Manny Ramirez

[example1]

From the various rumors and people 'in the know' it looks like this isn't going anywhere.

 

My question is, is there any reasonable chance that Manny Ramirez makes 100m/4yr anyplace on the open market? We can all talk about how he can still rake and how he's a valuable member of this team, but he's getting old, he's falling behind good heaters and his ability to hit the ball out of the park is considerably reduced compared to 5 years ago. What would this guy, by some other name, get on the open market?

 

Personally, I think he's insane to expect 25m/season. I think he's insane to expect 20m a season.

 

A-Rod in 07 and 08: 76 HR, 219 RBI

 

Manny in 07 and 08: 40 HR, 156 RBI

 

* If anyone deserves top dollar, it is undoubtedly A-Rod. Compared to Manny's production the two are in different leagues.

 

Carlos Lee: 56 HR, 216 RBI

Derrek Lee: 39 HR, 148 RBI

Adam Dunn: 70 HR, 176 RBI

 

I just picked those guys at random. I think Manny is somewhere in their class, in terms of his production and OBP ability. None of those three will be sniffing 25 million anytime soon.

 

He's dilusional to hope for better than the 20m option the Sox will offer him.

[ORS]

I think his offers, when you consider age, attitude, the trend in his numbers, and the position he ought to be playing (DH), will be in the $11-13M range. The Big Hurt finished 4th in MVP voting in Oakland when they took a flier on him for less than $1M. The next year his big offer was from Toronto for $5.5M. This was when he was only a couple years older than Manny. Now, Manny will have less concern about season ending injury than Thomas did, and he can still go out there and field a position (he just happens to be the worst in the league at it), so those things should bring his value up from where Thomas signed.

 

Remember, though, this is the same Boras who said offers for Damon would start at 7 years / $84M.

[Paradisecity]

25M per for 4 years for an aging DH whose power has declined in recent years.... hmmmmm

[ORS]

Oh, and I'll laugh my ass off if he ends up signing for say, 3 yrs / $39M. One less than if he just shut his mouth, showed up, played hard, and played nice.

[example1]

So you've answered my question in the way I figured you all would. It's true, Manny won't get anything close to 20m.

 

Given that Manny initially asked to know whether or not he was going to get his extension, and that this whole blow up was a response to not being told one way or another, isn't it safe to assume that he actually WANTS to get the extension?

 

The psychology behind the situation tells me:

1) Manny wants the extension

2) Manny knows he won't get anything close on the open market

3) the Sox don't want to pay him 20m a year to be worse than many other players in the league--even if he's still a good hitter

4) Manny knows the Sox don't want to pay him (like he says "they smart") and he knows they will have no problem cutting him loose.

 

Ultimately, Manny is unable to cope with the cognitive dissonance of not being worth what his contract currently pays him, and the coming disparity between what his body can do and what his paycheck says for the next few years.

 

He's seeing his career flashing before his eyes and, despite his tremendous skills on the field, he lacks the skills he will need to deal with his aging and the reality of his situation. He has defined himself with baseball for his entire life, and now he sees that he's preparing to sign his last contract and it won't be as great as other people are getting.

 

Is there a way to placate his psyche and get him comfortable enough to play for the Sox for the next 3 or 4 years?

 

How about a 3 year deal with lots of incentives that could pay him more than 20m a year if he earns it and pays him a reasonable (but comparable to other good OFs, say 13m) salary if he doesn't?

 

Basically, I think he's lashing out as a defensive stance, telling people he's God's gift to baseball, while believing inside that he can't do what he once did, and that he is no longer worthy of being a top-5 paid player in baseball. He's clearly got what we would call in social work some "social issues".

[BoSox21]

I'm sure Boras told Manny to be enough of a pain in the ass so that the Sox will let him go but not enough of a pain in the ass where it will cost him a ton of cash on the open market. I think he might have f***ed himself a bit there