Manny Staying Away From Dodgers
May 26, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News
According to multiple sources this morning, one being SI.com, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt is extremely upset with Manny Ramirez for not showing his face around the team since his apology to teammates almost two weeks ago.
SI.com reports, that the Dodgers expected Ramirez to come to Los Angeles after he briefly addressed the team in Miami last week. But Ramirez didn’t. It’s another act of defiance – a slap in the face to McCourt, who has been more than generous to Ramirez.
Ramirez is not currently getting paid by the ball club because of the suspension, so why would the Dodgers expect Manny to hang around? Is Manny staying away from the Dodgers the best scenario for both parties? Or is Manny staying away because Manny is just being Manny?
Manny Faces McCourt, Teammates
May 11, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
After being suspended by Major League Baseball for 50 games, Manny Ramirez apologized to Dodgers owner Frank McCourt during a meeting on Saturday in which was held to discuss his 50-game suspension.
The meeting was requested by McCourt who told reporters he is “furious” with the events that unfolded leading up to the positive test. McCourt is also expecting Ramirez make a formal apology to his teammates in the near future.
The drug is question is called human chorionic gonadotropin. In the world of performance enhancing drugs, hCG is increasingly used in combination with various anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) cycles.
Ramirez has denied all claims that he used the drug to enhance his performance, but instead has said he was given the drug by his doctor for medical reasons.
The Dodgers now head east for a six game road trip begining with a 3 game series against the Phillies who eliminated them from the post season last year. It will be the first meeting between the clubs since last season.
An Open Letter to Yankee Fans
May 10, 2009 by Chuck Mosca
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
Dear Yankee Fans,
I have had the good fortune to come in contact with a few of you over the last twenty four hours. That is always a distinct pleasure. It is good to see that you are able to find something of interest to deflect your attention from the sorry state of the current edition of your baseball team.
The news that ex-Red Sox slugger Manny Ramirez had been suspended from Major League baseball as a result of failing a random drug test seemingly pumped new life into what has become a rather meek and troubled fan base.
Congrats.
There is this gleeful hope among you that this news will serve to undo what is such a painful period in your beloved team’s history.
“See? The Red Sawx cheated too,” you seem to be collectively shouting. “Now the World Series wins are tarnished!!!!”
Actually, very few Yankee fans use the word “tarnished,” because it is multi-syllabic but you get the idea. I do admit that I admire your fighting spirit since you root for the American League version of the Washington Nationals. That said, I am sorry to inform you that neither this new revelation, nor any that will follow will tarnish the World Series Championships won by the Red Sox in this decade.
You see, the sad reality of this baseball generation is that it will be forever tainted by Steroid use. Performance Enhancing Drugs infiltrated the sport to such an extent, that no team should expect to have escaped the stigma of having juicers on their roster and no player should expect to escape suspicion of the authenticity of his statistics. No one who enjoys the game of baseball likes this Steroid-induced cloud under which baseball finds itself but we all must accept that it has.
If and when the smoke clears and we have a more complete understanding as to just how many players used or are still using, it seems pretty certain that every franchise will have been implicated to some degree.
Your problem, dear Yankee fans, is that since 2004, you have become so fixated on the Red Sox that you simply cannot comprehend what is going on in the baseball world. Thus, yesterday’s breaking news allowed you to rejoice in the fact that a former Red Sox player, and not a current or ex-Yankee had been implicated.
Perhaps, it might be useful to re-count the Yankees, past and present, who have been identified as having violated baseball’s policy on the use of PEDs: Jason Giambi, Roger Clemens, Andy Pettitte, Alex Rodriguez, Gary Sheffield and Kevin Brown.
Giambi, Pettite, Rodriguez and Sheffield were all members of that infamous 2004 Yankee team that will be forever remembered as having established a new low for choking in major league sports. They have become the standard against which all post season collapses, in all sports, will forever be measured.
Given the aforementioned widespread use of PED since the mid 1990s, it is patently absurd to attempt to make a case that any of the World Series Championships are now somehow diminshed. Yes, misery does, indeed, love company but you should take no joy in this.
Yesterday’s news painfully reminds all baseball fans that the gaping wound the players, and due to their complicity, the owners and player’s union, have opened in the fabric of the game will not soon heal. It doesn’t, however, change history and no thinking person would attempt to build the case that any one team benefited or was harmed more than any other team.
The World Series Championships of 2004 and 2007 mean as much to Red Sox fans today as they did early Thursday morning. Sadly, Yankee fans, there is no Time Machine in which you can travel back and revise history. It is, what is.
How ironic that history, once your biggest ally (”1918!!”) now haunts you to such a debilitating degree.
