Category: MLB (Page 270 of 448)

      Report: Manny turns down one-year deal from Dodgers

      February 3, 2009 /

      According to the Los Angeles Times, the Dodgers offered free agent Manny Ramirez a one-year contract worth $25 million, but his agent Scott Boras rejected it.

      I have no other details, other than that Scott met with Ned Colletti late tonight and told him Manny wouldn’t accept the Dodgers’ one-year, $25 million offer. Not sure exactly what this means, but it wouldn’t shock me if this is the end of it and the Dodgers simply move on. And if that happens, who knows where Manny will end up and when he will get there? More on this tomorrow, I’m sure.

      This situation seems to be going nowhere fast. Neither side is willing to budge in what it wants, and this might be the final straw for the Dodgers. Watch what Colletti and the Dodgers do over the next couple days. They might make a move for Bobby Abreu and officially end the dance with Manny. Or they could continue to ride this thing out, but with pitchers and catchers due to report soon that seems unlikely.

      MLB

      Phillies still in talks with Ryan Howard about new contract

      February 2, 2009 /

      Even though salary arbitration hearings are set to begin Monday in Phoenix, the Phillies are still hoping that they can avoid the process and sign Ryan Howard to a new contract.

      Ryan HowardHoward, who led the majors in homers (153) and RBIs (431) over the last three seasons, is seeking a 2009 salary of $18 million. The Phillies have offered $14 million, a raise of $4 million over the $10 million Howard won in salary arbitration last year.

      If an agreement is not reached, an arbitration panel will listen to arguments from both sides and pick either the team’s or the player’s figure. There is no middle ground.

      “We’re still hopeful of avoiding [a hearing],” Phils general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. “Our goal remains the same – get an equitable deal done.”

      Amaro said the team and Howard’s representative, Casey Close, have been involved in contract discussions. Amaro would not say whether the two sides were discussing a multiyear contract or a one-year deal. The Phillies unsuccessfully tried to sign Howard to a multiyear deal each of the last two off-seasons. Howard, 29, can not be a free agent until after the 2011 season.

      There were indications last winter that the Phils were willing to give Howard a contract in line with the seven-year, $85 million deal that Chase Utley got in January 2007. Howard’s side has likely set $200 million as its target.

      So, despite efforts to get a deal done in the days that remain before a hearing, this one seems headed back to the table.

      Howard asked for $18 million in arbitration, which is the second highest ever for an arbitration-eligible player behind Derek Jet’s $18.5 million request in 2001. If the Phillies can’t work out a long-term deal, then Howard will likely eclipse that mark next year.

      MLB

      Giants still a candidate for Manny?

      January 31, 2009 /

      According to Buster Olney’s latest column, the Giants might still be interested in free agent Manny Ramirez. (If they were even interested in the first place, that is.)

      Manny RamirezLo and behold, the Giants have emerged as a player in this bidding. But it remains to be seen whether they are going to be shoving big chips at Ramirez, or if they’re just hanging in the thing to position themselves in the event Ramirez gets so frustrated with the Dodgers that he’ll walk away from L.A., at any price. It’s possible the Giants are not really bidding up Ramirez, but just hoping that a Hall of Fame bargain with a chip on his shoulder drops in their lap.

      Executives with other teams do not believe the Giants are serious players in the Manny bidding. They think San Francisco’s real intent is to keep the Dodgers honest, to force them to give Ramirez at least a two-year deal. And if somehow Ramirez gets angered by the Dodgers’ level of interest and decides to deliver himself to their division rival, well, all the better for the Giants.

      So basically, we know now what we knew three weeks ago about the Giants: they might be interested…but they might not be interested. Sweet.

      MLB

      Urine sample could prove Bonds used other steroids

      January 29, 2009 /

      Barry Bonds might be able to hide behind his lies for the time being, but he can’t run from damning urine samples.

      Citing a person who has reviewed the evidence in the case, The New York Times reported on Wednesday that authorities detected anabolic steroids in urine samples linked to Bonds that they gathered in their investigation.

      Bonds testified to a federal grand jury in 2003 that he used the “cream” and the “clear” but did not know that they were performance-enhancing drugs. The urine samples could prove the existence of other steroids in his body.

      During that testimony, Bonds was asked if he ever took steroids, and he answered no. The government alleges that Bonds lied under oath. His perjury trial is scheduled to begin March 2.

      Before anyone gets up in arms about steroids, steroid use and everything else pertaining to steroids, Bonds isn’t in trouble because he used riods, he’s in trouble because he supposedly lied under oath to a federal grand jury. This isn’t about steroids – it’s about Bonds lying, and it looks like federal investigators are building an airtight case.

      MLB

      Bill Simmons: Manny Ramirez is underrated

      January 28, 2009 /

      ESPN.com’s “Sports Guy” Bill Simmons writes that Manny Ramirez is vastly underrated.

      Manny Ramirez…Forget the sheer entertainment value that comes from following Manny on a daily basis. Just look at the stats. He’s three quality seasons away—90 HRs, 300 RBIs, 550 hits and a .900 OPS—from becoming the greatest righthanded hitter ever. Add those to his career numbers, and he’s sitting in the top 10 in career OPS and slugging, the top three in RBIs, the top seven in homers and closing in on 3,000 hits. And no one who saw him in all his Ruthian glory with the Dodgers last summer or reach base 24 of 36 times in October can honestly say he’s washed up. Say he tanked it in Boston, but only after you concede that he played 22 of 24 games for them in July and had the best offensive month of anyone on a team he was allegedly quitting on.

      Whatever. The guy was created to hit baseballs. Even at 36, he can perform this task at an abnormally high level, make any decent team good and any good team great. And yet nobody wants him after his messy divorce with Boston—a divorce that, by the way, the Red Sox cannot escape without blame. Manny gave them seven quality years and two titles, and they yanked him around in Year 8. No, he didn’t handle it well; I’m not sure I would have handled it well either.

      So he’s spent the winter sitting on the open market like a sofa on Craigslist. The Angels, who need him more than anyone, claim they’re fine with Juan Rivera. Really? Juan Rivera? That’s what you’re telling your fans? I don’t get it.

      All I can tell you is this: Manny is immensely fun to watch day in and day out. He’s a monster offensive force, a historic one, even. And he is exceedingly, incredibly available. He will draw fans to any ballpark, and nobody is interested. You can say it’s because he’s a cancer; I say it’s because he’s unequivocally underrated. He will soon find a team and prove one of us right.

      And it’s going to be me.

      To me, underrated means that a player is better than what is perceived of him by the general public. (The general public being fans and the media.)

      Therefore, Manny isn’t underrated. Everyone knows he’s one of the best hitters baseball has ever seen and everyone knows that his offensive numbers are phenomenal. If people only focused on his goofy behavior and his bad defense, then I would say that he’s underrated. But they don’t. The majority of the public always rushes to say that Manny is an offensive juggernaut.

      Simmons is reaching here and what’s funny is that he’s setting himself up for a future column. He knows a determined Manny will produce next season no matter where he ends up and when he does, Simmons can say, “See! I told you this guy was underrated!”

      No, he’s always been that good. Everyone knows that.

      MLB

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