Who Should Be More Terrified?
February 25th, 2009 by Tank
Yankees fan Tank?
With Manny, Don’t Rule Out The Yankees:
http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/baseball/red_sox/view.bg?articleid=1154522&srvc=home&position=1
Or Celtics fan Cliffy?
Marbury on the Celtics Might Actually Work:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/columns/story?columnist=hollinger_john&page=hollingermarbury-090224
February 25th, 2009 at 9:56 pm
Allowing for my obvious bias, I’d say “Yankees Fan Tank”… with one caveat (which I’ll get to in a moment). The thing about Marbury on the Celtics is that if he gets out of line, they’ll release him - and not think twice about it. He’s here on short money, no real negative consequence to getting rid of him if he acts up. His role will only be a supporting role, coming off the bench to spell a younger, more talented Rondo for 8-10 minutes per game (in the regular season - likely less, to far less, in the playoffs where there’s more rest between games). And given the veteran presence of The Big Three Intensities: Pierce, Allen, and the Grand Poobah, Kevin Garnett… Marbury will not be allowed to poison that locker room. As Big Daddy Don Barrick asserted to me recently, his upside is not huge - but the risk is clearly low. I agree with that assessment. If it works, he’ll give the second unit a boost and Rondo some rest during the regular season so he’s fresh for the postseason. If it doesn’t work, he’ll be on the street and the Sox still have a very good chance to repeat.
Now, the caveat: Marbury is (apparently) signed with the Celtics. Manny to the Yankees is still in the “unlikely” category. Oh, it’s entirely possible cuz… well, he’s Manny and they’re the Yankees. He wants a lot of money, they (still) have a lot of money. He wants to stick it to the Red Sox, they (still) want to stick it to the Red Sox. Now, the problem is they’d have to trade (or waive, I suppose) at least one of Matsui, Damon, Nady to make room for Manny… unless they truly want three statues defending the outfield (i.e. no Cabrera or Gardner or Swisher in CF).
Also, there’s far more upside to Manny than to Marbury. Manny is clearly still an all-time great hitter. If he’s your DH, and you can manage to keep him happy, he will do great things for your team at the plate. I don’t think Marbury has greatness left in him (and indeed, I don’t think the Celtics expect him to).
I’ll be honest: I want the Yankees to sign Manny. I just think it would be *great* theater, especially the 19 times they meet each season. Sure, Manny will probably hit very well against the Sox… but that’s okay - cuz he’ll eventually melt down, and I’ll take that tradeoff… along with the circus that will (even more so) be every Sox-Yanks game while he’s in pinstripes.
February 28th, 2009 at 12:44 pm
Update: Manny turned down the latest Dodgers offer. It would’ve paid him $25 million for 2009 - and given him a player option for $20 million in 2010.
Maybe the Dodgers crumble, and outbid… um, themselves - and give him (at least closer to) what he wants. I hope not. I’m not in Ned Colletti’s (or Frank McCourt’s) shoes, so it’s *very* easy for me to tell them what to do… hence, I’ll tell them what to do: Come back tomorrow with a lesser offer… say, $23 million for 2009, and player option at $18 million for 2010. When Manny/Boras reject that… come back the following day with $21 million for 2009, and player option for $16 million for 2010. When they reject that, come back with your “final” offer: $19 million for 2009 and player option for $15 million for 2010.
When they reject that, tell Manny and Boras to come back with the best offer they find elsewhere - and the Dodgers will give him a million dollars more than that. In the meantime, they’re going to go ahead and move forward with their 2009 season… good luck.
Yes… it would take a *ton* of guts/balls, cuz… well, the Dodgers waited too long, and now any reasonable replacement for Manny is no longer available (say an Adam Dunn, or Bobby Abreu - not nearly as good as Manny, but pretty good FAs… who coulda been had at a fraction of the cost, and headache). I have no idea if there’s anyone left - but I suspect there’s *somebody* out there. The Dodgers would undoubtedly take a huge PR hit among their fan base if they didn’t re-sign Manny, but then again… it’s L.A. I mean… it’s not like there’s more than a dozen people who actually care.
Heck… they could sign Pedro Martinez to an incentive-laden deal - and look for other pitchers that may be available and try to win the (once again) weak NL West with better pitching. I’m told pitching and defense win championships anyways - and… well, Manny does neither of those things.
The Dodgers do not have to increase their offer - and in my mind, should start reducing it. Course, they have to be willing to walk away to do that… and I’m not sure they’re willing to do that. One thing I am sure of: Boras (and Manny) are *counting* on them being unwilling to walk away.
March 5th, 2009 at 11:42 am
Tank, you’re safe. Manny took a “recession discount” and signed the 2yr/$45 million deal with the Dodgers - so he won’t be a Yankee. The deal allows him to walk after this year (when he’ll get $25 million - as Year 2 would be for $20 million).
Lori happened to catch his comments on TV yesterday, something to the effect of, “In light of the recession and tough economic times, I [Manny] have amended my salary expectations and will accept the reduced deal from the Dodgers.” Considering it appears to have been the *only* deal, you’ll pardon me if I don’t nominte Mr. Ramirez for any Man-of-the-Year awards for his self-described largesse.
March 6th, 2009 at 11:30 am
Maybe he can offset his “reduced” income with some TARP funds
March 6th, 2009 at 3:41 pm
On that note, I don’t recall if I posted this to this group before - but this is a true story:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/07/porn-bailout-larry-flynt_n_155878.html
And my response to that is… why the heck not? If we can give money to other industries, why not theirs?
Back to Manny, I’m surprised Boras hasn’t figured out some loophole… some way to get his clients a piece of that bailout money. Freakin’ slacker - what exactly *is* he doing for his clients all day long?