Manny Fallout: If You’re Shocked, Realize This Is A “You” Problem
May 8, 2009 by David Allan
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
So Manny being Manny included Manny being on the Juice.
Now it’s Manny being suspended.
So what? I mean if we aren’t going to demand that accountability for this fall at the feet of someone that can do something about this than what does it matter?
So let me start with us, the fans. In all honesty, we have so far been complacent in the destruction of the records and numbers that mean something in our game. That’s right, I said it: our game.
I’ve written about wanting to pass along the game of baseball to another generation in the condition we found it. Instead of looking for changes to the game that benefit us, as well as others, we have looked to it to be bigger, faster and stronger. We marveled at 500-foot home runs.
We turned our eyes blindly to the chase of Maris. Why? Because it allowed children to talk about McGwire, father’s about Maris and grandfather’s about Ruth. It was a single strand, a lineage that connected generations.
From the Model T to the Bentley, from the Prop plane to the Lear Jet, from the AM Radio to the HI-DEF plasma, we spanned generations. From an era when 60 and then 61 seemed untouchable to one where 70 was quickly replaced by 73 we didn’t ask any questions.
We simply lived in the naïve bubble where men were super human and that was fine. We then acted out-raged and indignant when we found out that the numbers being produced by chemically enhanced athletes.
Really were we that mad? I don’t think so. If we were, we would have demanded more than the half hearted effort by the house competition committee and later Senator George Mitchell that did little to expose the depth of the problem, and less to address and correct the issue.
Let me address that for a minute. George Mitchell spent month upon months compiling names, digging into the deepest cracks and darkest corners of baseball. What did he come up with Gregg with three G’s Zaun, Chuck Knoblauch and Ron Villone? Are you kidding me?
Sure he came up with Roger Clemens, but he managed to whiff on Arod and Manny Ramirez. As fans we waited 20 months and let baseball spend in the neighbor of twenty million dollars to compile the results and Senator George Mitchell managed to miss out of on two guys that have launched over 1000…that’s right, 1000 home runs combined.
So what are our options? Your option is to be a better fan. Don’t fall in love. If you never fall in love, you never get hurt. Love your wife, love your parents, love your kids, and your pets. Like your team but be a smarter fan, a better consumer. Your other option is to fall in love with baseball, not the home run, but baseball.
Debate the designated hitter, marvel at a player taking an extra base, get excited about a steal of home, a well executed bunt or a flawlessly turned double play. Learn to enjoy the finer points of the game, like a pitcher that can get a much needed ground ball or a relay to the plate that gets the runner by a step.
As a fan is a fan of the entire game and not the long ball, quit trying to break down baseball into the simple act of the home run, and make it about what it is, and that is so much more.
THE PLAYERs’ ASSOCIATION
Lets talk players association for a minute. The group that, for its part, allowed a generation of players to take, inject and ingest whatever it took to raise the pay checks of baseball players everywhere.
The players association through the pure greed was allowed to distort the priorities of players across baseball. As the steroid scandal reached a fever pitch, the players association did nothing but bury their head in the sand and deny that the problem existed.
No one person is responsible for the issues of baseball, but for certain the players association are one of two groups of people that have the power to impose real change on the game and they have opted to ignore the issues in favor of fat pay checks.
They don’t act remotely embarrassed when their largest stars are outted. They simply don’t care and refuse to do anything about the problem, so what is a fan to do?
It is clear to me that 50 percent of the power in this debate lay in their hands and they don’t recognize there is any problem. I am starting to believe there is right, we will continue to follow the game as they see fit.
THE OWNERS
Just as culpable in all of this are the owners. When Mark McGwire blew up to the size of an NFL Linebacker nobody brought it up. When Barry Bonds allowed his head to expand from Melon to Basketball size, their only concern was how many could he hit into McCovey’s cove.
That number translated into butts into seats and “saved” the game of baseball. The owners would promote this juiced up behemoths on posters, magazines and cereal boxes.
Instead of wondering why, the owners blindly dolled out the fattest paychecks to the worst offenders and now in some sense of bonus self-righteousness are acting like the guardians of the game.
MANNY RAMIREZ
Where does Manny fall in all of this? Well I have said before Arod doing steroids was like your girlfriend cheating on you and then you taking her back. You have given up the right to be shocked by any level of disrespectful behavior she displays from that point on.
So save me your anger because it makes you look stupid. Manny Ramirez is responsible for what he took, and his 533 home runs certainly are tainted in my eyes. I will say this as some who has defended Manny I am at worst disappointed.
