Manny Being Manny Just Isn’t What It Used To Be

Sorry ladies, today I’m talking baseball.

Specifically, I’m talking Manny. Now I know I’m not going to get a lot of hits on this, but I’m talking Manny anyway.

Few modern day baseball players have commanded the hitting game like Manny Ramirez and after last season, a season that began in Boston and ended in Los Angeles, he’s betting on it. Two weeks away from spring training and Mr. Free Agent Manny has no deal. But because Manny is Manny, it doesn’t seem to bother him. His agent, Scott Boras was quoted by ESPN.com as saying in regards to Ramirez’s current team limbo, “I don't really think about a timetable. Anything can be done any day. You just don't know."

NEWSFLASH: Boras and Manny are bluffing. Only this time it just may be their last stand at the table. Late Monday night, Manny rejected a one-year, $25 million dollar contract from the LA Dodgers because as Boras put it, “other suitors are preparing to offer more”. Game speak translation: “If you can’t give us what we want, take a hike, we’ll go elsewhere.” Sorry guys, it’s just not going to be that simple this time.

While it is true that after a seven-year tenure with the Boston Red Sox, where Ramirez’s slugging production was a big part of the two World Series championships he won there, things have changed but Manny has not. He’s still the self-centered child/man who refuses to produce whenever it suits him because he puts himself above everything else. It’s of no surprise to me that Manny and Boras don’t realize that in today’s economic climate the history making mega-deal is, for now, a thing of the past. It got lost somewhere amid the bailouts and the foreclosures and the dwindling stock market in the real world.

But Manny and Boras live on a different planet than we do, and greed is their mentor. Back in November ‘08, the Dodgers offered Manny a two-year, $45 million dollar contract with and option for a third year, bringing the total to a possible $60 million for three years. That would pay Manny a guaranteed $15 million for ‘09 and $22.5 million for ’10 with the option for $22.5 million in ’11. But Manny was and still is, reportedly seeking a four year deal worth $25 million a year, regardless of who signs his checks. Not only did Ramirez and Boras ignore the Dodgers offer in November, they let the deal expire and the offer was then withdrawn. No worries, Manny just goes down into the basement of one of his many spacious homes and prints hundred dollar bills anyway. He can afford to be selective.

The Dodgers are smart and the PR spin on the Ramirez contract negotiations is one of confidence that they can get the job done before spring training. No one is closing that door just yet. After seven years of following the Manny Chronicles, I say good luck to you with that. We’re talking about Manny here.

The Dodgers should sign him because they need him. Last season, in a half season with LA, Ramirez put up a .396 batting average, with 17 home runs and 53 RBI’s. In the post season he batted .520, with 4 HR’s and 10 RBI’s. From the moment he stepped onto the field in LA, attendance increased by the thousands and Ramirez carried the team all the way to the playoffs. Manny is that kind of player, no doubt. *He is one of three players in the history of the game with more than 500 home runs with an average of .310 or better. The other two were Babe Ruth and Ted Williams. But Manny is also a risk in more ways than one, and how many teams out there can afford a risk in today’s weak economy?

Who you ask? According to Suite101.com, since rejecting the Dodgers offer on Monday, three of the four “other suitors preparing to offer more”, the Mets, Washington Nationals and the Yankees have all publicly stated that they are not interested in signing Ramirez. The Yankees would have been the logical choice, considering they can afford him and need him to protect A-Rod in the lineup since Giambi and Abreu were not re-signed. Unfortunately for Manny, the Yankees just prudently spent $423.5 million on their brand new starting pitching line up: $243.5 million tying up CC Sabathia and AJ Burnett and $160 million stealing Mark Teixeria from the Red Sox. The Teixeria deal effectively put the nail in the coffin of any of Ramirez’s Yankee dreams. The gene pool is getting smaller.

That leaves the Giants and the Dodgers with both teams unsure and possibly unable to go any higher than $20 million for a one or two-year deal with the 37 year old slugger. And LA is getting tired of the game. Will the Giants cough up the big dough and step up to the plate?

Hank Aaron hit .372 with 47 HR’s and 118 RBI’s at the age of 37.
Babe Ruth hit .341 with 41 HR’s and 137 RBI’s at the same age.
Ted Williams hit .388 with 38 HR’s and 87 RBI’s at the age of 38.

At 37 can Manny Ramirez continue to produce those numbers? The answer is yes, he absolutely can. But now I think he needs to look at the big picture because being Manny just isn’t worth what it used to be.

*This sentence has been edited post publication to reflect the more complete information Earl called me out on. Thanks dude!