LA Dodgers Off Season Update… It’s Not Good!

The LA Dodgers made a half-hearted contract offer to Manny Ramirez and then added insult to injury when GM Ned Colletti concluded the offer by sending a message to Manny's agent Scott Boras:

"The offer won't be on the table forever..."

The LA Dodgers offered Manny Ramirez a two year contract worth a guaranteed $45million with a club option for a third year and agent Scott Boras quickly replied by saying Manny is looking for contract in the 5-6 year range.

Seriously why don't you just tell Manny to F off?

2 years at $45 million isn't going to get it done with Manny Ramirez. Dodger fans better hope that this was just a preliminary offer and that Manny wasn't insulted. Luckily he doesn't appear to be the brightest guy in the world. Personally I can't see some team in the American league not giving Manny 4 years at a guaranteed $100 million with an option for a 5th year. He'd be 40 at the end ofthe contract and then you can buy him out if things haven't worked out which they most likely won't with Ramirez... You know Manny being Manny and all...

Frankly I think the LA Dodgers have seen the last of Manny Ramirez. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt almost expects Manny to take a pay cut to play in Los Angeles and I just don't see it happening. The asking price will almost assuredly go up when and if Mark Teixera signs before Manny and shortens the list of free agent sluggers available this off season.

More Bad News For The LA Dodgers

Rafael Furcal is also looking for a longer contract then the Dodgers are willing to offer at the moment. Rafael Furcal who missed most of last season due to a back injury and then ended the season with 5 errors in one inning is looking for a 4 year contract and the Dodgers baseball team is currently only offering a two year deal.

I've got mixed feelings about Rafael Furcal... he's a great player at the top of the lineup but he's got a bad back and he's a lead off hitter who relies on his speed and plays shortstop. That's not good when you've got a bad back. He's a risk and I think the Dodgers are apprehensive to spend money on players who could end up injured for the duration of their contracts ala Jason Schmidt.

I think you have to sign Rafael Furcal if you're the Dodgers. With or without Manny you need somebody to get on base and set the table and Raffy is as good as anybody in the league. And he's got some pop and he covers a lot of ground at shortstop.

The LA Dodgers also cut ties with Pitcher Brad Penny yesterday. Brad Penny is a pitcher who's always had a ton of potential but seems more interested in horse racing and dating skanks like Alyssa Milano then becoming a premier pitcher.

The only problem with buying out Brad Penny is that Dodgers ace Derek Lowe has publicly stated that he would like to return to the East Coast and it's highly likely that he won't be coming back to the Dodgers. As of right now that leaves the Dodgers baseball team with a starting rotation of:

1. Hiroki Kuroda
2. Chad Billingsley
3. Clayton Kershaw
4. James McDonald (McDonald will be this years Clayton Kershaw and you know how McCourt likes to play the young and cheap players...)

I think the LA Dodgers are being disingenuous when they say they want to resign Manny Ramirez. They know they're not going to make the highest offer and Manny has made it quite clear that he's going to the highest bidder and I don't doubt it with an agent like Boras.

How The LA Dodgers Can Come Out Smelling Like Roses

The LA Dodgers need to sign Rafael Furcal, they need to sign Casey Blake and then they need to pick up free agent C.C. Sabathia to shore up their young but extremely talented starting rotation. When you sign those three guys you go after the best closer your money can buy. Francisco Rodriquez is on the market but he's looking for $75 million over 5 years and I want some of what he's smoking.

Manny Ramirez was great for the Dodgers but he's 36 years old and he's looking for a contract until he's 42! What you saw here last year Dodger fans was a mirage... What you saw was Manny playing for a contract. The real Manny pushed defenseless reporters and writers to the floor and takes the day off when one of his dreadlocks is hurting. The guy's a clown and by the end of the series with the Philadelphia Phillies I guarantee you he was about to split that club house over Chad Billingsley not throwing at players heads.

I haven't always agreed with the way Frank McCourt has run the LA Dodgers but the guys not dumb by any stretch of the imagination and he's done a great job of keeping this team competitive while rebuilding. Last year the Dodgers were close but they had Manny and ace Derek Lowe and right now it looks like Lowe will be playing elsewhere next year and Colletti has said on several occasions that it would be damn near impossible to sign both Manny and C.C. Sabathia this off season.

Get what I'm saying?

You can sign Manny maybe but you'll be stretching out McCourt's budget and you still need an ace and a closer because as the LA Dodgers found out in the playoffs it's all about pitching. The Dodgers need a horse at the top of the rotation that'll win every fifth day during the season and do to other teams what Cole Hamels did to them in the playoffs. If you're going to spend $100 million you better spend it on a guy that'll still be playing well at the end of his contract. Not one that'll be 42.

Post steroid era how many hitters are still performing after 40?

Thanks Manny but as the NFL has discovered and as you will soon find out, you need Los Angeles more then Los Angeles needs you.

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