But who do we believe is clean? Pujols, I’ll believe it because there is no evidence to the contrary. But I certainly won’t be “blinded sided” or “flabbergasted” if that is not the case.
Manny’s job is to perform at the highest level and if steroids are part of that performance I can honestly say I am not bent out of shape about it. Did he break the rules? Yes. Did he know he broke the rules? Yes. (He may say he didn’t, but his withdrawal of his appeal tells me something very different.) As it says in the rules Manny will now serve 50 games.
SO WHAT DOES ALL THIS MEAN?
Well I go back to the fans perspective through our jaded view of the world, lets look at some of the guys that may have gotten forgotten and marvel at just how good they are. I am not talking about Willie Mays or Roberto Clemente we know how good they were.
But how about…
Will Clark…
Fred McGriff…
Don Mattingly…
Larry Walker…
Robin Yount…
George Brett…
Ichiro Suzuki…
Brooks Robinson…
Some of them already all time greats, and hall of famers, some of them become more and more deserving of our admiration and respect as it becomes obvious that they must be compared to their peers and not a generation of athletes with clearly inflated ego’s and pay checks.
For a generation we lost our grip on reality, fans once celebrated Tony Gywnn, and Cal Ripken Jr. with as much zeal as George Bell and Kirk Gibson. I am not interested in the Manny story because it holds zero new information for me. It once again shows that we haven’t learned our lesson.
In the end, ratings were up, gates were up, profits were up. Not just chicks were digging the long ball.
Leave you with this and maybe it helps you to reframe what is important as a fan:
“I believe in the soul. The c***, the p****, the small of a woman’s back, the hanging curveball, high-fiver, good Scotch, that the novels of Susan Sontag are self-indulgent, overrated crap, I believe that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone, I believe there oughta be a constitutional amendment outlawing Astroturf and the designated hitter. I believe in the sweet spot, soft-core pornography, opening your presents Christmas morning rather than Christmas Eve, and I believe in long, slow, deep, soft, wet kisses that last three days. Good night.” – Crash Davis Bull Durham
It’s time again to be a kid, to throw your hands over your ears and scream NA NA NA NA NA, I’m not listening, maybe it’s time to BELIEVE.
Not in Manny or Arod, but in baseball.
Manny Ramirez Fails Drug Test, Nets 50 Game Suspension
May 7, 2009 by Mike Clay
Filed under Baseball News, Extra Bases
Reports are swirling that Los Angeles Dodgers outfielder Manny Ramirez has failed a drug test and will be suspended 50 games.
Update 12:25 p.m.- A 50 game suspension will be handed to Manny Ramirez as early as this afternoon according to multiple reports. The Los Angeles slugger has tested positive for a substance on Major League Baseball’s blacklist of banned substances according to a first report by the LA Times.
Scott Boras, Ramirez’s agent, told ESPN’s Peter Gammons that his client did not test positive for steroids, but for a drug that was prescribed by a doctor for a medical condition.
Whatever the case, the suspension will cost Manny approximately 7.7 million dollars from his new contract.
Triple-A outfielder Xavier Paul has been told by the Dodgers that he will be promoted later today to fill the empty roster spot that Manny will leave open.
The Dodgers set a record last night against the Washington Nationals as the first team in history to start a season with a home winning streak of 13 games.
Update 1:58 p.m.- RBI Magazine has learned that Manny Ramirez denies any involvement with performance enhancing drugs. The positive test is being blamed on a perscription drug issued to Ramirez by his doctor.
The Dodgers organization has scheduled a team meeting to take place this afternoon to discuss the matter.
More updates to follow**
Manny Gets Day Off, ‘I’m not a young kid anymore’
April 27, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Baseball News, Circle The Bases, Extra Bases
No matter how much you are paid in Major League baseball, you still deserve to have a few days off right? Manny Ramirez would agree for sure, if he actually needed to “chill” on Sunday while his team battled the Rockies-that’s a different story.
Joe Torre gave Manny the day off after he seemed to be a little “behind” during Saturday night’s game in which he went 0-5 with 3 strikeouts. Torre felt Manny may have been fatigued because his swings were starting too soon.
Ramirez felt he could use a day off and responded with, “It’s such a long season, it doesn’t matter,” Ramirez said. “Everybody needs a day off. What do you think I am, Cal Ripken?”
So where could you find Manny on during Sunday’s game? Who knows. Not sure if he was even in the dugout, but he sure got to stick another signature punchline on the sarcasm wall.
Torre also decided to rest infielders Casey Blake and Rafael Furcal in hopes to get a good jump on the upcoming series with the Giants which begins on Monday.
