Due to a calf injury that has sidelined him for the better part of a decade, Manny Ramirez has completely fallen off the baseball map over the last couple of months.

ESPN’s Buster Olney reports that the Dodgers will likely put Manny on waivers sometime this week, which would end his brief stay in “Mannywood.” Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports says that if L.A. does put the aging outfielder on waivers, the White Sox plan to claim him for the stretch run.

But does Ramirez have anything left to give a contender?

Let’s get this out of the way first: the Dodgers have little to know need for him at this point. He’s a free agent at the end of the year and seeing as how Scott Podsednik (picked up in a mid-season trade) gives the club three quality starters in the outfield, L.A. might as well get something for Manny while they still can.

Despite the general consensus that Ramirez is washed up, keep in mind that he’s still hitting .312 this year with a slugging percentage north of .500. Yes, injuries are a major concern, but if he can stay healthy for the final 35-plus games then he could give a team like the White Sox a shot in the arm.

Now losers of seven of their last 10, the Sox continue to slide further behind the Twins in the AL Central. They’re currently 4.5 games out of first place in the division and seemingly have zero chance of catching the Yankees or the Rays for the Wild Card now that they’re 9.5 back in that race.

Paul Konerko continues to carry this club, but Alex Rios has started to fade and Carlos Quentin has been incredibly streaky. If Ramirez (who obviously knows American League pitching) can be had for cheap, there should be nothing stopping GM Kenny Williams from claiming him.

That said, Manny still has to get past all the National League teams and clubs with a worse record than the Sox. Plus, the Dodgers and Sox would still have to agree to a deal.

But if all of that happens, the Sox have nothing to lose at this point. They could use another bat and while Manny probably won’t be the difference between them making the playoffs this year or not, he still has enough left in the tank to provide a spark.

According to a report by SI.com, Manny Ramirez exercised his $20 million contract option for 2010 and will return to the Dodgers.

The team said Friday that the slugger exercised his $20 million contract option for 2010. His agent Scott Boras informed Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti of the decision.

Ramirez hit .290 with 19 home runs and 63 RBIs in 104 regular season games. He missed 50 games while suspended for violating baseball’s drug policy.

In the NL division series against St. Louis, Ramirez batted .308 with no homers and two RBI. Against Philadelphia in the NL championship series, he hit .263 with one homer and two RBI.

Ramirez was traded to the Dodgers from Boston in July 2008.

Thank God. I don’t know if I could have gone another offseason talking about Man-Ram and his ongoing contract negotiations. Just thinking about it gives me a migraine.

Maybe this year he won’t get busted for using women’s fertility drugs in spring training. Hi-yo!

Photo from fOTOGLIF
]]> http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/11/07/manny-exercises-option-will-return-to-dodgers/feed/ 0 http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/31/ortiz-issues-statement-about-positive-%e2%80%9903-test/ http://www.scoresreport.com/2009/07/31/ortiz-issues-statement-about-positive-%e2%80%9903-test/#comments Fri, 31 Jul 2009 16:33:51 +0000 Anthony Stalter http://www.scoresreport.com/?p=21986

Following the Red Sox win over the A’s on Thursday, David Ortiz addressed the media about a New York Times report that stated he tested positive for performance-enhancing dugs in 2003, although didn’t say much.

“Today I was informed by a reporter that I was on the 2003 list of MLB players to test positive for performance-enhancing substances. This happened right before our game, and the news blindsided me. I said I had no comment because I wanted to get to the bottom of this.

“I want to talk about this situation and I will as soon as I have more answers. In the meantime I want to let you know how I am approaching this situation. One, I have already contacted the Players Association to confirm if this report is true. I have just been told that the report is true. Based on the way I have lived my life, I am surprised to learn I tested positive. Two, I will find out what I tested positive for. And, three, based on whatever I learn, I will share this information with my club and the public. You know me – I will not hide and I will not make excuses.

“I want to thank my family, the Red Sox, my teammates, and the fans for their patience and support.”

So essentially he’s getting ready for the ol’ “spin-a-roo” routine, where he’ll admit to taking “something,” but didn’t know it was a performance-enhancing drug.

“Somebody at sometime in some juncture under some circumstance might have probably given me something at some point,” Ortiz will say.

Big Papi, do us all a favor and just come clean. Say you messed up, you shouldn’t have done it and you’re ashamed. You’ll still be a cheater, but at least some of us will respect you for coming forward. If you sidestep the situation, you’re no better than Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Manny and all the other ass clowns that think they can pull the sheets over our eyes.

Related Stories:

- Report: Big Papi, Manny test positive for PEDs in 2003

According to a report by the New York Times, David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003.

Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz, the sluggers who propelled the Boston Red Sox to end an 86-year World Series championship drought and to capture another title three years later, were among the roughly 100 Major League Baseball players to test positive for performance-enhancing drugs in 2003, according to lawyers with knowledge of the results.

The information about Ramirez and Ortiz emerged through interviews with multiple lawyers and others connected to the pending litigation. The lawyers spoke anonymously because the testing information is under seal by a court order. The lawyers did not identify which drugs were detected.

Unlike Ramirez, who recently served a 50-game suspension for violating baseball’s drug policy, Ortiz had not previously been linked to performance-enhancing substances.

This shouldn’t surprise anyone who has followed baseball over the past decade. When Manny was suspended for 50 games for testing positive for a woman’s fertility drug often used to mask the use of steroids, you would have had to been naive to think that he wasn’t on something. And considering Big Papi admitted back in February that he works out at the gym of suspected steroids supplier Angel Presinal, nobody should be surprised that his name is on the ’03 list either.

