Manny Ramirez did not ask for compensation from the White Sox when he waived his no-trade clause to come to Chicago. GM Kenny Williams said Ramirez and agent Scott Boras did not ask for an extension or anything but the chance to play. It’s not surprising, since Ramirez was no longer contributing in L.A. and now has the chance to build his free agent value down the stretch.
The White Sox could have sent the Dodgers a prospect in exchange for some salary relief, but Williams says he’d prefer to keep the talent and spend the money nine times out of ten.
“Talent is hard to come by and when you get higher-end talent, you try to do your best to hold onto it,” Williams said.
Williams expects Ramirez to adjust his appearance to respect the club’s policy. But even if he shortens his dreadlocks or cuts them off completely, the GM realizes Ramirez is no cookie cutter player.
“Is there a [perfect] fit anywhere for a personality like Manny?” Williams asked. “What’s wrong with a little flair?”
The Red Sox and Dodgers might have some answers to Williams' rhetorical question, but the White Sox aren’t worried about any of their new DH's history. When Ramirez joins his new team in Cleveland tomorrow, he’ll join a group intent on winning in 2010. And if all goes well for the White Sox, they could even bring Ramirez back next year.
“I go into this with an open mind,” Williams said. “Let’s see how it goes, let’s see how it fits.”
i doubt Mannys coming back to chicago
Manny seems to get thrown under the bus a lot. He did nothing to get kicked out of LA and the media has made it seem he quit on the team in order to get traded. Its a shame that the media cannot talk about a player like Manny without trying to make him the villain. The Sox got a hell of a player for basically free..
Agreed. Joe Torre and NedCO soured on one chance to right the ship.
Just as the Dodgers did a couple of years ago. Yeah, I don’t care for the spin on this story either which MLBTR is perpetuating. With Manny back off the DL, the Dodgers have too many outfielders, and after three stints on the DL, they didn’t dare put him in the lineup, in contention or otherwise. We all knew he was going to the AL sooner or later.
I think the Dodgers FO wanted to make Manny seem bad by benching him. Looking at the LA Times and such, they all make it seem it was Mannys fault to be benched and there was even a story linked here claiming he got himself kicked out. Its sad the media enjoys taking shots at this guy when he does nothing wrong
Yeah like benching the has been so he does not get hurt before they ship him out of town, or Perhaps the 50 game suspension for steroids.
You really are just an angry person, huh? You seem to ignore the 340 average and the 40-something homeruns, the two NLCS runs and the ZERO clubhouse problems during his 2+ years here.
And you think they benched him to get him to waive his NTC, right? So then isn’t the FO and Torre acting like little kids? Benching the HOFer for Pods because you want to trade him and PLAN to piss him off so much that he wants to leave? Yea, great role models. And this is coming from a Yankee fan who respected Torre like no other just a few years ago.
A person is angry when they do not agree with you? prehaps you are the angry little boy who does not get his way? Run to your mother to wipe your bottom.
Didn’t anyone see the last game Manny was in, one pitch and he got tossed? And $3M+ isn’t exactly “free”.
Yea and the pitch was 8 inches off the plate, two teams are competing for a wild card berth, it is one of the greatest hitters ever and he didn’t swear to the ump. He did nothing that any other hitter of his prestige doesn’t get tossed for what he said
I saw the incident live when it happened and then on the subsequent replays on the various TV outlets. While the pitch was off the plate, its plain as day Manny wanted to get thrown out of the game. He knew he was going to go to Chicago and decided to get back at the Dodgers for not extending him and then putting him on waivers. A real team player lets the ump get away with a missed call in order to keep the at bat and hit. Thats especially true when you’re in a wild card race. And if has a real beef, he doesn’t curse or show up the ump so early in the game. How many times has Manny taken a strike or missed on purpose in order to to set up the pitcher,trying to trick him into throwing the same pitch? This just another case of Manny being Manny- Arrogant, self centered and savvy enough to know that he’s being paid this year and that some team will pick him up next year.
HE DIDNT CURSE!!!! That’s the point. All he said was that pitch was outside 3 different times. No swearing, no calling the ump a retard or whatever. Look, if you don’t like Manny, fine. A lotta people don’t. But don’t spew stuff you know isn’t true to make your point. Torre admitted he thought he got himself tossed until he talked to Manny, the ump and Donnie. Donnie said the ball was 8 inches off the plate! 8! To call that a strike on a guy with Manny’s track record and the type of game it was is ridiculous. And when Manny and the ump said the same thing, it is obvious the ump wanted to toss Manny, with the combination of a horrible call and quick hook.
There’s a reason they didn’t comment…
If you have the opportunity look at the replay. Even Stevie Wonder could tell he did curse and used the word ‘horse—-! several times. No doubt the pitch was way outside,but Manny used the call to get run out the game to get back at the Dodgers.
I know he’s your boy, but be fair!!