2009 Los Angeles Dodgers Preview
April 5, 2009 by Miguel Salcido
Filed under 2009 Season Previews, Baseball News, Extra Bases, Sabermetrics
2008 Record: 84-78 1st Place
Key Additions: Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf, Mark Loretta, Guillermo Mota, Will Ohman
Key Subtractions: Derek Lowe, Brad Penny, Takashi Saito, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra, Joe Beimel, Andruw Jones, Scott Proctor
A Look at the Line Up:
C – Russel Martin is going to play better this year, and he played just great last year but I think that people were expecting a little more. He will be taking more time off and realizes that he needs that to stay healthy. But he has always been one of those guys that plays like his hair is on fire and I’ll bet if the Dodgers are in a close race he will lobby hard to play every day.
1B – James Loney is a solid and consistent player that hardly ever misses a game. People are still waiting for the power to come to his bat and may have to wait a bit longer as this spring has seen a light hitting Loney so far. He is still very young and has time to develop his power still. He will get a lot of RBIs in the new high powered Dodgers offense so I project him to have over 100 RBIs this season and at least 20 HRs.
2B – Orlando Hudson is a cool cat, a great clubhouse guy and outstanding person. So he will definitely help keep this team together but I am not sure about his play or his health. The wrist injury from last season will apparently always be with him, he will never recover 100% from it.
He had to learn how to field balls differently because his wrist is so jacked up that it doesn’t bend the way it used to. So far though his fielding has been stellar and with Furcal at SS we figure to see plenty of web gems from the best double play tandem in all of baseball this season. He will be surrounded by great hitters in Furcal at leadoff and Manny in the 3 hole so he will see many good pitches to hit this year. A definitely upgrade at 2B this year.
SS – Rafael Furcal seems all healed from the back injury that ruined his 2008 season. He was on a torrid pace before the injury so I expect a career year from him batting in this Dodgers lineup, if he can stay healthy. He has been diligently performing his back and core strengthening exercises that are supposed to help his back stay healthy. Furcal is ready for a World Series run in 09 for the Dodgers.
3B – Casey Blake, poor Casey Blake. He is still getting trashed by fans online who want more out of the 3B position. But he is as steady and veteran as they come. He will bat 8th and hits about 20 HRs while batting about .280. To me those are great numbers for the 8 spot! I like Blake and feel that he will contribute greatly to this team.
RF – Andre Ethier was the Dodgers best hitter last year, excluding Manny, and figures to build off of that again this year. I still think that he should hit in the number 2 spot in front of Manny which is where he had great success last season but it appears that Hudson will fill that spot in the order. That means that Ethier could hit in the 4-6 spot. Most people feel that Kemp has more potential because of his size and athleticism but I feel that Ethier brings the talent and attitude required to succeed at the major league level.
CF – Matt Kemp is still projected to be a stud. He was good last season and finished just behind Ethier in stats, but with a rather high strikeout rate. He plans on cutting that back this year with better discipline, a year’s experience under the belt, and new contact lenses that have him seeing the ball better at the plate and picking up the ball off the bat in center. Kemp could be a 30-30 guy this year and projects to bat somewhere in the 5-7 spots.
LF – Manny Ramirez, he’s baaaaaack. Nothing more to say here except that pitchers had better watch out! The dodgers just need to make sure that he is protected in the lineup because I see many more walks in his future this season.
A look at the pitching:
SP – The biggest perceived weakness for the Dodgers is pitching. But the good news is that their farm system is stocked full of great arms that could step in this season and surprise. Jason Schmidt could provide a pleasant surprise this season but will not be game ready until about mid May. James McDonald is the real thing, and will start the season as the fifth starter. Randy Wolf looks set for a solid season, he will not jump out at you but will provide solid innings of work. And Hiroki Kuroda and Chad Billingsley really need to step up this season and lead the staff. Clayton Kershaw will achieve ace status this season and he is really fun to watch.
RP – Jonathon Broxton looks to step in and take over closing duties with the departure of Saito. The rest of the relief core is up in the air as far as how they will perform this season. But the late acquisition of Will Ohman to fill the lefty specialist role will help anchor things. Again the minors are stocked with both veteran and rookie arms that can step in and help.
Outlook:
The Dodgers should produce one of the premier offenses in baseball this year but they need to stay healthy, especially at pitching. I still think that the pitching staff will end up being a lot better than everyone thinks and that would be dangerous for other clubs. The Dodgers still have money to spend and may spend it on another starting pitcher or to fill another unforeseen need during the season. Oh, and as soon as somebody losses a center fielder Juan Pierre will most likely be traded.
