Now that CC Sabathia is set to become a Yankee, the attention will start to turn to finding Manny Ramirez a home. According to YAHOO! Sports, there’s no market for Manny at this point.

The Dodger offer, the only known offer, is for $45 million over two years.

“Was for $45 million over two years,” one Dodgers executive corrected.

It’s off the table, along with the third-year option that, if exercised, would have brought the contract’s worth to $60 million.

The Dodgers are still in on Ramirez. Their offer could be reheated and reserved. But, they could in the coming days or weeks re-sign Furcal and find themselves up to their credit lines in Sabathia, and quickly turn away. So, what of the others out there?

The Angels? Teixeira comes first, Sabathia second. Manny?

“It’s not a likely scenario,” Angels GM Tony Reagins said. “We think there are opportunities we see that are more important at this time.”

The Red Sox? Please.

The Yankees? Sabathia first, then Burnett and Lowe, then more pitching, then Teixeira, then Manny. GM Brian Cashman believes nearly all the problems of recent seasons can be fixed on the mound. They could eventually turn to Manny, but it sounds like a distant priority.

The Mets? GM Omar Minaya loves Manny. But he’s just added Francisco Rodriguez and he needs at least one starting pitcher and his owner is cutting payroll, not adding, say, $75 million over three years.

I thought for sure that the Yankees would lose out on Sabathia and turn their attention to Manny, but obviously it’s a long shot that Ramirez winds up in the Bronx now. A potential sleeper candidate could be the San Francisco Giants. They’ve got plenty of pitching both at the big league level and in the minors, yet absolutely nothing in terms of bats. (Unless you consider Randy Winn, Bengie Molina and Aaron Rowand has heavy hitters.)

Buuuuuuuuuut, I don’t know if the Giants will come up with the money. And compared to their needs in the infield, the Giants need another outfielder like Barry Bonds needs another federal charge filed against him. But if no market is established for Manny in the upcoming weeks, maybe the G-Men will make a move and finally get a true cleanup hitter back in the lineup.

From Ken Davidoff at Newsday:

As the Angels distanced themselves from Sabathia, leaving the Yankees poised to land their top target, the Braves moved closer toward signing Burnett, another item on the Yankees’ radar.

Angels general manager Tony Reagins, meanwhile, told MLB.com late Tuesday that his top free-agent target remained Mark Teixeira, rather than Sabathia. Reagins said there was “nothing to” reports that the Angels, who clearly need offense more than they need pitching, were shifting their focus from Teixeira to Sabathia.

With none of the other West Coast teams expressing much interest, Sabathia is left with the Yankees’ offer of six years and about $140 million and the Brewers’ offer of five years and $100 million. As much as Sabathia prefers the NL, he probably doesn’t prefer it enough to leave $40 million on the table.

If they can sign Sabathia, the Yankees will be all but out of the running for Teixeira, and probably Manny Ramirez, as well. They’ll try to land Lowe while continuing their attempt to bring back Andy Pettitte at a pay cut.

I’m still of the mind that one of the California teams – Angels, Dodgers, Giants – will make a big move for Sabathia and he’ll wind up in his hometown state. He wants to play in his hometown state, he wants to hit and if one of those teams are willing to give him a fair deal, than he’ll likely jump. If he’s all about the money, than the Yankees are his only option because they’re going to come up with the green in the end.

FOX Sports.com has 10 burning questions for baseball’s offseason.

5 Can Milwaukee hang on to CC Sabathia?
The Brewers are already facing the loss of Ben Sheets, so they’ll probably need to bring Sabathia back if they hope to win the tough NL Central. Obviously, the Brewers don’t have the resources to hang with the Yankees, Angels, Dodgers, and Red Sox should those teams enter the bidding. But Sabathia loves hitting, and he enjoyed his time in Milwaukee…

4 Where will Manny Ramirez wind up?
This past season, Manny Ramirez hit .332 AVG/.430 OBP/.601 SLG with 37 bombs. Obviously, that’s an elite level of production. On the other hand, Manny is 36 and an ongoing disaster in the outfield. He’s going to command a big contract, but it’s not certain how big and with whom. Ramirez’s agent, Scott Boras, is angling for a five- or six-year deal, but that’s probably not going to happen. The Dodgers will certainly push to bring him back, and the Blue Jays may be a surprise bidder…