Dude, I’m saying that the ump and Manny said Manny said nothing of cursing. Nothing from sh** to the F bomb. There were many fans who did think he swore, but the ump said he didn’t. That is why Torre got so mad at the ump. Cursing gets you tossed. Saying that was way outside shouldn’t, especially considering the pressure of the game
Ok,I believe Manny and not my lying eyes.
I’m not saying to believe Manny. Believe the ump and HOF manager who are agreeing with what he said…
Manny’s been thrown out of town twice. He got put on outright waivers -just take the contract and he’s yours -two different times, the first time when he’s was still in his prime. That doesn’t happen. Go ahead and look it up. The more he played, the faster he broke down. In Boston, it was his knee, even though he couldn’t decide which one. Here, it was his hamstring, then his calf. All he’s done this summer is gain weight.
C’mon, you have no way to prove he has gained weight. And you want another player who has been put on waivers before? Everyone. From Arod to Jeter to Kemp to the 25th guy on the Pirates roster. Everyone is put on waivers.
If you don’t like the guy, whatever. But how he left Boston(which the media ignores because THEY were the problem) shouldn’t be indicative to how it is reported now. Oh, and before you or someone else calls me a dumb homer, remember I am a Yankee fan who couldn’t stand Manny in Boston. But you are lying to yourself if you think he is a bad ball player. Did you hear any problems in LA with the clubhouse when he was welcomed where he was? Didn’t think so
Having team policies re: hair and facial hair is lame. Manny’s look/personna and Damon’s caveman hair/beard are examples of icons in baseball that were beloved by fans and non-fans alike before they were trimmed by these dress codes…
I hope they re-sign him only for the possibility it makes Ozzie go far, far away from the White Sox.
“Whats wrong with a little flair?”
Which means Manny will continue to pull his antics, since the GM won’t lay down the law on something as simple as his dreadlocks. Good luck dealing with him Guillen!
Ummmm what antics should they have to deal with since there’s no contract extension to dispute over, he’s not playing defense and he isn’t looking to be traded again this year? And what’s wrong with his dreadlocks? What’s this fascination in society with trying to make everybody look 100% the same. Did anyone make John Kruk and Darren Daulton shave their mullets?
Should get your facts straight before commenting. Manny is getting his hair cut tomorrow afternoon if he hasn’t already gotten it done tonight.
On a team with Ozzie Guillen as the manager, they have no reason to be worried about someone who’s a little crazy.
Having Manny under a “Manny happy” contract AND a DH 100% of the time is the best case scenario. Let him and only worry about hitting and as long as he doesn’t stand and admire a 315 ft single or fail to run a groudball out then just shut your trap and enjoy a nice, solid .300/.400 20 hr+ season.
Didn’t the Joe Torre also say Manny’s haircut would undergo, “a modification,” after he was traded to L.A? I don’t really remember him looking any different than he did in Boston, though.
He tidied up the dreds a bit last year, but you had to look closely to see it. I’m going to be at the park tonight. Will be interesting to see how many “99” shirts turn up. Used to be a lot of them. Is he going to wear that number in Chicago, I wonder?
Yes he is wearing #99, and he is also cutting the dreads according to owner Reinsdorf “Get a haircut if you want to play”. Or something to that effect.
I didn’t see a single No. 99 shirt at Dodger Stadium tonight. You’ll find ’em by the hundreds for 99 cents at TJ Maxx in a few weeks.
Yeah, a batting practice pitcher gave up his #99 jersey.
I’m a Yanks fan, but always kinda liked Manny (as much as I could “like” someone on the Red Sox of course, haha). It’s unique to hear an athlete admit sports isn’t everything…I think fans forget that sometime. There’s something to be said for doing your own thing, even if most of us don’t really get it sometimes.
Look, there’s a reason Manny is vilified by the press, beyond his normal personality. He has had media silence since they made such a huge deal about him saying this was his last year with the Dodgers…which every Dodger fan already knew. So now the media piles it on to get him back for not being available for interviews with them.
I understand why Boston fans don’t like him. But as a Dodger fan, just exactly why am I not supposed to love the guy? He was a huge catalyst in changing the team to win our first two postseason series in 20 years. He got suspended, sure, but McCourt didn’t have to pay him, and the Dodgers did just fine without him last year. He did not quit on us, he was injured. At the same time, I see the need to have Podsednik play, he’s been hitting well and he’s a leadoff hitter, which we don’t have without Furcal (talk about someone costing us money from injuries).
If I wasted my time hating players who took money from the Dodgers, it might be Dreifort, Andruw Jones, or Darryl Strawberry, but it was never Juan Pierre and it was never Manny Ramirez. I hope he has a strong finish to the season in Chicago and I’ll still root for him.
Manny is going to be on his best behavior. Now that’s he’s traded, he has the attention of all AL teams and he has to work on his market value.
Hopefully the W.Sox are smart and use him this year and then let him walk. If the Dodgers did that they’d be winners of the Mannystakes.