The move that sent Manny Ramirez to Chicago wasn't as dramatic as the one that sent him to L.A., but it's still one of the biggest transactions of the summer. Two years ago, we had many teams bidding on Manny and Jason Bay heading to Boston. This year, the Dodgers could only negotiate with the White Sox and no players headed back to L.A., but Manny can still hit at an elite level, so baseball players and writers are buzzing about him:
- ESPN.com's Keith Law says Ramirez is a definite upgrade for the White Sox, even though his stat line may be inflated since "he's done a lot of his damage this year against pitchers with fringe-average fastballs."
- Multiple White Sox told MLB.com's Anthony Castrovince that they were pleased to see that Manny will be joining the team.
- ESPN.com's Jayson Stark says Ramirez's difficult personality is "a gift he just keeps on giving."
- Ken Rosenthal of FOX Sports points out that Ramirez had no choice but to waive his no-trade clause. The 38-year-old has a much better chance of restoring his free agent value in Chicago.
- Dave Cameron of FanGraphs believes the White Sox made a "bold, intelligent" decision.
- Click here to read Kenny Williams' thoughts on the claim.
- It's time to hear your reaction: did the White Sox make the right decision? Click here to take the survey and here to view the results.
As long as he didn’t go to the Yankees or Rays I’m happy.
His changeup is devastating, or so I hear.
Lol Jay Bay
I don’t know, part of me says they’re probably wasting 4 million. The other says at worst you get a shitload of publicity and action even if they’re out of the playoffs. I could totally see Manny exploding and hitting like 10 homeruns in September, or exploding and getting into a physical altercation with Guillen.
I think everybody in the Dodger’s organization knew Manny was heading to Chicago. Torre didn’t even budge from the dugout when Manny was arguing and ejected. If he thought Manny was going to remain with the team, he certainly would have gone out there to prevent his best hitter from getting a suspension. I thought Manny said something much earlier in the season about wanting to play in the AL as well, could be wrong though. I have a feeling he’s going to tear it up this last month, not having to play the outfield, moving from dodger stadium to us cellular… I’m setting the over/under at 9.5 home runs the rest of the season, your thoughts?
Manny should do well for the remainder of the season. The challenge for the White Sox will be to say “NO” to Manny this off season.
It’s the right decision to acquire him for nothing but a bag of money. Just don’t re-sign him.
More like a gift that keeps on giving up.
See I disagree. I think he is going to do well the rest of this year so he can get a contract at the end of the season. Its going to be interesting how the personalities between he and Ozzie Guillen play out with each other. Ozzie doesn’t like to be shown up by his players and absolutely hates when he isn’t the star attraction. I mean, I love Ozzie but you only have to look as far as Nick Swisher to see how Guillen reacts to outgoing personalities. Benched in a play off series in favor of DeWayne Wise. I mean come on what in the hell was that all about. But as far as resigning Manny next year I say go on and give him a one year 8 million dollar contract with incentives bumping it up to 12 million. That is a generous contract for a DH only but it is one of the best right handed hitters of any era. Not sure how many of those numbers were tainted but he was always a monster. He gets out of line next year trade or release him and you really don’t lose anything. It is a low risk/extremely high reward sort of deal.
Can Swisher play centerfield? No. Oh and by the way he was hitting about .235 at the time. I don’t understand your point there.
I can’t see Manny making an impact. The roids bust last year sapped him of much of his power AND bat speed. He has trouble getting to slightly above average fastballs up in the zone, he’s not as selective as he once was, and he seems content to mail in at bats. I’m not convinced Manny has the skills to simply decide, “OK, I’m ready to play” and put up numbers. He’s missed a ton of time the last two years, and lost at bats are killers for players in their late 30’s. He’s going to be rusty, and he may be overeager and try to do too much.
I think this move is a bust.
I think he’s going to be incredible for the White Sox this coming month, and then demand a ridiculous amount of money in the off-season. The White Sox (and any other AL team) would be best avoiding anything more than 1 year/$10m. Anyone that offers him a multiyear deal will be disappointed.
amazing that a guy who was flat out busted for enhancing (what exactly is still a question — but steroids help you heal faster — he couldn’t get healthy this year
at all – ((things that make you say hmmmmmmmmmmmmm??)) will still demand 10 mil!!!!
pretty sad.
and pete rose can’t get elected to the HOF. pity.
Manny didnt bet on and then throw games though…
I gotta funny feeling Manny is gonna give Ozzie his respect. But at the same time, I think Ozzie is gonna bend a little too. Manny is a pereniall allstar so he deserves it.
new manny will be a boon to the chicago dugout (just like he was to LA’s in 08).
he’s fun and keeps everyone loose — and hits (just not for power).
someone posted above the key for chicago will be saying no to manny in the off season (especially if he takes them deep in the playoffs).
if i were kenny williams, i’d be more concerned about my starting pitching down the stretch.
back to manny for a sec — the pitch on which he was tossed was so far outside he couldn’t have hit is with a boat oar – truly a horrible call.
now — getting tossed for arguing is classic bad manny.
good riddance to bad rubbish.
Thank you for not siting Bill Plashke. His article about what Manny contributed to the Dodgers just continues to show us all how big of a hack he is.
Of course it’s a good move to get an elite hitter. Is it the best move KW could have made? Probably not. But I don’t understand how there’s people actually second-guessing the wisdom of this move. Chicago had poor production from their DH and just got a superior DH – and it cost them nothing but cash.
Things that I am infinetly sick of……
a) This idea that you have to be a good person to be a good baseball player. If charachter were really a trait for being an mlb player then Cap Anson, Ty Cobb, etc wouldn’t be HOF and several ex-drug abusers, wifer beaters, adulterers and alchoholics would be booted out of baseball.
b) I’m tired of people viewing this Manny claim as anything less than a good move for Chi. Money is all that has been sacrificed, Manny is playing for a new contract and his stint in Chicago is thus far limited to 1 month of regular play and another few weeks if they make it to the playoffs.. Funny how trades involving prospects for guys like Berkman, Cantu and many other were viewed as good moves for veteran AB were applauded meanwhile none of those guys are having the season that Manny had. Manny is in decline but those other guys weren’t? I actually heard Bobby V and Kruk say that Manny hasn’t shown them much this year and that they weren’t sure if he could help the White Sox. No one is insisting that he alone would help them win the Central but he certainly should improve the Sox in that one area, as a DH.
c) This idea that Manny is washed up. Manny hit .300+/.400+ w/ some pop this year. His so called “struggles” were over a total of 12 AB after coming off the DL for a full month
d) I’m tired of sub-standard players who are “scrappy” and “play the game the right way” getting a pass and guys like Manny being pummeled and picked on simply because he isn’t a choir boy and doesn’t play the “I’m going to be phoney to the media” game. Does Manny do “d*ck-ish” things? Yes. When it boils down to wanting a new contract and the best interest of his current team would he look out for himself first? Absolutely. Does that justify people embelishing the truth and making mountains out of mole hills? No.