3 How will the Yankees spend those dollars?
The Yankees’ 14-year playoff run came to an end, and that likely means a frantic winter in the Bronx. They’ve got a good bit of money coming off the payroll, and of course they’ll be moving into a palatial new ballpark next season. So expect them to spend with impunity. They’ll likely pass on their option on Jason Giambi, which means they could be in the mix for Mark Teixeira. They’ll certainly be angling for CC Sabathia, and they’ve also got decisions to make on Mike Mussina and Andy Pettitte…

1 Who will be the Phillies’ GM next season?
Fresh off the third World Series title of his career, Phillies GM Pat Gillick may be bound for retirement (and, eventually, the Hall of Fame). If he goes, then in all likelihood the job will fall to either Ruben Amaro Jr. or Mike Arbuckle, two longtime Philly lieutenants. Or will Gillick have a change of heart and come back to defend his championship?…

I’ll go ahead and answer the above questions for FOX:

CC Sabathia to the Yankees.

Manny Ramirez to the Yankees.

Yankees will overspend the Yankees dollars.

The Yankees will be the Phillies’ GM next season.

The Los Angeles Dodgers are willing to spend big to retain Manny Ramirez.

General manager Ned Colletti said Wednesday the Dodgers’ pitch to the free-agent slugger would give him the second-highest average salary in the sport behind Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.

“If you saw the bid, it’s nothing that we’re embarrassed by,” Colletti said at the GM meetings. “Manny was close to that number, anyway — closer to that area than the last place he’s been.”

Rodriguez currently has the top average at $27.5 million under the 10-year deal he agreed to before last season. Mets pitcher Johan Santana is second at $22.9 million under the six-season deal he agreed to this year.

Ramirez, acquired from Boston on July 31, is coming off an eight-year, $160 million contract he signed with the Red Sox before the 2001 season.

This is all well and good, but they’ll have to top whatever the Yankees offer. A couple of weeks ago, Ramirez flat out said that he wanted to see which team offered him the highest contract. If the Yankees concentrate on trying to sign ace CC Sabathia, there’s a great chance that Man-Ram will wind up back in Dodger blue. But if Sabathia re-ups with the Brewers or signs quickly with another team, I’m willing to bet the Yankees go full-blast for Ramirez.

Jon Heyman of SI.com reports that the New York Yankees have made ace CC Sabathia their top winter target. And just for good measure, they’ll also have Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira on their radar this offseason, too.

The incumbent Brewers extended to Sabathia a very respectable offer for about $100 million, and at least the Dodgers and Angels may also heavily compete for the Vallejo, Calif., native. But baseball people at the general manager meetings here see the Yankees as attempting to blow away the field for Sabathia. Santana’s record deal for a pitcher is over six years.

Boosted by the new Yankee Stadium, revenues that are expected to skyrocket even in a flagging economy, the potential of about $80 million in player payroll coming off their books and driven by their first non-playoff season since before the Joe Torre era, the Yankees will also make plays for superstar first baseman Mark Teixeira and outfielder and hitting savant Manny Ramirez, a longtime Yankee killer (and in 2008 a Red Sox killer, as well), and haven’t ruled out signing one of those two sluggers along with Sabathia.

If you hated the Yankees before, you’ll hate him even more this offseason. Not that it matters because it’s the Yankees and they can finically do whatever they want, but a word of warning to the Steinbrenner’s – watch your spending on top flight free agent pitching. Just to name a few: Barry Zito, Mike Hampton, Russ Ortiz, Kevin Brown, Jason Schmidt – all highly coveted free agent starting pitchers, all gigantic busts.

Now maybe Sabathia is less of a risk considering he’s used to pitching in the AL, but signing him to one of the richest contract in baseball history has trouble written all over it. But again, not that it matters because the Yankees can do whatever they want when it comes to spending.

SI.com released its top 50 MLB free agents. The first team listed is that player’s current team and the second one is SI.com’s “best fit” for that player.

