It hasn’t taken very long for slugger Many Ramirez to put an end to the Dodgers pitiful power hitting, and the city of LA is loving him for it. A rejuvenated Ramirez has spent his first three days in the Senior Circuit eating up National League pitching, proving that by himself he can alter the course of the NL West race. During a crucial four-game set with division rival Arizona, Manny hit .615 (8-13), with two home runs and five RBI in his first three games in Dodger Blue to help preserve a split and put LA only one game back of the Diamondbacks.
Most people would have guessed it was unfathomable that the Red Sox could ever part ways with the 12-time All Star. His eight years in Boston was full of drama that included proclamations that he wanted to play in New York. Those demands never amounted to anything as. As he’s shown time and again, Manny’s bark was much worse than his bite. Through all his whining and complaining, Ramirez combined with David Ortiz to become a historic power-hitting duo. They became the first teammates since Ruth and Gehrig in ’31 to go .300, 40 HR, 100 RBI. The list of accomplishments goes on and on, ending with the most important detail: Boston’s first two World Series since the team had Babe Ruth.
At some point during the 2008 season however, Red Sox GM Theo Epstein reached his threshold, and “Manny being Manny” was no longer tolerable. In the month of June alone, Ramirez had brush-ups with All-Star first basemen Kevin Youkilis as well as a travel secretary during a game in Houston. Each time, the incident was squashed and Manny went back to left field. Yet, we still thought this trade talk was just a bunch of smoke, even though Epstein has done these things before, letting Nomar Garciaparra, Pedro Martinez, and Johnny Damon all walk.
Rumored to be on his way to Florida throughout the trade deadline, the 2004 World Series MVP instead landed on the lap of GM Ned Colletti, who was given a mulligan for his dubious decision to pay Andruw Jones $18 million this season. Colletti seized the 36-year old Ramirez for 50 cents on the dollar, giving up only Andy LaRoche and Bryan Morris. LaRoche had shown little if anything during his time at third base, and LA has already filled that void by obtaining Casey Blake, which will go down as a shrewd, but underrated move.
The Dodgers haven’t been a serious team in awhile, but with Manny onboard, you get the feeling they could be. They’ve always had the pitching staff to be successful. Nothing’s changed in 2008, with Joe Torre’s team boasting the best ERA in baseball. Youngsters Chad Billingsley and Clayton Kershaw are beginning to come around, and are only a snippet of the rich batch of young talent oozing out of this franchise; Billingsley has been the team’s most consistent pitcher and is only 24 years old. Kershaw is 20, and has put together his two best starts of his career in the last week. The team’s ace, Brad Penny, is on the DL and has an ERA approaching six, but this staff hasn’t missed a beat.
The job of the league’s best staff only get easier now that there’s a proven bat in the middle of their order. The Dodgers have scored less than three runs in 38 games this season, but you get the feeling that we won’t be seeing many more of those in the near future. In his first at-bat of his second game, Manny hit a towering shot to straightaway center to give his team an early 2-0 lead they would never relinquish. In the series finale on Sunday afternoon, Ramirez capped off rallies in the first and second innings with crucial hits off Dough Davis, then put the exclamation point in the fifth inning with his second homer to left. You think Diamondbacks GM Josh Byrnes regrets not trading for Mark Teixeira?
Few cities like Los Angeles can handle and embrace a man with as much baggage and ego as Manny Ramirez. Ramirez is no different than Kobe Bryant with his unusual decision-making, and the city has found a way to embrace Bryant, even after all the things he’s done. Manny is bound to do things that will drive management crazy, but the hole he’s filled in the Dodgers offense will make everything he does worth it. The Dodgers need a legitimate power hitter, and Manny needs a platform to prove he’s worth $100 million. It’s a match made in Yankee heaven.
8.04.2008
Manny and L.A. A Perfect Match
Posted by Neil Joshi
Labels: Los Angeles Dodgers, Manny Ramirez, MLB
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