Isotope Manny

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- Los Angeles Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez was welcomed back to baseball with rousing cheers. In the minor leagues, anyway.

Ramirez, easing back into playing shape after a 50-game drug suspension, suited up for the Albuquerque Isotopes as they beat Nashville 1-0. Ramirez wore No. 99 for the Dodgers' top farm club.

click here to read article

MY TAKE ON THIS. If you are suspended, you shouldn't be allowed to get into shape on a Minor League team. Let's get real, MLB.

Manny wants to come back......

to Cleveland. Manny Ramirez will be back in Los Angeles Monday to renew his love affair with the city, but before his career ends he hopes to be reunited with his first love: the Cleveland Indians.

"I would like to play for Cleveland one more time, to go back where I started," said Ramirez, with the Dodgers playing their home opener Monday against the San Francisco Giants at Dodger Stadium. "I have so many good memories there, why not? click here to read rest of story

MY TAKE ON THIS. Manny being Manny. Good riddance.

Papelbon calls Manny a 'cancer'

He tries to get out, but they keep pulling him back in.

Manny Ramirez can't seem to stay out of the headlines in Boston.

In the latest go-around in Mannyland, Red Sox closer Jonathan Papelbon takes some shots at Manny and even breaks out the "C" word to describe him in an interview in the April issue of Esquire magazine. In the article, he touches on many Manny topics, including Ramirez's suspicious injuries and the physical confrontation with Red Sox traveling secretary Jack McCormick.

"It just takes one guy to bring an entire team down, and that's exactly what was happening," Papelbon was quoted as saying in the interview with Esquire's Chris Jones. "Once we saw that, we weren't afraid to get rid of him. It's like cancer. That what he was. Cancer. He had to go. It sucked, but that was the only scenario that was going to work."

Papelbon said Ramirez wasn't on the same page as the rest of the team.
"The beautiful thing about our team is, we don't let anybody get above the team," Papelbon said. "He wasn't on the same train as the rest of us....We got rid of him and we moved on without him. That comes from the manager, and it comes from guys like Jason Varitek and Tim Wakefield and David Ortiz. "

"So Manny was tough for us. You have somebody like him, you know at any point in the ball game, he can dictate the outcome of the game. And for him not to be on the same page as the rest of the team was a killer, man!" Ramirez recently signed a two-year deal with the Dodgers worth $45 million. It will be interesting to see if he responds to Papelbon's comments.

MY TAKE ON THIS: I always said that he was a cancer and hoped that he could change his funky attitude. Somedays we had 'Super-Manny' playing and other days it was 'Manny being Manny'. Just like Cracker-Jax.... surprise in every box, you never know what you're going to get. The 'c' word? First time I ever heard that expression. Pap's is right, but he shouldn't speak for others because the Sox players will eventually get tired of this routine. Just speak for himself without mentioning anybody else's name. I am certain that the Red Sox have sessions on how to deal with the media, etc., and it looks like he is going to need some remedial training. Great, great pitcher, but he should just let his arm do the talking.

Manny

The Dodgers have reportedly offered Manny Ramirez a two-year, $45 million contract.
The reported deal would pay Ramirez $25 million in 2009 with a $20 million player option for 2010. The Dodgers are expecting a response from Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras.

MY TAKE ON THIS. I think he's going to sign very shortly. He doesn't like 'long' Spring Training camps anyhow, so I would expect him to make an appearance at their camp in about 10 days. Actually, I sometimes wish that the Red Sox would resign him, but that is out of the question. Most of the players on the Sox never want to see him set foot in the clubhouse after what he did to us. They'd probably turn off the lights and beat the heck out of him and that is what he deserves.

I know after Manny went to the Dodger's we all were checking the boxscores....looking for a 3 or 4 in the 'so' column and for zeroes's in the 'h' column. But unfortunately, it didn't happen that way. We certainly were not hoping that he did well in LA. Gosh, if he had done that hitting for us, many Sox players would now have 3 rings on their fingers.

