Tag: Los Angeles Dodgers (Page 16 of 30)

      Manny Ramirez, Dodgers have deal in place

      March 4, 2009 /

      My God, it may be finally over.

      According to the Los Angeles Times, free agent Manny Ramirez and the Dodgers have a deal in place on a two-year, $45 million contract and that the outfielder could report to spring training as early as Thursday.

      For those that still have a shred of interest in this story after months of speculation, the Dodgers only upped their offer another $3 mil. Manny and Boras just rejected a two-year, $42 million offer last week, but apparently a two-year, $45 million deal was good enough.

      Awesome.

      There are Americans all over the country losing their jobs hand over fist and these ass clowns (i.e. Boras and Ramirez) put the Dodgers through the ringer for another $3 million? I thought this whole stance by Boras was so that Manny could get at least a three or four year deal? But they eventually broke down and compromised on an extra $3 million? What a joke.

      Good for the Dodgers for never giving in on their two-year offer. They were steadfast all along in that they wouldn’t up the years of their contract offer and they never did.

      Anyway, so the one place Manny was always expected to go was the exact place he wound up. The Dodgers are now the clear favorites to win the weak NL West and as long as their pitching holds up and some of the youngsters produce, they’ll have a great shot at battling the Phillies, Mets and Cubs for a pennant.

      As for the Giants, one has to wonder if they were ever interested in Manny in the first place or if they just feigned interest in order to mess with the Dodgers. They could have pretended to be interested this entire time in order to delay L.A.’s signing of Ramirez just long enough to piss everybody off. After all, it doesn’t appear that they ever made an official offer to Manny.

      But the thing is, GM Brian Sabean isn’t that smart. Chances are, Sabean was interested in Manny the entire time, but just wasn’t willing to pull the trigger with the ghost of Barry Zito’s contract still calling out to him in the dead of the night. Either way, the Giants can continue their rebuilding plan and pray that youngsters Fred Lewis and Pablo Sandoval overachieve this year offensively.

      MLB

      Dodgers, Manny starting fresh in contract talks

      March 2, 2009 /

      According to the L.A. Times, Dodgers’ owner Frank McCourt wants to start fresh contract talks with free agent Manny Ramirez and his agent Scott Boras.

      Manny RamirezMcCourt said the latest phase of negotiations ended the moment agent Scott Boras made him a counterproposal instead of simply accepting or declining an offer the Dodgers made Wednesday of a two-year, $45-million contract with much of the money deferred without any added interest. By Thursday evening, Boras had made two counterproposals, the second one asking for two years at $45 million with an opt-out clause Ramirez could exercise at the end of the first year, only with no deferred salary.

      McCourt on Sunday called that counteroffer “too little too late” and said negotiations would resume with “a fresh start.” He said he stressed to the agent that he had wanted a resolution by Friday because he didn’t want the negotiations to dominate conversation Sunday, the day the Dodgers opened the gates of their new spring training ballpark.

      But why not consider the offer when the two sides appear to be so close?

      “Because we’re going to start from scratch,” McCourt said.

      But why start from scratch when you’re so close?

      “I answered it twice,” McCourt said.

      He looked away from the reporter who asked the question and didn’t say another word until another question was asked by another reporter.

      I don’t like to compare athlete’s contracts to the common man’s salary. Athletes and celebrities live in their own worlds and the money they make doesn’t even seem real. Furthermore, who am I to say what an athlete should or should not ask for when it comes to his salary?

      But even I have to admit that this contract situation between Manny and the Dodgers is absolutely ridiculous. Every day, more Americans lose their jobs across the country and Boras is fighting the Dodgers for $1.5 million. Ramirez is 36 years old, doesn’t play the field that well and quit on the Red Sox last season. It’s insane for him and Boras to argue over $1.5 million when some Americans are working for $7.50 an hour just trying to get by. Ramirez should have to play for free at this point.

      MLB

      Five MLB storylines to watch in 2009

      March 1, 2009 /

      The A-Rod steroid mess is finally boiling over, the World Baseball Classic is fast-approaching and making GMs and managers nervous, and the 2009 regular season is a little over a month away. It’s hard to believe we crowned the Phillies world champs a third of a year ago, but time does fly like Jose Reyes around the bases. With that, let’s look at some interesting questions that beg to be answered in 2009:

      1. Who will be the surprise team this year? Last year it was the Tampa Bay Rays, who not only won the ridiculously competitive AL East, but also beat the Red Sox in the ALCS to reach the World Series, which they eventually lost to the Phillies. In 2007, the Colorado Rockies won 21 of 22 games after September 17, including sweeping the Cubs and D-Backs in the playoffs before losing to Boston in the Fall Classic. In 2006 it was the Cardinals who squeaked into the postseason with an 83-78 record, ultimately winning it all. Who is going to do it this season? Or will it be a big-market, big-money World Series match up such as Yankees/Mets or Red Sox/Cubs? It’s almost impossible to say I told you so at this point to this type of question, but here are the teams I’m telling you to keep an eye on: Indians, A’s, Giants, Marlins.

