We know what Manny Ramirez means to the Dodgers beyond the half-run per game they added to their offense after he created his opt-out and left Boston last season. We know about the Manny wigs; we know that Dodgers owner Frank McCourt inherited a mediocre television deal and relies on attendance and the benefits of parking, concessions, etc., at Dodger Stadium.In the end, as McCourt, Ramirez, general manager Ned Colletti, manager Joe Torre and Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras, watched the sun rise Wednesday morning from McCourt's Malibu, Calif., home, this four-month saga concluded near where it began: somewhere close to $45 million for two years.
Ramirez is happy because he loves playing in Los Angeles. The Dodgers' other players are happy because Ramirez makes them better and gives them a far better chance to win … and make more money. McCourt is happy because Ramirez is a cash cow.
When Ramirez left Boston, he told teammates he'd get either a four-year, $100 million contract or a six-year deal worth $150 million. And in November, Boras said he believed it would be a four-year deal. McCourt wouldn't go there.
He and Colletti did make concessions. Oh, there were silly mistakes made with some PR releases that embarrassed the club, but everyone moved on. Boras and Ramirez conceded to deferrals in the contract.
The November offer included a club option for a third year, and if the Dodgers declined and did a buyout, the contract would have had an annual average value of $20 million, which was what Ramirez had in Boston. This deal has a player option, which means Ramirez can play in 2009 for $24.3 million, then -- if he has a big season and the economy turns around -- he can parlay it into free agency or a threat that could get him another multiyear deal. The November deal did not include a no-trade provision; this one does, giving Ramirez more leverage.
And the Dodgers' payroll now is right around $99 million, down $20 million from last season. Because Colletti was able to get the contracts for Rafael Furcal, Casey Blake, Orlando Hudson and Randy Wolf done cheaply and with deferrals, the Dodgers probably not only are the favorites in the National League West but also, with a payroll of less than $100 million, have the payroll flexibility and minor league talent to acquire veteran pitching from economically recessed teams.
Don't worry about McCourt's ending up on a breadline. In 2008, the Dodgers gave up prospects that allowed Colletti to acquire Ramirez, Blake and Greg Maddux. And the Red Sox, Indians and Padres respectively paid the remainder of the three players' salaries, which is how McCourt made between $200 million and $300 million last season.
And don't worry about Ramirez's being ready for the season. He again worked really hard in the offseason at Athletes' Performance -- this time in Pensacola, Fla. -- and probably needs just a bit more than three hours of spring training to be ready to get back on track in his pursuit of Cooperstown.
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Peter Gammons
Hall of Fame baseball reporter Peter Gammons has worked for ESPN since 1988. He primarily serves as a studio analyst for "Baseball Tonight," but he also does regular spots for "SportsCenter," ESPNEWS and ESPN Radio and contributes to ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine.
Gammons was voted the National Sportswriter of the Year for 1989, 1990 and 1993 by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association and was awarded an honorary Poynter Fellow from Yale University. But his highest honor was the 2004 J.G. Taylor Spink Award, voted on by the BBWAA and awarded at the Baseball Hall of Fame for outstanding baseball writing.
Gammons, a 1969 graduate of the University of North Carolina, began his career as a reporter for the Boston Globe in 1969. He has also worked for Sports Illustrated covering the NHL, college basketball and major league baseball (1976 to '78, 1986 to '90). In 1986, upon his return to Sports Illustrated as a senior writer following a second stay at the Globe, he wrote numerous stories covering some of baseball's most important news events and authored Inside Baseball, Sports Illustrated's weekly baseball notebook. Gammons is also the author of "Beyond the Sixth Game," a look at free agency.
Gammons is a gifted musician, and his debut album, "Never Slow Down, Never Grow Old," was released on Rounder Records. With the assistance of a crack band of Boston rockers, Gammons trades in his typewriter for a Stratocaster and delivers a rousing set of vintage classics, originals and rock obscurities -- all to benefit Theo and Paul Epstein's Foundation to be Named Later, a charity that raises funds and awareness for nonprofit agencies serving disadvantaged youth in the greater Boston area.
Gammons' vocals and guitar are featured, along with guests such as Theo Epstein, Juliana Hatfield, George Thorogood, Little Feat's Paul Barrere, Kay Hanley and an all-star chorus consisting of past and present Red Sox players, including Jonathan Papelbon, Kevin Youkilis, Trot Nixon, Lenny DiNardo, Tim Wakefield and Bronson Arroyo, and NESN broadcaster Don Orsillo. Get more information from Rounder Records.
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