The Manny Ramirez Sage

Yankees may be in market for Manny Ramirez
Nothing concrete here, just mere speculation. Today's New York Post suggests the New York Yankees may be in the market for Manny Ramirez. For those wondering whether Manny Ramirez ties in with Brian Cashman's goal of building a younger team, the Post writes.

Manny Ramirez doesn't fit the New York 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.The Dodgers have offered Ramirez $60 million over two years, but according the Post it's likely he'll seek out something around the $80 million mark.

Dodgers offer Manny $60 for 2 years

The Dodgers have offered Manny Ramirez a two-year deal worth $60 million to remain in Los Angeles.

But are the Dodgers serious about having Ramirez return or mollifying their fans?
According to a person familiar with the Dodgers' thinking, the offer was designed to appease the team's fan base rather than actually retain Ramirez, who saved the Dodgers' season with two sizzling months in which he batted .396 with 17 homers and 53 RBIs in 53 games and continued to mash in the postseason, batting .520 with four homers and 10 RBIs in eight games.
According to the person, the Dodgers know the 36-year-old and his agent, Scott Boras, are looking for a long-term deal - at least four years - and will certainly reject the two-year offer.
By having the offer leak out, the Dodgers hope that fans who fell quickly in love with Ramirez would believe the organization was making an extreme, good-faith effort to sign him, and that Ramirez and Boras simply wanted too much to be retained.

The Manny Ramirez Saga

Dodgers may show Manny the money, but years are another story

According to SI.com's Jon Heyman, the Dodgers are motivated to meet Manny Ramirez's salary demands, but only as part of a short-term deal.

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. -- The Dodgers appear willing to meet or come close to superstar free agent Manny Ramirez's annual salary target but are strongly disinclined from acceding to his wish for a deal of five or six years, people familiar with the club's thinking tell SI.com.

One person who's spoken to Dodgers people suggested that the team is considering proposing a contract that may come close to matching Alex Rodriguez's record $27.5-million average annual salary but on a much shorter term, perhaps only two years. That person hinted he could see the Dodgers even exceeding A-Rod's salary, as long as the length of the deal was to their liking.

Dodgers GM Ned Colletti said he didn't want to say too much about their thinking until after the team had a chance to meet with Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras. But Collettti did say, "We don't have too many six-year deals,'' a reference to Ramirez's own public proclamations that he is shooting for a six-year deal. The Dodgers actually have no six-year deals; but they don't have any other players like Ramirez, either.

The Phillies, Yankees, Blue Jays, Mets, Orioles and Rangers are all seen as potential suitors for Ramirez, who hit .396 with 17 home runs and 53 RBIs in 53 games with the Dodgers and .332 with 37 home runs and 121 RBIs overall in the regular season. Ramirez has proven to be one of the game's two or three most dangerous hitters, and perhaps its most clutch hitter (he was otherworldly in the postseason, hitting .520 with four home runs and 10 RBIs even though opposing teams were pitching around him)

"McCarver's right" says Karros on Manny

Despicable? Once we've wiped all the spit off the salad bar shield following Tim McCarver's disarming, delicious description of Manny Ramirez's recent performance in Boston before he came to the Dodgers we wondered if former Dodgers first baseman Eric Karros would use the same word to sum up the situation.

He didn't have to since McCarver had already thrown it out there. "He's absolutely right," Karros said of McCarver's adjectivication over Ramirez's lack of committment when playing for the Boston Red Sox before his trade to the Dodgers in late July. "There is nothing worse as far as being athlete than you can do to a fellow player and not going out and playing, or pulling yourself out of a game, and that's essentially what he did. And the guys on that team voted him off the island. That's a fact."

Karros is referencing, of course, the situation Ramirez had when he was accused of not running out ground balls, complaining about injuries so he could stay out of a game, even not remembering which knee was hurting him. None of his Red Sox teammates clamored for him to stay. On top of that, Ramirez had an incident where he pushed down and roughed up a 60-plus year old traveling secretary over a ticket dispute.

