Baseball News from L.A. Times
Cash that would go to the free-agent outfielder could be used to shore up team in other ways. Scott Boras was right, the Dodgers failed to make Manny Ramirez a “serious financial offer.”
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Baseball News from L.A. Times
Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira head the list as 65 players file for free agency, and the general managers of all 30 teams convene in Dana Point starting Monday.
The off-season lasted from midnight to morning. By the time Cole Hamels finally rolled out of bed Thursday, snippets of news already had started to appear on television and computer screens: The Milwaukee Brewers hired Ken Macha as manager, the Chicago White Sox bid farewell to Ken Griffey Jr., the Florida Marlins traded Mike Jacobs to the Kansas City Royals, and 65 players filed for free agency, with Manny Ramirez and Mark Teixeira at the head of the parade.
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Baseball News from L.A. Times
He hits a pair of two-run home runs as the Dodgers extend their NL West lead to 3 1/2 games.
Manny Ramirez hit two two-run homers, giving him 524 for his career, and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 on Wednesday night.
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Manny Ramirez continues to tear up the National League, after being traded from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers a few months ago. Ramirez, a legitimate MVP candidate for the NL, even though he’s only played in a handful of the Dodgers games, continues to push LA into postseason contention. With a recent 3-game sweep over the (then division leading) Arizona Diamondbacks, the Dodgers have asserted themselves as a team to beat in the National League - just in time too.
Baseball News from L.A. Times
Slugger makes an impact at the box office.
Escorted by six security guards and Hall of Fame manager Tom Lasorda, Manny Ramirez made his way to a podium set up behind home plate at Dodger Stadium on Friday, the dozen or so cameramen around him impeding his movement.
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Manny didn’t drive in any runs in his first appearance as a Dodger, but he was 2-4 w/ 2 singles. Unfortunately, the team lost to the D-Backs. Not quite the performance of Jason Bay in Boston, but solid nonetheless. For the Dodgers, trading for Manny was a great move - it should payoff as the rest of the season progresses.
Interesting stat… after joining the Dodgers, Ramirez is immediately their team leader in home runs, RBI’s and runs scored. That says a lot about how crappy L.A. has been this year.
Baseball News from L.A. Times
Agent says he didn’t orchestrate the slugger’s trade from the Boston Red Sox to the Dodgers.
As the Dodgers welcomed Manny Ramirez to town on Friday, agent Scott Boras strongly denied the suggestion he had orchestrated the trade that led Ramirez out of Boston and into free agency this winter.
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What a crock… If he didn’t help instigate the trade, what good is he? His client is a free agent at the end of the year and is due at least $100 million; that’s a sweet commission for Boras.
Manny did a fine job of acting like a baby in Boston to force his way out, but it would naive to think that Scott Boras had nothing to do with it and/or that the two of them didn’t know what they were doing.
Manny Ramirez Trade Details:
They give up two minor leaguers, including Andy LaRoche, in three-way deal involving the Pirates. Jason Bay goes to Boston.
The Dodgers acquired outfielder Manny Ramirez from the Boston Red Sox today in one of the boldest trade deadline moves in their history.
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Oh My!!! The Boston Red Sox have traded superstar outfielder Manny Ramirez across the country to the Los Angeles Dodgers. Often temperamental and unpredictable, Ramirez went through one of his regular season “I don’t wanna be here” syndromes and Boston finally took action.
Boston will front the remaining $7 million for this season of Ramirez’s contract, so the Dodgers get a HUGE impact player for almost nothing.
I believe the trade instantly improves the Dodgers in a weak division, which looks winnable now w/ this move. The D-Backs are there only real competition and they haven’t made a move, so the Dodgers leapfrog them in my opinion.
There was a 3rd team involved in the deal, the Pittsburgh Pirates, who traded outfielder Jason Bay to Boston.
Wow, I really don’t see how the Red Sox lose a step at all w/ this trade. Bay will step in right away and they shouldn’t miss a beat.
The Pirates are surely just dumping salaries, as usual, and can be expected to suck ass for at least another year. Might want to check the GM’s head after this one… he was basically a pawn for the Red Sox & Dodgers. Does he know they still suck?
As a D-Backs fan, I am excited now… the division race gets more interesting, a player I like will play in AZ several times more now (vs. virtually never before). I love the move by Boston.
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The Boston Red Sox helped usher in a new 500 Home Run club member this weekend, as outfielder Manny Ramirez clubbed his 500th and 501st home runs against the Baltimore Orioles.
Manny Ramirez trots around bases after 500th home run
The historic 500th home run came against the Orioles Chad Bradford, who up until Saturday night, had given up very few home runs in the past 2 years. Manny had been swinging early in the count for several days, trying to be aggressive and to reach the milestone, but it was against Bradford, when Ramirez finally came through.
“I’m happy, you know, about everything I accomplished in life,” Ramirez said afterward. “Not everybody has the chance to go and get to 500. I’m just proud to do it.”
Manny Ramirez becomes only the 24th player in MLB history to reach the 500 home run mark. Ramirez had been trying to reach the milestone for several weeks - he was at 496 on April 19th and took approximately 34 games to 500.
With the feat, Manny also joined another illustrious group:
The 500-home run club has only two dozen members, but Ramirez also joined an even smaller fraternity. He is only the seventh player in baseball history with 500 homers, 1,500 RBIs, 1,000 walks, 475 doubles and a .300 batting average. The others are Hank Aaron, Willie Mays, Mel Ott, Babe Ruth, Frank Thomas and Ted Williams.
Once the monkey was off his back, Ramirez quickly notched home run number 501 on Sunday, leading the Red Sox to a sweep over the rival Orioles.
Fellow Red Sox players were ecstatic for Manny Ramirez after he reached the 500 home run mark. He received greetings & handshakes, as well as high praise from current and former teammates. Despite the game being played in Camden Yards (Baltimore), Ramirez also received quite a bit of support from the fans as well.
While many detractors have labeled Manny as lazy and/or an uncaring superstar, it’s clear that they just don’t know the real guy, as evidenced by recent statements and reactions from his teammates and coaches. We’re witnessing one of the greatest hitters in baseball history - we just need to pay more attention…
