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Jamie's 15 Must Read SportZ Books
  • Patriot Reign: Bill Belichick, the Coaches, and the Players Who Built a Champion
    Patriot Reign: Bill Belichick, the Coaches, and the Players Who Built a Champion
    by Michael Holley
  • Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond
    Can I Keep My Jersey?: 11 Teams, 5 Countries, and 4 Years in My Life as a Basketball Vagabond
    by Paul Shirley
  • A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour
    A Good Walk Spoiled: Days and Nights on the PGA Tour
    by John Feinstein
  • The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty: The Game, the Team, and the Cost of Greatness
    The Last Night of the Yankee Dynasty: The Game, the Team, and the Cost of Greatness
    by Buster Olney
  • Season on the Brink
    Season on the Brink
    by John Feinstein
  • License to Deal: A Season on the Run with a Maverick Baseball Agent
    License to Deal: A Season on the Run with a Maverick Baseball Agent
    by Jerry Crasnick
  • Tales from Q School: Inside Golf's Fifth Major
    Tales from Q School: Inside Golf's Fifth Major
    by John Feinstein
  • Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
    Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game
    by Michael Lewis
  • The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
    The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game
    by Michael Lewis
  • Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
    Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream
    by H. G. Bissinger
  • Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King, The: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time
    Professor, the Banker, and the Suicide King, The: Inside the Richest Poker Game of All Time
    by Michael Craig
  • Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery (Final Four Mysteries)
    Last Shot: A Final Four Mystery (Final Four Mysteries)
    by John Feinstein
  • The Education of a Coach
    The Education of a Coach
    by David Halberstam
  • Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, The American Dream
    Fab Five: Basketball, Trash Talk, The American Dream
    by Mitch Albom
  • The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High Stakes Business of High School Ball
    The Jump: Sebastian Telfair and the High Stakes Business of High School Ball
    by Ian O'Connor
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Wednesday
04Mar2009

Dangerously Close to A Manny Deal... Key Word: Dangerously

Raise your hand if you haven’t had enough Manny drama in the last few years... Lord knows that I haven’t.

The man has certainly burned some bridges in Boston, and something tells me that Clevelanders aren’t exactly writing him in for Mayor. But for Dodgers fans, Manny’s act hasn't quite run its course… yet. His most recent contract hijinks are still ‘cute,’ and they’re ready to welcome him back with open arms with Tina Turner style home-coming. T.J. Simers of the LA Times reports that the Ramirez circus will be in town for at least two more years, to the tune of $45 million.

Frank McCourt is either the most understanding man on the planet, or he doesn’t understand anything at all. Most Red Sox fans might argue for the former, and for understandable reasons. It’s like feeding a Doberman. You do it, not only because you love it, but because if you don’t… it’s going to eat your children. Such is the case with Manny Ramirez. He’s great to have around, as long as you keep him happy. If the Dodgers are in a position to do that, all the power to them… just don’t forget the Alpo.

I may differ from the prevailing Red Sox Nation party-line in that I don’t necessarily think that McCourt and the Dodgers are at all foolish for bringing Manny back, even with a $45 million dollar tag. Everyone knows that he absolutely torched it in L.A. In 53 games, he accrued 74 hits, and finished up his 2008 tenure on the West Coast with a .396 batting average. But you also have to keep in mind that this is the team that shelled out almost $15 million for the doormat formerly known as Andruw Jones. Since that train wreck, the team has taken a stand; if they find talent, and talent that clicks with their system, they're going to do whatever it takes to keep them. I’ve certainly seen worse business models.

In either way, the caveat to this whole deal happens to be the biggest piece of… problem... in all of baseball. According to Simers, Manny has taken it upon himself to adjust his demands to reflect the current economic landscape. He even went so far as to say, “two years is fine with me," because if there's one thing we all know about Manny Ramriez, it's that his middle name is fiscal responsibility. Clearly, Scott Boras was asleep at the wheel when that call was made. When the super-agent came to, he made sure that ESPN.com’ Jerry Crasnick knew that there was no deal in place, setting the scene for another epic fast-one, or as I like to call it, the Boras Special. Come to think of it, Boras should probably be the one babysitting Manny 24/. Let's face it... they deserve each other.

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