And since he's so good on offense, he has been rewarded with huge contracts, despite his unwillingness/inability to play defense.

As I alluded to yesterday, it makes me wonder if it's in the financial interest of at least some other players to consider the same approach.

Actually, Gammons on Steiner's show was summed up the whole Manny experience by saying that he was exactly what the Dodgers needed. He also gave a lot praise to Kemp and Loney. Gammons said that what happened in Boston is past history and the Red Sox have moved on.

Sheff is whining about playing time and platoons, but his performance doesn't merit additional playing time. Is he now a malingerer, or just a distraction?

Whaaa?? Seriously? Glad he's not a Dodgers exec.

Luckily, the team we put together also does not mind not going to the World Series. This reeks of Ed Wade.

8. Zak
Darn Jon! That was what I was trying to say. :) I wasn't going to, but since this thread is about it, I'll repost from last thread here.

Jayson Stark is a moron. I knew that and this article proves it. First, it is disingenuous of him to write this article without mentioning that the Red Sox were participants in the whole JD Drew opting out of his contract with LA fiasco, one day after saying he would not be opting out. I had no problem with Drew opting out, just like I have no problem with Manny leaving Boston. The Red Sox have run their own stars out of town and now that the tables have turned, they are crying foul.

But that's not the point. The article starts off by chastizing Dodgers fans for rooting for Manny. Are you kidding? Dodgers fans are not supposed to root for a guy who is OPSing 1.350? We should show restaint because you and five dentists think that Manny was bad and should be only given year-to-year deals? Seriously?!

And enough with the using unnamed GMs. How do I know you are not just talking to wooden soldiers from your toy box? I can understand using one unnamed source to enhance a point you have coherently made. But an entire article resting on what these five GMs think but are too afraid to attach their name to it? Come on! Who are these GMs? Boston? Arizona? Pittsburgh? That's a lot of grumbling, man.

Anyway, that's enough of my rant. Maybe.

Darryl Strawberry as a Dodger - BOO! He's a drug addict. Just like he was with the Mets, but our team stinks. BOO!

Darryl Strawberry as a Yankee (skipping one team) - He's made a heroic comeback and we won the World Series! YEA! What? You mean he's still an addict? But we still won the World Series right? OK, YEA!

Now Stark wants to lecture us about what damage we're doing to the game by cheering for Manny Ramirez.

Please ESPN. Get a grip. Get a mirror. Get a clue.

Go Manny! Go Dodgers!

You can't do it with college sports.

You can't do it with high school sports.

Maybe you can for the really young AYSO matches where they officially don't keep score.

And Kings fans loved to boo Gretzky before he was dealt to the Kings.

I agree, but it makes you wonder: how much better offensively could a player be on average if he approached defense the way Manny does?

Also, AIDs is not the first thing I ever think of when I see Magic anymore.

At one point, the mom was telling her son that there were two countries that had big professional leagues and liked baseball: the US and Japan.

The kid asked, "You left out New York, Mom!"
Mom, "But New York is part of the United States."
Kid, "No, it's not!"

He could be a future DT commenter because when he read on the scoreboard that Jayson Werth used to be on the Dodgers, he said, almost to the point of tears, "Why is he a Phillie? Why is he a Phillie? Why is he a Phillie?"

I didn't think he was old enough to learn about being a nontendered free agent.

I think outside of Yaz and probably Greenwell, the string of Boston leftfielders from Williams to Ramirez, were not known for how they played the ball off the Green Monster but how many times they hit the ball over that wall.

What did he say about Kemp?

Red Sox Nation combines the worst of both worlds: The Yankees' sense of entitlement with the Cubs' sense of endless grievance. Curt Schilling is the exemplar of the current Red Sox' attitude, and he is even playing. But according to Stark, Dodger fans should follow Curt's lead and be annoyed with Manny on principle.

Has anyone compiled a list of the awful things he did, and whether they outweigh his contributions to two championships and countless playoff appearances? Every article I read about his last half-year with the Sox conveys a lot through innuendo and little in the way of facts except for a couple of odd incidents involving a bathroom, the scoreboard and a cell phone. His numbers don't suggest he was giving the Sox less than their money's worth, do they? Apparently his pissed off his teammates (although leaked stories out of Boston tend to be exaggerated.) Is this so extraordinary?

If Stark manages to lower the price for Manny, however, then he can keep writing. I'd love it if we had the opportunity to sign Manny for two years/$20 mil.

Dodger fans loved J.D. Drew when he was helping L.A. win games. Then he quit on the team, and now they hate him.

This is news because.... ?

I think the fact that a 24-41-13 team beat a 48-17-15 team in the playoffs would rankle some people here.

And yet he is among the leaders in jerseys sold every year.

Now the Magic Hour, that's a different matter.

Well said. And absolutely true.

Further down, on a different topic:
But officials of two other teams say there's "no way" [the Reds] would've offered Dunn arbitration. "There's a guy who, if you offer him arbitration, there's too good a chance he's going to take you up on it," one said.
Gee, then your stuck for one year of a league-leading HR hitter. And wouldn't Dunn take arbitration only if he didn't think there was a good deal out there for him?

