After months of negotiations, Public Relations ploys, missteps by both agent and owner and no real interest from other teams, the Dodgers and Manny Ramirez came to terms today. Ramirez certainly didn't get what he thought he was going to get, but he did get to miss much of the drudgery of Spring Training, so that's a bonus.
Ramirez is a player the Dodgers had to have. The fans there loved him. His teammates enjoyed his broad shoulders and sense of fun. And those broad shoulders took a weak team to within a hair of the World Series. The signing could signal a fourteenth straight playoff appearance for one Mr. Torre.
And it was fitting that Manny Ramirez finally had a deal on one of the few days that Buster Olney of ESPN.com didn't write a blog entry. Perhaps Mr. Olney can now get on with his life and find another rash to scratch.
The deal will seal a career that will end Manny in Cooperstown some day as he should have two decent years left in him. Ramirez is by no means perfect and his fielding can be a nightmare, but the game needs him. He's fun to watch when he succeeds and when he does not. He is entertaining and in a world of athlete-businessmen that now make up most of the majors these days, entertainment is always a plus.
1 comment:
The Dodgers have to be the favorite to win that division again. Before they signed Manny, I would have said the Diamondbacks. Even the Giants might surprise some people this year.
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