Prediction:
92-70 will earn the Dodgers the division this year. I just don’t think that the Diamondbacks or the Giants or the Rockies have enough talent to keep up with them all season.
The MLBPA Says No On Giving Back To The Community
March 22, 2009 by Miguel Salcido
Filed under Extra Bases
The economy is in shambles, almost one in every ten people in some states are unemployed, people are losing their houses, and it would seem like a great time for those more fortunate to give back. Right?
It was reported by ESPN today that the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) filed a grievance against the clubs because of the Dodgers new “Ramirez” provision which calls for a charitable donation in all contracts from now on.
Manny Ramirez accepted a 2 year $45 million deal on March 4th. At the same time he made a $1million dollar donation to the Dodgers Dream Foundation at the request of the Dodgers owner Frank McCourt. Now it is not known if McCourt asked for that much or if Manny generously offered up the million after being asked for just a donation. But McCourt vowed that he would require all contracts from the Dodgers to have a “Ramirez” provision.
This provision is a blank line for the player to write in an amount that they want to donate to charity. So it does not require a certain amount, as long as it’s something. It could be a dollar or a million. But the player that donates more will certainly benefit from the positive image it creates for them in their new team’s city.
Back to the grievance. The MLBPA’s lawyer feels that its fine for players to make donations whenever THEY want to, but that forcing players to make a donation was not allowed under the current agreement.
The Executive VP of Labor Relations, Rob Manfred, says that it’s totally fine and that teams have been doing it for years. He says that as long as it is a club policy and is adhered to then clubs are free to bargain with players and make special pacts.
“Article II of baseball’s labor agreement states contracts can include special covenants which actually or potentially provide additional benefits to the player. We’re at a loss to understand how the MLBPA could possibly take the position that making a charitable donation does not provide a benefit to the player,” says Manfred.
Frank McCourt was surprised by the news when asked about it today but I feel that he put it best in his statements below.
“I have not seen the grievance, but I find it odd that in these challenging times, that we encounter a complaint against the idea of players giving back to the communities that support them,” he said in a statement. “We believe there are qualities that represent the Dodger way. The player’s contributions to the team, appreciation of the fans, and impact on such a supportive community all combine to help our organization live up to our core values. We seek players who embrace these values. The Ramirez provision is a blank line to be filled in with whatever number a player chooses.”
Way to go Frank! The MLBPA needs to pull their heads out and open up THEIR pocket books, along with the players and continue to give back to their communities and help those less fortunate than them.
The grievance was filed Friday and if it’s not settled it will go to arbitrator Shyam Das for a decision.
Manny, Dodgers Finally Reach Agreement
March 4, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Extra Bases
After months of negotiations and more than 4 different offers made by the Dodgers organization, Manny Ramirez and agent Scott Boras have finally agreed on a contract with team officials that will place Ramirez in “Dodger blue” for at least one more year.
According to the Dodgers’ official website, a meeting was held this morning in Los Angeles that was attended by Ramirez, his agent Scott Boras, Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, general manager Ned Colletti, and manager Joe Torre. Sources close to the Dodgers have told the media that an agreement was reached during the meeting pending a Ramirez physical.
The deal has been labeled as a two-year, $45MM contract that may or may not contain an opt-out clause after the first year’s pay.
On July 31, 2008, Manny was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three-way deal, in which he was almost traded to the Florida Marlins. The Boston Red Sox acquired outfielder Jason Bay and minor league infielder Josh Wilson, and the Pittsburgh Pirates got infielder Andy LaRoche, and pitching prospect Bryan Morris from the Dodgers, and outfielder Brandon Moss and pitcher Craig Hansen from the Red Sox.
Ramirez hit his first home run with the Dodgers on August 2, 2008, in a game against the Diamondbacks. He currently sits in 16th place among baseball’s all-time home run leaders with 527.
More to follow….
Sources; MLB.com and Wikipedia
Breaking: $1.5 Million Seperates Manny, Dodgers
March 1, 2009 by Ribbie3b
Filed under Extra Bases
After contact between Manny Ramirez, and the Dodgers has remained continuous through the arms of Scott Boras over the last 3 days, SI.com is now reporting that the two sides are supposedly $1.5 million dollars apart from reaching an agreement.
Jon Heyman reports that Manny is asking for a two year contract worth $43.5 million while Manny’s previous request was for two years at $45 million. The information comes from an email allegedly sent to the media by Scott Boras.
Dodgers owner Frank McCourt recently announced that all deals were off the table and that the two sides needed to start from scratch.
Boras has been known to conduct similar acts of trickery before, but hopefully this time it is not just another act of “confusing the media”.
More updates to follow….