MY TAKE ON THIS: Manny is a scumbag who quit on us. Unfortunately, he'll be okay for the next couple years. He was here 2 years too many.

Report: Manny wants 5 years, $85 million

The Rocky Mountain News reports that "agent Scott Boras has let it be known through his media outlets that the expectation is for at least five years and $85 million in a deal for" Manny Ramirez.

A five-year contract would involve committing to Ramirez through his age-41 season, so that's going to be a very tough sell. Something along the lines of three years and $50 million seems more likely

If Sox win, Manny gets a ring

Because Manny 'trader scumbag, etc' Ramirez was with the Red Sox for part of the regular season, he will be given a World Series ring should they win the Series. Do you think that he would actually wear it?

CEO Larry Lucchino Heading for L.A.?

Lucchino, Epstein headed for breakup in Boston? One big part of the Red Sox championship teams has already moved from Boston to the Dodgers. Could another be on the way?
People in high places in baseball are starting to speculate about whether this could be the last season together for the highly successful yet increasingly uncomfortable front-office tandem of GM Theo Epstein and president/CEO Larry Lucchino, and one logical ending would have Lucchino joining Manny Ramirez in Los Angeles. It's all speculation now, but it's not all that farfetched.

Despite the well-documented difficulties and differences of Epstein and Lucchino -- Lucchino is said by people familiar with the just-departed Ramirez soap opera to have been much more committed to keeping Ramirez, no matter how badly the man-child superstar behaved and how much he risked undermining the clubhouse -- the two innovative Yalies have engineered this Red Sox renaissance and combined to bring two World Series titles to the previously star-crossed and storied organization. Yet there is burgeoning talk among baseball's elite that the end of their baseball relationship could be at hand.

Epstein's rise in stature from boy wonder to one of baseball's best GMs has brought him considerable cache and clout. So it's no surprise that baseball people believe he's more likely to be in position to win any potential power play if he desires, especially with his three-year contract expiring after this year. When Epstein's previous contract ran out after the 2005 season he was very nearly gone for good -- and he did actually leave for a few weeks, exiting Fenway Park disguised in a monkey suit to avoid reporters the day he announced his resignation -- but club owner John Henry lured him back for three more years with a seven-figure salary and the promise of greater autonomy.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/08/11/heyman.lucchino/

Manny Wants to be a Yankee?

Posted: Saturday August 09, 2008 07:47AM ET
Having successfully orchestrated his divorce from Boston and his landing in with the Dodgers, Manny Ramirez would like to make life miserable for the Red Sox during the next few seasons. 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.

MY TAKE ON THIS: Great distraction for the Yankees. Only a few teams can afford him for a whole season. Boras doesn't care.... he's going to make millions off him where ever he goes. The only way he wouldn't stand to make money would to have had the Red Sox pick up Manny's option for the next two years.

SCHILL: Keeping Manny could be a problem.

Interesting article on Boston.com. Read what Curt has to say on a number of issues regarding Manny, Boras, etc. Believe what you may. Sometimes Schill has too much to say at times, but he pretty much puts it on the line.

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/extras/extra_bases/2008/07/schilling_sheds.html

Selig's Investigation.

This Bud's for you!! Don't really know where this thing is going to lead. We all pretty much know the circumstances leading to his departure. Let's review it for a second:

Here's why Selig's office is looking into the matter: The Red Sox had an option to retain Ramírez in 2009 for $20 million. They had the same option for 2010. Ramírez, who will turn 37 next season, wanted to be a free agent at the end of this season. His agent wanted the same thing. Boras inherited Ramírez's old contract and stood to earn nothing until Manny signed a new one. It was in the interest of the player and the agent to have the options dropped. Manny's only leverage was withholding services and playing at half speed. So that's what he did. Sitting out games against Seattle and the Yankees, jogging down the first base line (and maybe even looking at those three strikes against Mariano Rivera), he sent the message that he wanted out. He made sure the Sox knew he could not be trusted to play hard if they kept him until the end of the season with the options intact.