Bud Selig needs to get with the player’s union immediately and discuss releasing the rest of the names on that list. Ramirez, Ortiz, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa have already been outed and baseball should just do itself a favor by releasing the rest of the names. Because guess what? The names will come out, whether it’s one at a time, two at a time, etc.

But the union will never allow it. They’ll continue to believe that this situation will eventually go away and that the fans will someday rejoice and call baseball “America’s Game” again. But we won’t. We know the game was tainted for over a decade and the accomplishments of Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Ramirez and Ortiz mean very little because they had help. The union, the owners, the players and everyone else in Major League Baseball is fooling themselves if they believe more names aren’t going to come out.

Related Stories:

- Ortiz issues statement about positive ’03 test

I must have missed the memo that stated Manny Ramirez’s suspension was lifted from 50 games to 40.

In case you haven’t heard, Ramirez is getting a fair share of work these days for the Dodgers’ Triple-A affiliates. He was suspended 50 games by MLB for testing positive for performance-chancing drugs, yet apparently it’s fine if he plays in some minor league games in order to get his swing back for when he’s ready to join the big league club again.

Since when is it okay for someone to work during a suspension? Granted, sports will never be confused for everyday jobs, but isn’t this a little ridiculous that Manny (who broke a rule) is allowed to play? If he’s suspended 50 games, he shouldn’t be allowed to play in any league (major, minor or little) until that suspension is completed.

This is a benefit to Ramirez; why is the league helping him out? Oh, you broke a rule, Manny? No problem – we’ll still make sure that you get enough hacks in so that when you come back to the show, you’ll be ready to rake again in no time. Let us know if you need anything else because we’re here to serve you.

Maybe this isn’t that big of a deal and I’m making too much of the situation. But come on, this isn’t like a player coming off the DL who needs a quick rehab (unless they’re counting this as a drug rehab, err, women’s fertility drug rehab) assignment before he sees major league pitching again. This coconut got busted for a positive PED test and as suspended 50 games. So make him serve 50 games.

Breaking his silence for the first time since he was suspended 50 games for testing positive for PEDs, Manny Ramirez told the Los Angeles Times that he vows to “make it up” to the Dodger fans by leading the team “to another level” upon his return.

He also dropped this little ditty in the interview:

“I didn’t kill nobody, I didn’t rape nobody, so that’s it, I’m just going to come and play the game,” Ramirez said.

You know what? I agree with him. He didn’t kill or rape anybody and if he did take steroids, in the grand scheme of things when you really get down to the nuts and bolts of the issue, he only endangered himself.

But the problem is that he was so arrogant reaching this point that nobody has a problem chastising him to no end. He flat out quit on the Red Sox (not just the organization – but an entire team) last year, only to be traded to the Dodgers and be made a hero.

Then, in spite of everything the L.A. organization and fan base did for him, he and his equally arrogant agent dragged the Dodgers through the mud in order to get a new contract even though no other club was bidding for his services.

In the end, Manny settled for a deal that was fair for both sides and then what did he do? Got himself suspended for 50 games, which could have drove the Dodgers into a tailspin until he got back. He’s lucky the Dodgers haven’t missed a beat on the field or else he would be getting absolutely lambasted on a daily basis.

And pushing all that to the side, there’s also the little issue of him (possibly) cheating the game. Manny was the poster child for sluggers to back in the steroid era, but he let baseball fans down and that’s his biggest crime to date.

So no Manny, you didn’t kill anyone. But because of what you did to get to this point, you deserve all the criticism that floats your way.

Usually when a person screws up (I mean really screws up), they show remorse, embarrassment and even humility.

But apparently not Manny Ramirez.

In the days after Man-Ram was suspended 50 games after being caught with a prescription for hCG (or was it because his testosterone levels where four times that of a normal man?), Dodgers owner Frank McCourt demanded that his star slugger apologize to his teammates. So Manny did.

But when McCourt wanted Ramirez to come to Los Angeles following his apology to the team in Miami, Manny was a no show. While he’s suspended, McCourt wants Ramirez to be around the team, help some of the young hitters improve their game and overall, show remorse. But Manny will have none of that because he’s choosing to stay away until his suspension is completed. Oh, and apparently he’s also dropping hints that he plans on suing the doctor who prescribed him the hCG.

Ramirez could learn a lesson in humility. Everyone screws up and while it’s easier to crawl into a hole until the dust settles, it’s better to at least make an attempt to make amends and set things right. That means if McCourt wants Manny in the clubhouse instructing his Dodger teammates on how to become better 0-2 hitters, then Ramirez should abide by his wishes. McCourt isn’t asking Manny to clean the clubhouse toilets – he’s asking him to be a good teammate and to not ride this embarrassment out in the comforts of his own home.

Some of you might say, “Manny has already apologized – what else do you want?” But it’s not about what I or what anyone else wants – it’s what McCourt wants. It was McCourt who gave Ramirez a two-year, $45 million contract this offseason when no other club was seriously interested in his services. (Don’t tell me the Giants were truly interested because if they were, they would have made an offer.) And it was McCourt who turned Manny into a L.A. god despite the slugger essentially spitting in the face of a Boston organization that treated him well for so many years prior to his trade to the Dodgers last season.

Hey, maybe it’s a good thing that Manny is staying away from the club right now because after all, the Dodgers are winning. But again, it’s not up to us to decide whether or not he should stay away from the team – it’s up to the man Manny disrespected the most and that’s McCourt. So if McCourt wants Manny to show his face, then Manny should show his face. Ramirez has had the opportunity to do what he wants, when he wants for a very long time. But he was the way that screwed up, so now it’s time for him to show some humility and abide by someone else’s rules for once.