BOSTON (AP) – As the Alex Rodriguez for Manny Ramirez trade fell through, Boston Red Sox fans bemoaned what they said was the players’ union interfering with a done deal that both the Red Sox and the Texas Rangers had wanted.

As Porter McManus smoked a cigarette outside The International bar in Boston’s financial district, he strongly criticized the union.

“The players agreed to it, the coaches agreed to it, everyone agreed to it, and the union stepped in and said no,” said McManus, of Lexington. “They gave us a week to complete the deal from the word go. At the last second they stepped in and said “the deal you arrived at is no good,’ even though everyone agreed to it. They gave us one day then to scramble and make something they would agree to, which was untenable at that point.”

Now, it’s a lose-lose situation, he thinks.

“Manny knows we don’t want him here. (Rodriguez) is stuck there and no one’s happy,” McManus said.

However, some fans took solace in the fact that the trade’s failure means Ramirez and shortstop Nomar Garciaparra will remain with Boston – at least, for now.

After Rodriguez and Boston reached an agreement Wednesday, the union refused it, saying it reduced the value of his $252 million contract, the highest in professional sports history.

Rodriguez offered to reduce his salary by $12 million in exchange for increased marketing and logo use rights, his agent Scott Boras said.

The proposal from the Red Sox would have cost Rodriguez $28 million, according to the team’s evaluation, and $30 million, according to the union’s analysis, Boras said.

Commissioner Bud Selig set a 5 p.m. deadline Thursday to restructure A-Rod’s contract, and when the deadline passed without a deal, he ended the talks between Rodriguez and Boston.

In a statement, Red Sox president Larry Lucchino blamed the union.

“The players’ association’s intransigence and the arbitrary nature of its action are responsible for the deal’s demise today,” Lucchino said.

Don Higgins’ face fell when he heard the news as he waited for after-work snacks at Brandy Pete’s restaurant in downtown Boston. But the lifelong Red Sox fan said he remained optimistic.

“It would have just been a good thing for the team, but right now as the team stands, it’s still a great team,” Higgins, of Watertown, said. “Their biggest problem last year was the bullpen and starting pitcher and they got that out. Alex Rodriguez was just the icing on the cake.”

He added that the union “put their nose where it didn’t belong,” with the deal.

Rob Kerwin, a Boston lawyer, blamed the deal’s demise on the Curse of the Bambino – the notion that the Red Sox franchise is doomed because it sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees.

“My concern is A-Rod was our ticket to the future and that now it’s gone,” the self-described “superstitious sports fan” said, as he sipped a stout at Mr. Dooley’s, an Irish pub. “He’s a tremendous hitter, a tremendous player. He brought a lot of light to Texas, he would have brought a lot of light to Boston.”

“Now, we’re back in the abyss and the Curse of the Bambino has happened once again.”

AP-ES-12-18-03 2221EST