MY TAKE ON THIS. Manny played dirty pool with us and tanked it occasionally. So, if they determine that he did indeed do all this stuff, what can they do?Obviously, they can not suspend him and stick it to the Dodgers. They can't send him back to the Red Sox. However, they can fine him some ridicuously low amount...$25,000, which would mean nothing to him. Or they can suspend him for the first 60 games of 2009. He's going to be a free agent and this will definitely effect his negotiations. Steinbrenner can afford it. Probably where he will end up....3 years, $90 million? What would Jeter and ARob think of that?

What's fair is fair. Actually they should impose sanctions on Boras. This is a very touchy situation because we have a number of players under Boras.

Manny Manny Manny - Investigation!!

LOS ANGELES - Manny Mania is all the rage in Southern California. Manny Ramírez is crushing the ball. He says he wants to finish his career in California. The Dodgers are getting ready to market Manny caps complete with dreadlocks. The local media love Manny. Agent Scott Boras is smiling. It's enough to make a Red Sox fan's blood boil.

Manny is hitting .565 (13 for 23) with four home runs and nine RBIs in six games since being traded by the Red Sox. He initially said he was going to cut his hair, but that seems unlikely now. When the Dodgers return home next week, fans will be able to purchase brown and/or blue dreadlocks from stadium stores. The team will also sell blue skull caps and Dodger caps with sewn-in dreads. It's the Full Manny. "He's kind of brought a new life to our team," Dodgers catcher Russell Martin told the Los Angeles Times. "Everybody on the bench is looser and having more fun

ESPN's Jim Rome? Reporting "live from Los Angeles," Rome said Man-Ram coming to SoCal might be the happiest moment of his life, other than his wedding day and when his children were born. The network's poll of memorable images from the past week put Manny's opening press conference photo at No. 1 - ahead of all the Brett Favre stuff.

Feeling a little duped, Red Sox Nation? Still wondering if this whole thing was on the level?
You are not alone. The commissioner's office is investigating the circumstances of Manny's final hours with the Red Sox. The Globe has learned (from a source with direct knowledge of the inquiry) that Bud Selig directed Major League Baseball executive vice president Rob Manfred to contact all parties for an explanation of how things unfolded around last week's trading deadline. According to the source, Manfred has yet to report back to the commissioner.

Here's why Selig's office is looking into the matter:
The Red Sox had an option to retain Ramírez in 2009 for $20 million. They had the same option for 2010. Ramírez, who will turn 37 next season, wanted to be a free agent at the end of this season. His agent wanted the same thing. Boras inherited Ramírez's old contract and stood to earn nothing until Manny signed a new one. It was in the interest of the player and the agent to have the options dropped.

Manny's only leverage was withholding services and playing at half speed. So that's what he did. Sitting out games against Seattle and the Yankees, jogging down the first base line (and maybe even looking at those three strikes against Mariano Rivera), he sent the message that he wanted out. He made sure the Sox knew he could not be trusted to play hard if they kept him until the end of the season with the options intact.

MY TAKE ON THIS: This Bud's for you!! I don't care what Manny is doing in LA. They probably might not even make the playoffs. Mud in your face. Manny pulled this garbage all the time and everybody was tired of it. He was the one bringing the whole team and franchise down. He wanted to hold us hostage and he did. Luckily and fortunately for us, he shot his way out of town, but I do believe that he has shot himself in the foot. Every week, we had several issues with the man with the ugly hair. He will come down to earth. The guy has some kind of mental affliction and he is not seeking psychiatric treatment, so it's a matter of time before he goes bananas again. Perhaps when the Dodgers get eliminated from the race, he'll come up with one of his patented 'Manny being Manny' phony injuries and then we all can say together...."we told you so."

Red Sox, Lester, Papi, Manny topple Yankees 9-2

July 27. BOSTON. MA --Manny Ramirez might be happier if the Red Sox traded him. On Sunday night he showed why they shouldn't. Love him or hate him.

