Tag: Manny Ramirez (Page 13 of 26)

      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

      Manny placed on the back burner for Giants

      February 24, 2009 /

      The Giants waning interest in Manny Ramirez is fading even more these days.

      Manny RamirezGeneral manager Brian Sabean says Ramirez is “back burner” for his team, and other Giants people suggest that unless negotiations break down with the Dodgers and Ramirez is willing to go to San Francisco for something like a one-year, $20 million deal, they’re not getting him.
      Remember, the Dodgers have already offered $25 million for one year.

      The Giants don’t seem inclined to beat that, and from all indications so far they haven’t tried. The Giants don’t seem overly concerned that Ramirez will sign with their division rival, presumably because they’ve expected that to happen and because they’re not willing to outbid the Dodgers.

      Could the Giants be bluffing? Sure, although as their other winter moves suggest, they’re more a strike-fast team when they really want a player.

      Truth be told, I don’t think the Giants were ever interested in Manny. I think they faked interest to screw with the Dodgers but now that spring training is set to commence, they can’t be bothered with this story anymore. They have a young left fielder in Fred Lewis that is coming off his best season as a pro and they want to get him more at bats. They overpaid centerfielder Aaron Rowand last year, rightfielder Randy Winn is a .300 hitter and Dave Roberts is an adequate fourth outfielder. Throw corner outfield prospect Nate Schierholtz into the mix and there’s just no room for Manny. And outside of his big bat, not much of a need either.

      It’s only a matter of time before Ramirez is a Dodger again. L.A. has to give a little more, while Manny and Scott Boras have to take a little less. But either way, the Dodgers are the only team that Man-Ram will be playing for in ’09.

      MLB, Rumors & Gossip

      Dunn and Abreu are off the market – is Manny next?

      February 12, 2009 /

      With Bobby Abreu set to sign a one-year deal with the Angels and Adam Dunn set on a two-year contract with the Nationals, one would assume that Manny Ramirez’s name will be the next to come off the free agent market.

      Rumor has it that Abreu and Dunn were the Dodgers’ backup plan if they couldn’t work out a deal with Ramirez, although according to L.A. GM Ned Colletti, that has never been the case.

      Manny RamirezRamirez stands alone among available sluggers now. Adam Dunn and Bobby Abreu are off the market, Dunn gone to the Washington Nationals and Abreu to the Angels, two signings greeted with a shrug at Chavez Ravine.

      “I don’t expect them to impact us,” Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti said.

      It’s Manny or nothing for the Dodgers. They never said anything different. There appears to be Manny money in the budget, reserved for him, not intended to be spent otherwise.

      I think everybody is going to need a hard drink after this situation is over. I don’t even know what to write anymore. This is like watching two chip leaders at a poker game and neither of them wants to put the other one in. Somebody (the Giants) should just walk up to the table and flip the whole damn thing over and end this charade.

      MLB

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