Is this just Manny being Manny – or are Dodger fans going to see him leave?
Offseasons are difficult to weather for baseball addicts. Life goes on as it does, our obligations lead us here and there and other sports attempt to fill the gap. Nothing soothes the baseball nut like baseball season. Fans know that Manny Ramirez has great skill and talent. An impromptu announcement from Ramirez indicates Los Angeles Dodger fans will be sans Manny in 2011. It could mean extra cash for the team, which owner Frank McCourt (not the guy who wrote “Angela’s Ashes”) could probably use, as he’s in the middle of a nasty divorce.
“I won’t be here next year,” he told ESPN.
Is this for real, or is he experiencing gonadotrophin withdrawals? As reported by the sports network,
“I won’t be here next year, so I just want to enjoy myself. I don’t know [if I'll play next year]. I just know I’m not going to be here. When the season is over, I will see where I’m at.”
In 2011, he’ll be turning 39
That’s young in the real world, but when it comes to professional sports outside of golf and auto racing, it’s nearly time for the glue factory. It appears that 2010 could be the last of Manny Ramirez’s two year contract for $ 45 million. He had a difficult season, with 50 games missed due to a suspension from violating Major League Baseball’s drug policy. He struggled to find his rhythm ever since.
He might be turning into a DH
Mobility in the field is typically one of the first things to go for a baseball player, which commonly means a trip to first base or a one-way ticket to the American League to be a designated hitter. For his part, Manny Ramirez told the media “From the waist down, I feel 15. From the neck up, I feel 43. I feel good.” This begs the question of his midsection, although the use of pharmaceuticals may have him fixed up like the torso from “Re-Animator.” Did Lou Merloni see the same thing in the Red Sox clubhouse?
Manny Ramirez says, “I’m an employee here”
True, a baseball player is beholden to their organization, but much less so than in the days before the demise of the reserve clause and the start of free agency. Superstars tend of have pull in sports, although that still tends to come in direct proportion to batting average. Manny only hit .218 after September 1, so his future could be in doubt. Reed Johnson and Xavier Paul are there too, though neither of them are the offensive talent Manny was in previous seasons, or at least they aren’t yet.
We might hear Manny Ramirez talk about retirement by the end of the 2010 season. He may be running out of steam, and professional baseball takes a toll on people. He probably has some extra cash somewhere.