1 CC Sabathia 28 SP Brewers Dodgers
He’s a behemoth, yes, but he proved in ’08 that he might not just be better than Johan Santana, but the most valuable player in baseball. He’ll be rewarded as such, and could turn down Yankee riches to play for a contender in his home state, and to hit every fifth day, which is something he genuinely loves.

2 Mark Teixeira 28 1B Angels Yankees
The guy’s got everything – he’s a young, powerful switch-hitter who plays a Gold Glove first base. Soon he will be able to buy everything, and the Yankees would love to devote a chunk of the revenue from their new ballpark to bring him aboard.

3 Manny Ramirez 36 OF Dodgers Dodgers
He’s like baseball’s version of Catherine Tramell. So enticing, so beautiful to behold, but be careful if you get too close. L.A., of course, is still in the relationship’s first blush, and will probably pay a fortune for a potential ice-picking.

4 Francisco Rodriguez 27 RP Angels Angels
Single-season saves record overshadowed fact that he’s lost velocity on his fastball, doesn’t go more than one inning and was perhaps only the AL’s fifth best closer (after Rivera, Papelbon, Nathan and Soria). Many consider the Mets to be the frontrunner for his services, but they’re on the hook for Billy Wagner’s $10.5 million salary in ’09 and would be wise to pursue a cheaper option.

5 A.J. Burnett 31 SP Blue Jays Yankees
Brittle in the past but threw a career-high 221.1 innings in ’08, which was (guess what?) his contract year. His 231 strikeouts led the American League, and his filthy stuff will have G.M.s salivating — particularly those that lose out in the CC Sabathia sweepstakes.

It’s incredibly ironic that no team would touch Burnett with a 600-foot pole around the All-Star break and now he’s one of the most coveted free agents on the market. The Blue Jays couldn’t have given Burnett away at midseason for a coloring book and a box of crayons.

The New York Post kind of, sort of confirms what we’ve already known for months: The Yankees will likely pursue Manny Ramirez this offseason.

Manny Ramirez doesn’t fit the Yankees ‘ desire to get younger and more athletic, but several industry sources believe the Yankees will make a serious push for the free agent to play right field next year.

Though GM Brian Cashman says the top offseason priority is starting pitching, he did not rule out interest in the 36-year-old Ramirez.

“We are looking at starting pitching,” Cashman said when asked about the team’s interest in Ramirez.

“We will see how the free agent and trade markets are.”

The Dodgers have offered Ramirez a two-year deal worth $60 million to remain in Los Angeles, but he is expected to file for free agency and look for a four-year deal in the $80 million range.

Is it even really a question anymore? The World Series is done with and while I understand Cashman doesn’t want to tip his hand in the bargaining game, there’s no sense in dancing around the topic anymore. The Yankees need pitching more than they need another big bat, but this is what the Bombers do – they make a splash. The Boss and Son Boss didn’t like missing the playoffs last year and there’s not much that will stand in their way of going out and signing the big name. And there’s no bigger name on this year’s market than Manny Ramirez.

When recently asked whether or not he intends to re-sign with the Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez said: “I want to see who is the highest bidder.”

That bidding could approach, or exceed, $100 million. If the Dodgers do not win the bidding, or drop out at what might well be a justifiable point, it is not the player with the openly mercenary attitude who would be left in Los Angeles to dodge the criticism.

It would be McCourt, and the Dodgers.

“They’re in a tough spot,” said David Carter, executive director of the USC Sports Business Institute. “That could be a prudent decision based on what’s going on in the marketplace, and yet they’ll still get skewered for allowing him to leave.

“I don’t see any middle ground. If they let him go, it will reinforce the perception they’re not committed to winning. If they sign him, it will materially move the needle in their favor, and the fans will rally around him.”

Normally any player that essentially says that he plays the game for money is fair game to be publicly tarred and feathered. But I almost applaud Manny for being completely 100% honest. He’s destructive in a weird way, but whatever team signs him knows that and knows exactly what they’re getting. (I.e. A fantastic hitter, a phenomenal quote machine and one goofy personality.)

