentary focusing on agent Jeff Moorad and Ramirez.

Hart said that during the talks Moorad asked if the camera crew could come into the hotel suite to film.

"He said everybody else has allowed them to come up," Hart said. "And I said, 'Jeff there's no way. I've been doing this for a long time, I don't need this. I don't need any publicity.' We wanted the player. This isn't the way we do business."

Hart, though, said he relented at about 3 a.m. after about seven hours of grueling talks.

"When we got close," Hart said. "I thought I'll do this, maybe it will help me clinch the deal."

The Indians still need to add a power hitter to help make up for Ramirez's loss. The club is interested in re-signing free agent David Segui, who batted .322 with 46 RBI in 57 games after coming over in a trade for Texas.

Segui was offered arbitration and has until Dec. 19 to reject or accept it.