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AP Photo Gene J. Puskar
The Los Angeles Dodgers are hoping the third time is the charm when it comes to contract proposals given to Manny Ramirez.
The LA Times Dylan Hernandez published a story at 5:18 pm Pacific time Wednesday evening, that the Dodgers have once again asked Manny to complete them.
The deal is a hybrid of the previous two offers made by Los Angeles thus far. This is a "two-year" deal worth a total of $45 million. The structure of the deal is slightly unique, being that it's the same one-year $25 million pact offered earlier this month with a player option for 2010 which would be worth $20 million if exercised by Ramirez.
We'll see how this unfolds, but it has the feeling of the real thing.
Dodger owner Frank McCourt, previously best known for pioneering Boston's infamous 'Big Dig', has been more involved in the discussions the past week.
Now Scott Boras will present the offer to his client, and likely any other team who will take a look. That list of potential pawns of negotiation likely begins and ends with the Giants.
From my perspective the Giants have a chance here, and as I've said before if Larry Baer and Brian Sabean were to have mapped this scenario out in November, it would look pretty similar to what's transpired up to this point.
Manny desperately wants a third year. The Giants could sweep in with a three-year deal in the neighborhood of $50 to $60 million and probably stand a good shot. Ultimately he wants dollars and years, and the Giants could beat the Dodgers in both categories without saddling themselves with a Zito 2.0 type of contract.
Of course, there's no indication of this even being considered. And the Giants continue to play coy, assuming they are playing at all. Sabean said last week that Manny was on the "back burner." Perhaps it's Sabean telling a reporter to get over it, but it could be him posturing.
This is more like how the Giants traditionally do things. They don't talk about deals before they happen, period. Zito was a surprise, the Matt Williams trade was a shock, and Bonds was the best-kept secret in the history of big-name free-agent signings. We'll know which column this Manny saga will fall into soon.
There is likely one fellow happier than anyone about this news: the Dodgers' ticket salesperson who left a voice mail for a prospective client that included "a little insider info." The unnamed Dodger employee was hoping to close a deal by promising Manny to a Dodger fan who was less than impressed by the prospects of a Ramirez-less Dodger team. The team later confirmed that the voice mail was not based on facts just excitement and the feeling that the team was "anticipating and building toward that (Manny resigning)."
Hey, times are tough. I get it.
Hear the entire voice mail below:
Comments
Why did they beep out part of the conversation?!?? Is that guys name $#!thead or something? [not a knock, just another The Jerk reference] Anyway, Manny's a hassle in the clubhouse but he'll produce on the field no matter what. I've got a lot of love for him, but he's like an abusive lover. It hurts when they ignore and scorn you but when they want to act sweet, there's no one who gets SO nice. No doubt if they sign him they have a shot to be the NL reps in the World Series--just keep him away from old men and install a urinal behind the leftfield wall. It will be fine. How hard is it to build a likable baseball team these days that's capable of winning? Maybe it's time to throw helmets on them. I suppose the steroids thing would just go away then.
I you can get Manny for a 3-year deal, do it. Have him play 1st base. Then the Giants are set to win the West. Without a big stick at 3rd or 1st base, we'll be losers again. Sabean will be a hero or a goat.
Richmondman: Thanks for being a consistent reader and commenter. Manny though can not play first, people don't realize how tough it is to play first, especially if you've been an outfielder for your whole life. Left is probably the easiest position on the field.
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