28 - agreed.

32 - I don't think Manny is actually all that bad defensively. Granted this comes from Kevin Kennedy, who once apparently managed the Red Sox while Manny was there (I mean, who knew?), Manny apparently spent a lot of time learning how to play balls off the green monster. The guy doesn't make a ton of diving catches, but that doesn't mean he's not great on defense; it just means he knows his limitations and makes the decision to let a ball drop for a base hit rather than risk diving and have a runner on second or third.

Gammons said that he believed that Kemp and Loney are now able to relax with all the attention on Manny.

He said that people don't realize how little baseball Kemp played until being drafted by the Dodgers. He was on a AAU team with Sheldon Williams and yet decided at age 17 that he had a better future in baseball.

Gammons says that he never bought the whole notion that Kemp and the other young players caused a clubhouse division, sure Kemp might be a little arrogant but he doesn't see that as a big deal.

In other news, Carlos Quentin was just hit by a pitch for the 6th straight game, which is a post-1920 record.

...and thus reduces the chances of getting hurt and jeopardizing future big contracts for offensive production.

Seems to me that players are more likely to get hurt from trying hard on defense than from trying hard on offense, and if a player's goal is to maximize his salary, then he's probably best off loafing on defense, which helps him stay healthy so he can produce on offense.

Funny, it's also the kind of stuff one might expect to hear from Colletti.

In my humble opinion, teams are not as enamored with picks as much as getting players that one, have already showed that they are on the track to be a MLB player, and two, they don't have to pay a six-figure signing bonus and still have to wait and see if it works out.

if that makes you feel any better

1) The bullpen can shut the other team down;
2) This lineup can turn a game around.

Undoubtedly so. But Manny demonstrates that at least one player in the league can essentially not play defense (and not try to play defense) and still make huge dollars, despite the fact that his defense probably makes his total package worth less than his salary. How much less, I can't say.

Maybe there is a metric that shows some relationship between great defense and shorter careers.

Utter nonsense.

There has never been an athlete who does things for the money or has dogged it before. Nope, never happened in history of sport.

This is only an issue because it happened to ESPN's precious Sox.

Or even worse, think of the intersection of Bill Plaschke and Alex Johnson.

Or the intersection of Chico Ruiz and TJ Simers.

When do you think you might be coming down to LA to perhaps go to a game?

When I watched the video of the QBs, I had no idea which one was which. After I checked their jersey numbers, Craft was the guy that looked best on that tape.

http://www.sonsofstevegarvey.com/2008/08/orange-ya-glad-i-started.html

1-0 Rockies Bot 2.

Nevertheless, when asked to name the best player of the eight [Pittsburgh] received in those trades [for Nady, Marte, Bay], the baseball men we spoke with had a tough time finding a clear-cut Pirates acquisition they'd buy stock in. The name we heard most: 21-year-old right-hander Bryan Morris (3.15 ERA in low Class A). "If he stays healthy, he's definitely the best talent in that group," one GM said.

The reviews on LaRoche are apparently still mixed, at least in the Stark crowd.

I understand having the guy with the better arm in right and/or center as they would have further to throw the ball on a runner going from second to third. but "stashing" a guy in the place where it would, logically, be that most balls are hit just doesn't make a lot of sense.

Manny -109
Dunn -63

sorry i haven't really expressed yet how exciting these past few days have been.

Also, I should of know that the exact reason I came over to DT (reaction on the Stark article) would already have its own post, well said Mr. Weisman.

anyway, lets go rocks! Boom outta here

In other words, the most likely scenario would appear to be the Cubs hosting the Dodgers in the first round, right...?

89- ESPN and the Sox apologist can stick it! I am going to enjoy every HR, every RBI and run he creates directly or indirectly due to his presence in the lineup. I will savor the moments he is here, if for just this season or if decides to stay longer. I just enjoy the opposing pitchers actually "fearing and sweating" facing a Dodger lineup for a change instead of "licking their chops".

The NL West champion would start the playoffs at Chicago if the season ended today.

And there was just one NL West champion.

Can I get fries with that...?

Troy has Diamond to thank.

http://tinyurl.com/kenpompo

I just picked up tickets for next Thursday's day game. Bringing the family down for the first time this season. The kids will even get to the run the bases. I'm excited for the game and my girls are excited to "see that long haired dude".

Just kidding.

You guys are a rough bunch, I tells ya.

Annnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd the Jason Stark hatefest on Manny is now ESPN.com front page. A rule one violation might be in order.

I clearly remember the "J!-D!-DREW!" chants from the fans.

https://dodgerthoughts.baseballtoaster.com/archives/553548.html

As any other player, he was popular when he got hits. But all in all, he was not a very beloved Dodger during his tenure.

Jayson Stark on Baseball Today.

http://www.tvweek.com/news/2008/08/exclusive_nbcs_latest_olympian.php

I don't know the inside story of what went on with Manny in Boston, but I think it's clear that Manny is not on Stark's "friends to defend" list, while Clemens was. And that's hypocrisy.