The quirky slugger caused a pregame stir by saying he'd be open to a deal. Then he went 3-for-5 with two doubles and two RBIs in a revived Boston offense that ruined the New York Yankees perfect post-All-Star break record with a 9-2 win. Curious comments and stinging line drives -- just Manny being Manny.

lot of things," Mike Lowell said. "Some of them are entertaining. Some of them make you roll your eyes and spin your head. But it seems like every time after he says something he goes 3-for-4 so maybe we should encourage him to say something like that." Trading their cleanup hitter, who is 22-for-47 in his last 13 games, seems unlikely for a team just one game behind AL East leader Tampa Bay and two ahead of third-place New York, which is 8-1 since the All-Star Game. In his third game since missing 45 with a left wrist injury, Ortiz went 2-for-4 with a two-run homer and three RBIs.

Jon Lester (9-3) stayed unbeaten since his last loss on May 25 with his sixth win in nine starts despite working out of trouble in four of the first five innings. He could relax with a 7-0 lead after four. Boston finished with 15 hits.

Now he's a guaranteed out

Shaughnessy: Sox are fed up with Manny(Boston Globe) Sports columnist Dan Shaughnessy discusses the absence of left fielder Manny Ramirez, and what that could mean for the left fielder's future with the club. By Chona Camomot, Globe Staff

The Red Sox have had it with Manny Ramírez. Manny has punched his ticket out of town. It's over. O-VA. Adios, amigo. Good night, Irene. Turn out the lights. Last night's 1-0 loss to the Yankees (think they could have used Manny?) was the proverbial last worthless evening.
Ramírez sealed his fate with the club yesterday afternoon. After longtime enabler Terry Francona filled out a lineup card with Manny batting fourth, the Sox made an announcement that Manny could not play in the biggest game of the season. Seems there were problems with his right knee. Manny was a late scratch.

It was extraordinary. In the past, management and the manager would do handstands to excuse Manny's strange acts. No more. This time, the manager - apparently confident there's nothing wrong with the slugger - put Manny's name in the lineup, then sat and waited for Manny to pull himself out of the lineup. Manny complied. Never concerned with wins or losses, Manny told Brad Mills he was unable to play and took himself out of the batting order for the (thus far) biggest game of the season.

It was predictable. It was ridiculous. It was the last straw. Former state treasurer Bob Crane happened by the EMC Club, pregame, and spoke for many fans when he said, "Manny's got to go. Enough's enough. Fans are finally sick of this guy."

The possibility exists that Manny truly has a sore right knee. No one can get inside the head of an athlete and evaluate game-readiness. If Manny's knee is killing him, there is no way for us to know, and we are wildly unfair to question his condition. I'm willing to take that chance. I don't believe him. Call me a cynic. Call me a nitwit. Whatever. I'm comfortable with the theory that Manny is using his alleged knee injury to send a message to the ball club. We don't know why. We never know why. Manny shut it down in 2006 and he's toying with the Red Sox again. In the middle of a pennant race. It is despicable. And the front office and his teammates are burning. Off the record, of course.

Ramírez had an MRI yesterday and it was clean. This time, the Sox plan to do something about this situation. Soon.

MY TAKE ON THIS: Good bye Mr. Bum-irez. Hit the road, Jack. Don't come back, Mack. Take your rack, grab your sack and never turn back!!!! Let's proclaim today as 'farewell Manny' day. Don't forget to file your new mailing address with the Post Office on Monday.

Joba outduels Beckett; Sox drop a squeaker 1-0

July 25, 2008. BOSTON, MA -- The Red Sox dropped a tough one to the Yankees last night 1-0 in what turned out to be a pitcher's duel between Josh Beckett and Joba Chamberlain.

David Ortiz was back. Josh Beckett was pitching for the Red Sox. The Fenway Park crowd was pumped up for the renewal of the rivalry with the Yankees.

None of that bothered Joba Chamberlain. The right-hander took another big step in his transition from the bullpen to the rotation with his best major league start as surging New York beat Boston 1-0 Friday night for its seventh straight win. The third-place Yankees pulled within two of Boston and stayed three back of AL East-leading Tampa Bay, which won 5-3 at Kansas City. New York also bolstered its bullpen and lineup, acquiring outfielder Xavier Nady and left-hander Damaso Marte from the Pittsburgh Pirates.

