I'm not saying "I CALLED IT!...but...

I CALLED IT! I pegged Scott Boras' first offer to the Dodgers for Manny Ramirez. 6 years, $25 Mil per year, $150 Million total contract. Check it, I even emailed T.J. Simers at the LA Times about it:

My post on LA Dodger Talk:

Ryan October 7, 2008 8:10 pm

Dialogue:
McCourt: Arte, did you hear my boys won their first playoff series in 20 years?!
Arte: Yeah, I did. Maybe your fans will forgive you now for a** raping them on parking and ticket fees. You know, when I moved to town the first thing I did was lower the price of beer at the stadium.

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/sep2007/db20070925_408918.htm?chan=top+news_special+report+–+the+power+100_special+report+

Now on to the payroll…

I read that article in the Rocky Mountain Times that Robert Timm posted over on tha Dugout. There is no chance (Repeat, NO CHANCE) that Boras will allow Manny to sign for 5 years, $85 mil. That’s a $3 mil per year pay cut from Manny’s BoSox option.

We WILL sign CC Sabathia (if Zito got 7 years and $126 Mil, look for CC to get 6 years and $125 Mil)

We WILL re-sign Furcal (he got 3 years and $39 mil last go-around. Look for something a little more lucrative as all of Torre’s comments on how he “never realized how good of a player Furcal was” will be used against us)

We WILL NOT sign Manny. Mark my words, after putting up 53 RBI’s in 53 games, getting the Dodgers into the NLCS and, god willing, the World Series, the asking price for Manny will be $150 Million - 6 years at $25mil per year. And, after missing the post season this year, Hank Steinbrenner will be dumb enough to pay it.

Did you guys all read the Bill Simmons piece on Manny? If you didn’t because of length (and it was a LONG ONE), you only need to read the last paragraph:

From Manny Being Manipulated…

Let’s pretend you were Boras last spring. First, grow fangs and imagine you sleep in a coffin. Second, divorce yourself from all parameters of human decency. (Concentrate on those dollars signs. Keep concentrating. Block everything else out.) Third, convince yourself the relationship between a player and his fans, no matter how long it has been cultivated, doesn’t matter even remotely. Fourth, keep reminding yourself, as long as you can weasel Manny out of that ‘09 option with Boston, you’re looking at a four-year contract elsewhere for $80-100 million … as well as a big fat commission for yourself. You feeling it? You feeling like Boras yet? (Touch your new fangs to be sure.) Well, here’s how you handle the “best interests” of your client: By molding Manny like a piece of cancerous Play-Doh. Maybe you start feeding him lines like, “Hey, I can’t make progress on that 2009 option, they’re really worried that you’re washed up” and “I don’t know what’s wrong with Theo, supposedly he was ripping you to Gammons last week.” You know every secondhand comment has a bigger purpose. You know those little digs will add up. You know Manny will start acting out. The rest is history.

I guess it goes without saying that I am waiting to buy my Manny Dreads and # 99 Jersey until AFTER the winter meetings.

Email to T.J. Simers:

Date: Thu, Oct 16, 2008 at 11:56 AM
Subject: RE: Manny Ramirez made the Dodgers important again

T.J.,
If (and I believe it is a very big "IF") Manny Ramirez does not come back to LA, I hope you will utilize your sarcastic venom to paint the appropriate picture: that Scott Boras is Satan himself (Note: not reincarnate). That Scott Boras paraded his prize thoroughbred for 61 games, and then hamstringed the organization with a RIDICULOUS 6-year $150 million or more "reasonable offer".

If I were Frank McCourt, I would not propose any offer for Manny until we tabled the discussion of how to deal with Andruw Jones' contract. That fat f$#% hasn't been worth the paper his contract is printed on!

Just my 2-cents.
_______________________

I still stand by the rest of my words.

SI.com atricle reporting the first offer: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/writers/jon_heyman/10/15/heyman.manny/index.html