Blog Posts For Tag: Manny Ramirez

The outrageous numbers of the steroid era are gone, though thanks to New York Yankees whipping boy Alex Rodriguez the sport continues to be tainted with PED residue, and now I have to wonder: Who is the most dangerous bat in the league?

Four months ago Frank McCourt and the Los Angeles Dodgers offered Scott Boras and Manny Ramirez $45 million dollars over two years to stay in sunny L.A. Boras retorted that he would then be taking serious offers. In the coming months magical mystery teams offered more, apparently these teams were from alternate universes because no other team that I have heard of even came to the table with enough to match the offer.

Many, including me, have condemned Scott Boras and Manny Ramirez as greedy bastards, but I think the pair knew they were never going to get the four-year, $100 deal. I think that was a mystical number chosen to do one thing: make sure Manny did not have to report to spring training until March.

Sometimes it seems like every aspect of our culture rewards greedy brats. I think that trying to teach children to be respectful adults might actually be a detriment to their adult lives. We bail out a banking industry with billions after that cost millions their retirement portfolio. We offer reality shows to rich kids who do absolutely nothing and put them on covers of magazines. We even reward players who act ridiculously with multi-millionaire contracts.

With just about a week until pitchers and catchers report, there is simply an incredible number of free agents still available. This is hardly a groundbreaking observation, but I find the parallels between the deep field of quality players still looking for a contract and the layman who is trying to find work after becoming yet another causality of the economy to be too great to ignore.

Manny Ramirez needs a reality check. He is going to be 37 years old this next season. The economy is killing everyone, including professional sports team. He is going to be 37 years old. He is simply not going to get a four-year deal for $100 million. He is going to be 37 years old. I do not know what Scott Boras is telling him, but not even the big-spending New York Yankees are going to make that kind of an offer.