I’ll go ahead and beat all Yankee-haters to the bunch and say that Manny will be in pinstripes next year if he’s waiting to see who the highest bidder will be this offseason.

As Murray Chass on Baseball notes, the Boston Red Sox have supplanted the New York Yankees as the premier team to beat in the AL East.

That conclusion isn’t based strictly on the outcome of this year’s division race, though the season is symptomatic of developments in the lives of the Yankees and the Red Sox. In a more general way, the Red Sox have demonstrated that they are smarter and more adept than the Yankees in judging talent, in trading, in scouting, in player development and in strategic planning.

The teams have similarities that are useful in judging the quality of their operations.
The Red Sox went to Japan and signed Daisuke Matsuzaka. The Yankees went to Japan and signed Kei Igawa.

The Red Sox have a young center fielder, Jacoby Ellsbury, who is instrumental in igniting their offense. The Yankees have a young center fielder, Melky Cabrera, whom they sent to the minor leagues in August.

The Red Sox have a young second baseman, Dustin Pedroia, whose .326 batting average fell two hits short of winning the A.L. batting title and who led the league in runs scored, multi-hit games and doubles, tied for the lead in hits and was fourth in total bases. The Yankees have a young second baseman, Robinson Cano, who needed eight hits in the last three games to get his on-base percentage over .300.

The Red Sox needed a starting pitcher and in mid-August traded for veteran Paul Byrd, who compiled a 4-2 record in eight starts. The Yankees needed a starting pitcher and in June yanked Joba Chamberlain out of the bullpen and put him in the starting rotation, where he suffered a shoulder ailment that cost him a month.

The Red Sox needed to trade their best hitter, Manny Ramirez, and in a three-team deal that included Pittsburgh got Jason Bay, who batted .293 with a series of key hits that fueled critical Boston victories.

The Yankees needed a hitter and, five days before the Bay trade, turned to the same team, the Pirates, and got Xavier Nady, whose batting average for the Yankees was 25 points less than Bay’s was for Boston and whose on-base percentage was 50 points and slugging percentage 53 points less.

This is what people continue to miss about the Yankees and their spending. Just because they can spend more, doesn’t mean that they’re better off. Yes, there should be a cap in place so that all of the spending is even. But the Yankees continue to shoot themselves in the foot with all of their freewheeling contracts and trading, because they’re not developing young, marquee talent anymore like they once did with Derek Jeter, Jorge Posada, Mariano Rivera and Bearnie Williams. They thought players like Melky Cabrera, Robinson Cano and Phillip Hughes would develop like the aforementioned names, but those three haven’t panned out yet, at least not how the club thought they would.

The article is right – the Red Sox have been better at judging talent and making trades over the past couple years and it’s exactly why they’re playing in October right now while the Yankees are at home plodding ways to get CC Sabathia, A.J. Burnett and Manny Ramirez.

According to the New York Post via a close friend of Manny Ramirez, the former Red Sox outfielder wants to be a Yankee next year.

According to people who have spoken to the eccentric outfielder since he was dealt to L.A. on July 31, Ramirez wants to sign a free-agent deal with the Yankees this offseason and get 19 chances a year to punish Boston.

“He wants to play for the Yankees so he can get at the Red Sox,” a close friend of Ramirez’s told The Post.

Of course, every free agent says he wants to play for the Yankees. They pay well, will always have a chance to make the postseason, and when they show an interest in a free agent, the price from other clubs skyrockets.

Considering Ramirez is represented by Scott Boras, every imaginable angle will be played when the 36-year-old, a product of George Washington High School in Washington Heights, will become a free agent following the World Series.

Yankees GM Brian Cashman would not comment on the situation. Ramirez forced the Red Sox to deal him to the Dodgers by badmouthing the organization, not hustling and sitting out a July 25 game against the Yankees with a knee injury that didn’t show up on an MRI the next day.

Well that’s a big middle finger to the Red Sox now isn’t it? How about the Dodgers, too? Hey thanks for trading for me L.A., but there’s no chance in hell I’m going to re-sign with you because I want to piss off my former team.

Obvious statement of the century: Manny is a nut, regardless of if this report is true or not.