For New York, Chamberlain's effort and the added help made it a big night.
"I've had quality starts against everybody," Chamberlain bragged. "You understand it's going to be a tough game. He [Beckett] is an unbelievable pitcher. He battles and claws."

"I was the second-best pitcher today," Beckett said, "and ultimately that gets you a loss most of the time." Chamberlain has allowed three runs or less in all 10 starts this year. On Friday, he gave up three singles -- one to Ortiz, who missed the previous 45 games with a left wrist injury -- and struck out nine in a career-high seven innings.

"He matched Beckett inning for inning," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said.

MY TAKE ON THIS: We are in biggg trouble and we need to take the final 2 games of this series. We can not let the Yankees leave Fenway Pock on Sunday night tied with us. This is truly a 3-team race and we have the least momentum out of those teams. We could find ourselves 5 games behind the Yankees and Ray in the next 10 days or so. Manny didn't even pinch-hit in this game, so that probably tells you something right there. Could be out for the weekend. Hopefully, he won't be DL'd. We are in big trouble. Get out the pooper-scoopers!!! Good bye, Manny. Hope you last until game 4 of this year's World Series. We need to have you against the Mets. After that....you are gone-a-mundo!!! I guess you'll get a 4-year $100M deal someplace.

Ichiro

Ichiro Suzuki. Great ballplayer. Had he played his entire career in the Majors, he would have put up some unbelieveable stats. He's approaching the 3,000 hit plateau for his career(s). Fortunately or unfortunately, J.D. Drew has put together his best season and he will be a mainstay out there in right field beside Jacoby Ellsbury and 'what's his name' for the time being. The Mariner's could be moving Ichiro, but I doubt it. If JD had a dismal season, they we would now be looking for a right fielder and we would not have depended on a PawSox call-up. Gosh, could you imagine a lineup like Ellsbury (batting 9th), Suzuki, Pedroia, Papi, Manny, Youk, etc. I think that Ichiro would have really fired up this club and it would have been a cakewalk through the World Serious. But nonetheless, our lineup is pretty darn good right now with a couple glaring holes....shortstop and a non-hitting, waiting to come around Jason Vari-technical difficulties. Oh, cripes, I've got to stop 'Bermanizing' peoples names.

But tell me something people...haven't you noticed that Ichiro pretty much 'accentuates' every catch, jump, dive out there in the outfield and also while batting. Kind of like, 'hey, I'm cool' and trying to put on a show everytime the cameras are on him. He's not 'hi-fiving' fans out there like somebody we know, but he always throws in that extra, un-needed twist, jump, turn after catching the ball to make fans think was more of a sensational catch. It guess it's all about showtime and being entertaining. You don't see JD doing that crap and Ellsbury just does what comes natural. And the other guy....well, every time he goes for the ball, you move to the edge of your seat, because he could end up diving, rolling around and then laying on the ball.

Manny this, Manny that...

Personally, I am sick and tired of all these Manny-erisms. I can understand the Sox' management for trying to put off these issues until the end of the season, when they decide not to renew his contract. Manny is not going to play for the Red Sox next season... you can take it to the bank. He thinks everything he does is cute, funny, etc..... pops out of windows on the scoreboard, running over to the bathroom back there, Hi-fiving fans after catching the ball, diving for a ball and rolling all over the place while coming to rest on the ball. This crap just isn't funny anymore and I hope that management will stop kissing his ass. We don't need him. He's not producing like he once did and he thinks he doesn't have to.

I got news for you Mr. Ramirez. We appreciate your help in getting to the World Series twice along with any other contribution you decide to give this season, but as far as I'm concerned, do it some place else. The Sox will have no problem filling your spot in the lineup. It was a lot of fun during the several years you were here, but you have worn out your welcome. Adios. Sayonarra, etc. etc. etc.