Manny Ramirez to Japan?

Total speculation, but wouldn't Manny be an amazing fit in Japan?

I think the biggest reason against Manny going to Japan is that Manny probably wants to increase his MLB baseball stats to outrageous numbers. Manny could end up with 650-700 home runs and 2400-2500 RBI's, pretty heady numbers for sure. But would Manny go to Japan to spite MLB if a Japanese team would pay him 25 million a year?

Anybody want to ask Manny or Scott Boras?

Comparing Manny Ramirez to Andrew Jones Contract Talks.

A few years back, while Andrew Jones was with the Atlanta Braves, Jones agreed to restructure his contract and accept less money overall so the Braves could re-sign Chipper Jones. At that time I basically worshipped the concept that a player would take less so his team would have more to spend to make the team better overall.

Manny Ramirez appeared to be more about the money, and as a fan that likes the idea of every team having one player that plays their entire career with the same team, it was a disappointment to see Manny go to Boston from Cleveland for not that much more money. Especially when one factors in that Boston and Cleveland got into a bidding war to drive Manny's price up.

Funny how things work out. The passivity that Jones showed regarding his own contract a few years back seems to have translated onto his play on the field, which has steadily declined over the past few years. Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez continues to play to a high enough standard to be considered one of best hitters in the league.

The question I have is, do ballplayers possibly notch down their own expectations if they have given the club trying to re-sign them a "home town discount"? In the case of Andrew Jones, it sure seems that way as Andrew Jones has once again "restructured" 18 million dollars the Dodgers owe him for the coming year. Yes, the Dodgers are waiving Andrew Jones and in exchange Andrew Jones has agreed to have the 18 million dollars spread out over the next 6 years. So, both times Andrew Jones restructured his contract to help a team, it directly correlated to declining performance, yikes.

Boston Red Sox continue picking up Quality Vets at "Bargain" prices.

This offseason is unlike any in recent memory when it comes to comparing the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees signings. One can argue that the Yankees had "no choice" when it came to signing CC Sabathia, Mark Teixeira and AJ Burnett who collectively will cost the yankees almost 60 million in yearly payroll.

Meanwhile the Red Sox have been able to add Rocco Baldelli, Takashi Saito, Josh Bard, Brad Penny and John Smoltz, with Mark Kotsay soon to follow. The departure of Manny Ramirez has freed the Boston Red Sox to do what I suggested they could have done all along, field a much overall deeper team by finding the 5-8 million dollar veterans that can be difference makers, even if they are bench players or relievers.

I think the Yankees did what they had to do, but the Red Sox should be the deeper team in the 2009 season, and they may have Manny Ramirez's departure to thank for it.

Contrasting the Yankees and Red Sox, it seems like the Red Sox have more stars.

It seems like whomever the Red Sox continue to pursue, even if it is for their bench, the ballplayers tend to be good solid players. Their latest pursuit includes Rocco Baldelli and John Smoltz, It appears that trading Manny Ramirez has helped the Red Sox acquire more overall talent spread around the field, even when it comes to the bench.

As for the Yankees, after signing AROD, CC, and AJ Burnett, who combined will cost the Yankees over 65 million a year, it appears that they don't quite have the payroll flexibility to just sign solid players, especially for the bench. Certainly not as good as Rocco Baldelli or even a healthy Mike Lowell. Heck, the Red Sox are allegedly trying to acquire Hanley Ramirez! Perhaps besides losing Manny's contract, what has helped the Red Sox is the emergence of many fine young prospects from their own minor leagues, including young relievers that don't cost much money.

If a team has a payroll of 150 million or higher, that suddenly works out to 6 million per player, so if a team with a super high payroll avoids putting a large chunk of it into two or three players, they suddenly can put really good positions players all over the place, especially when that team also has players making the league minimum because they came up in their own farm system.

Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants pursue Manny Ramirez, mirroring what the Yankees and Red Sox did in pursuit Teixeira.

The Los Angeles Dodgers face a scary situation. The biggest problem with losing a prized player to someone who plays in the same division is the head to head competition. If the Dodgers lose Manny Ramirez to the San Francisco Giants, the swing in productivity could favor the Giants 10-15 games while losing the Dodgers 10-15 games.

If Manny Ramirez can swing three of the eighteen games to the Giants that would have gone to the Dodgers, the net gain is SIX games, not three, because the three games are head to head competition. In the course of 18 games, yes I could see Manny Ramirez being a difference maker at least 3 games, resulting in a six game swing between the Dodgers and Giants. Then factor in what happens in the other 144 games each team plays. If Manny is a difference maker for the Giants 10 more times, and not having Manny causes the Dodgers grief ten extra times, the Dodgers could lose a total of 16 games to the Giants in the upcoming season.

If the Giants also pick up a Joe Crede, and he is healthy and performs, the Dodgers could be in a situation where suddenly the Giants are breathing down their necks the entire season, and the Dodgers may not even be in the playoff hunt. Would the Dodgers really want to face San Francisco late in the season with their playoff hopes on the line and Manny Ramirez coming up to bat?

Now lets talk attendance. The presence of Manny Ramirez could result in an average of 5,000 more fans per game, because Manny's presence almost guarantees that the Dodger games in September will still mean something. When Eric Gagne was cruising to the record for consecutive saves, Dodgers fans actually looked forward to staying for a Gagne appearance. How many fans will stay an extra inning or two just to watch Manny's final at bat of the night, that sure helps the stadium's concession coffers fill up.

What the Dodgers are going through is the agony the Yankees were going through. The Yankees simply could not afford to lose a player of Teixeira's ability to a division rival, and the Dodgers similarly cannot afford to lose Manny to a division rival. About the only difference is the Red Sox already had a better line-up than the yankees, whereas the Dodgers will fall back while the Giants gain massively.

I recall hearing a rumor that the McCourts plunked a really big wad of money into their Malibu diggs. Wouldn't it be ironic if the McCourts splurged one year too early on their own real estate desires and as a result could not sign the ONE player that would probably have helped pay off their huge Malibu investment?

Have the McCourts really done enough to earn the right to have such an opulent home when it could actually cause them to not have enough left in their operating budget to invest in the ONE player who would probably ensure the type of success worthy of the home they are already creating?

It would not surprise me if Boras creates a 10 million dollar gap between the two teams. Whatever the Giants offer Manny, the Dodgers will have to beat it by 10 million. It looks like Manny will get a four year deal, worth anywhere from 90 million to a 110 million. Wow.