      2. How will the choking of recent seasons affect the Mets, Cubs and Angels? The Mets’ bullpen imploded two years in a row, and GM Omar Minaya went and picked up not one, but two lights-out closers in K-Rod and JJ Putz. Still, the Mets are not going to have an easy go of things in the NL East, and their lineup and starting rotation are bordering on suspect. The Cubs and Angels keep beating everyone up in the regular season only to flame out early in the playoffs. Do these two teams lack what it takes to win, or has the luck and clutch hitting of other teams been their demise? Honestly, you can’t keep talented teams like these three down for very long, and I expect all of them to be playing deep into October this time around.

      3. Is Manny Ramirez going to play in 2009? Scott Boras keeps dangling his star client out there and keeps upping his asking price. Does this guy not want his commission? Yes, it’s downright irresponsible to try and rape MLB franchises in this economy, but Manny is the one guy in baseball who can shift the balance of power in a division with his insane offensive skills. I think eventually the Dodgers are going to re-sign Manny, but at what price and for how long? And before or after the season starts?

      4. Who is going to win the AL East? You’ve got the mighty Yankees, who went out and bought another 10 or 15 wins by signing CC Sabathia, AJ Burnett and Mark Teixeira. You’ve got the Red Sox, who despite falling short last year against Tampa are still technically the team to beat in the division. And you’ve got the upstart Rays, who no one thought could keep up their winning ways for seven months and did just that. I just think the Sox are too talented and the Rays are going to drop to second or even third place in 2009, and I think the Yankees are going to make the playoffs but not win the division. Money just can’t buy team chemistry, ever.

      5. Will Tim Lincecum be as brilliant in 2009 as he was in 2008? Or will his arm fall off? This kid, and he’s a 25 year old who looks like he’s 17, has some of the nastiest stuff in the majors and ran away with the NL Cy Young Award last year by going 18-5 with a 2.62 ERA and 265 strikeouts in 227 innings. You want perspective? The Giants only won 72 games last year, so Lincecum had a quarter of their wins. That’s just insane. But history shows that guys like this can’t keep it up long-term unless they’re named Clemens or Smoltz. I see another great season in 2009 but I’d temper expectations beyond that. And the Giants may just sneak into the playoffs in a less-than-stellar NL West this year.

      Bullz-Eye Sports Channel, Fantasy Baseball, MLB

      Dodgers offer Manny two-year, $45 million contract

      February 26, 2009 /

      The Dodgers officially offered free agent Manny Ramirez a two-year, $45 million contract. Details below.

      Manny RamirezMLB.com has learned that in the 2 1/2-hour meeting, the Dodgers officials offered Ramirez a variation of their original two-year deal, guaranteeing $45 million for two years ($25 million the first year and $20 million the second).

      Boras told the Los Angeles Times that he’s “in the middle of negotiations” and would not comment further.

      However, the third-year option of $15 million from the first proposal was dropped and, at Boras’ request, the second year is a player option so Ramirez could become a free agent again after the 2009 season.

      Ramirez, 37 in May, originally sought a contract length of six years at a salary in the Alex Rodriguez neighborhood ($27.5 million a year). The Dodgers initially offered two years at $45 million plus a $15 million third-year option. They also offered salary arbitration, then made a one-year offer of $25 million.

      Unless the Yankees get involved or the Giants decide to get gutsy at the last minute, this offer from the Dodgers is the best Ramirez is going to get. L.A. isn’t going to extend the amount of years on the contract and the money is fair. This appears to be a take-it-or-leave-it deal for Manny and Scott Boras.

      MLB

      Manny to the Yankees still alive?

      February 25, 2009 /

      John Tomase of the Boston Herald writes that as long as Manny Ramirez is still available, the Yankees should never be counted out as a potential suitor.

      Which brings us back to Ramirez. He has been linked mainly with the Dodgers, with talks reportedly intensifying in the past week. However, he and agent Scott Boras are stubbornly holding out for a four-year deal, while LA is unwilling to offer more than two.

      So the clock ticks, with the Yankees sunning themselves like a rattlesnake. Maybe they’ll stay coiled and motionless, but maybe they’ll take their seemingly limitless cash and strike.

      “I can’t see it,” Youkilis said. “I only see him really going to LA. The Dodgers will sign him. Maybe San Francisco. I think the Yankees are capped out. They’ve spent all that money, and I can’t see them going after Manny. But you never know with the Yankees.”

      Youkilis notes that New York’s outfield already is overflowing with Hideki Matsui, Johnny Damon, Xavier Nady, Nick Swisher, Melky Cabrera and youngster Brett Gardner. Matsui will DH while he recovers from knee surgery and Damon is set in left field, leaving four players fighting for two spots.

      Could the Yankees really add Ramirez to that cluster?

      Hell yes they could. They’re the Yankees – they can do anything.

      The idea seems farfetched with the Dodgers seemingly on the verge of bringing him back, but would anyone be surprised if the Bombers stepped in at the last second and handed Manny the long-term contract he covets? No.

      And if they needed room for him, they’d make it.

      MLB, Rumors & Gossip

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