LA Has a Manny Ramirez Dilemma

Hey, if you haven't heard, Manny Ramirez got traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers and nothing was ever the same on the team or in the city. Manny was expected to do exactly what he has done. He loosened up a tense clubhouse, taught the young players how to prepare for a game, trimmed his long dreadlocks just enough to keep manager Joe Torre at bay while he hit .400 for most of the two months left in the season. He was the most potent weapon against opposing teams on and off the field, and an unofficial assistant to the Dodgers coaches by getting through to some players who couldn't grasp the instructions of the staff. He also was a money making machine at the team stores. Fans filled the stadium each night while they gobbled up tee shirts, jerseys and caps with dreadlocks attached to them.

Torre, an old school sort of guy, had mandated a quiet Yankees clubhouse without the cacophony of hip hop or rock music. He also liked the clean cut look and when he arrived at the Dodgers spring training camp, had two rules, among others: no music before the game and hair had to be clipped so that necks were visible. All had complied but along came Manny with specific pre-game music that got him ready to take the field and hair he'd grown for a few years into wild, scrambled-looking locks. When you hand your team over to a guy like that, you understand that idiosyncrasies come with the territory. It's a delicate balance between having rules apply to everyone and cutting slack to the super star that holds the key to getting the team to the playoffs or the World Series.

The Dodgers got into the playoffs after they vanquished their closest competitor. Players who batted in front of Ramirez in the Dodgers lineup saw their batting averages soar to stratospheric heights. On top of that, Manny was hustling in the field and even attempting to steal bases. He hadn't done that in Boston for a while and the reason he was available at all was that in addition to his lack of hustle on the field, he had seemingly manufactured injuries in order not to play a game here and there after he found out that the Red Sox would not extend his current contract at season's end.

Manny's rebirth in LA hit a nerve in Sox pitcher Curt Schilling's body which propelled him to go on a talk radio rant about Ramirez. He confirmed publicly what many had whispered: his teammates voted to trade him to the Dodgers. But this is LA. We like star power and personalities that make us feel special enough to deal with the awful traffic on the way to and from the ball park. Manny was perfect for this town. We had lived through the travail of Shaq, Phil and Kobe. We know drama and that's the way we like it. We have a long history of understand that celebrities have temperaments that defy the social rules most of us live by and Manny is one of them. Clubhouse rifts are nothing new to us but not playing hard and calling in sick to prove a point is a bit much, even for Los Angelinos. Thus we have our Manny Dilemma.

He and his agent are looking for up to $100 million for a four-year deal. Manny is now 36 but it's not so much his age that concerns us. We want to know if he'll fall out of love with us the way he did in Boston and make this a loveless marriage after a year or two. Do we agree to keep the good times rolling or let him go; understanding that he was a shooting star in our sky that we appreciated while we saw it but knew was visible for mere moments? Will he take less to stay here? He claims he loves LA. It's doubtful he would agree to that when there might be other teams that will bite the bullet and hope for the best. We like Manny being this Manny and the question is what Manny we will get if this torrid love affair turns into a marriage.

Comments

[4gloria]

You don't have a "Manny Dilemma"
You just have Manny being Manny.

Take the good with the bad - we did, until we couldn't any more.

Red Sox 08
Obama 08

[rodeman]

I don't think McCourt will open his wallet for that kind of dough. No how, no way.

[escobar]

They will do well to trade him or let him go.
Manny is getting old but still has it.
Even so, the Dogers are not investing in the future by giving him such a contract.
He did a gret job for the team and is highly marketable.
The team should make use of this investment while he still is an asset.
He has been perfect for LA.
He knocked a rotten old man off his feet in Boston for not providing tickets for Manney's friends and likely mouthing off...so great and wonderful person that he is, he felt he needed to assert himself with that defenseless but obnoxoius old bas...d.
Manny needs to express himself and is a good hitter, so everyone else can go to hell.
LA should make use of him while he is a valuable but he is far too old to demand such a contract.
If he doesn't get what he wants, he will sour and make the Dogers sorry.

[LeeCee]

Incentive clause. Playoffs: $$. World Series: $$$$!

If the Dodgers win the World Series, the honeymoon is on!

Great post Paula. Love your style!

[ricflair]

As a life-long Dodger fan, I beg the McCourts to re-sign Man Ram. LA's the perfect town for quirky athletes looking to avoid the pressure of other major league cities. The fans are supportive, local media treats players with kid gloves, and no jock will ever be the biggest name in town. Hell, I see more famous people at my local Ralphs.

[boston2008]

THE TRUTH: Boston lives and dies with every pitch. Even with all that Pressure, Manny still hit 24 homers in post season (MLB all time record). Helped them win 2 world series even though he hated Boston. 8 years of hell. Still hit hit over 500 hundred home runs. Boston made a big deal out of nothing. Manny is a kid. What was the problem?

MUSIC IN THE CLUB HOUSE?? THE SOMETIMES GREEN MONSTER ENTRANCE TO RELIEVE HIMSELF?? THE DREADLOCKS??? COME ON!!! GIVE ME A BREAK... THE GUY BRINGS 2 WORLD SERIES OVER 500 HOME RUNS AND A .300 AVG.??? BOSTON IS THE CORNIEST F.FING TOWN ON THE EAST COAST. THAT'S WHY NEW YORK YANKEES ARE ALWAYS ON TOP. LEAVE THE GUY ALONE... HE'LL BE FINE IN L.A. LIKE HE SAID... HE'S LOOKING FOR PEACE OF MIND. THE GUY IS GREAT. HE JUST DOESN'T WANT ANY ONE TO F.. WITH HIM. IF HE'S PRODUCING THEN LET HIM BE MANNY.

[BlackJAC]

Then why haven't the Yankees won a Series in eight years?

[escobar]

Manny is a kid? You got that right!
If he doesn't get his way he will take his bat and kick everyone out of his yard!
He has the mind of a junior high school kid but his body has a well established middle-age spread going on. That will soon catch up with him. He'll develop strains and back problems.
I always liked watching him and like him even more now he is not in Boston
.

[sportsd]

Being Manny means big production at the plate and having to deal with his "issues". Boston was fine for almost 8 years and then they had enough of it. The Dodgers might get the best years of his career if he is happy.

[escobar]

The Yankees made Damen cut his hair and shave
Manny should go play for them.
He likes NY and expressed an interest before.
They are so corporate...like the stupid bumper sticker says...Yankees S.....