Dodgers Get Manny Ramirez for two prospects

Some of you will know me from the Laker blog. My first post here because I would be considered a troll as I am not a Dodgers fan.

That said, my sincere sympathies to the Dodger team and all their loyal fans. To pick up a head case like Manny Ramirez is not a step in the right direction. I hope the Dodgers gave up nothing more than a bus pass and a peanut butter sandwich for all the headaches they are about to encounter.

I live in Red Sox country so I have seen first hand the temper tantrums, lackadaisical play and general poor attitude that Ramirez is famous for. In fact, I hate the Red Sox nearly as much as those "EFFIN Celtics" and hoped that Manny and the Red Sox were going to stay together for a very long time. They truly deserve each other. Two different years he in effect 'QUIT' on the team with various phantom injuries.

Let's hope that Dodger management is only looking for a short term boost in offense and resist the urge to sign him to a new contract. If they do, you will see a lot of Shaquira in Manny once the newness wears off.

Shout out to all the Laker fans here. See you again come fall.

--Milo.

Before I go on writing the longest post ever,

Andruw Jones = sunk cost.

Release him so that we only have 4 OFs to play with. Juan Pierre could be a pinch runner for Manny (I'd also say defensive replacement, but that's questionable) or a nice change of pace at the top of the order.

VA Blueblood: Panicked headline-grabber, perhaps. But I think it's a risk worth taking.

I have two main objections to your thinking:

I: The assumption that first round draft pick pitchers are can't miss is a little flawed. Brien Taylor, Brian Bullington and Ryan Anderson are great examples of 1st round pitcher flameouts. Seeing that we traded a 1st round Brian/Ryan/Brien (Morris who just came off Tommy John surgery), maybe the current Dodger managment did something unthinkable since the O'Malley years- consider history and not repeat that mistake.

-On a more objective level, as long as Kershaw (the OTHER Dodger 1st round pick in 2007, picked 19 spots IN FRONT of Morris) turns out the way we hope he's supposed to turn out, and Billingsley continues at his current pace, then our farm system will certainly be well spoken for when it comes to generating good talent.

-Finally, Morris was a compensation pick for the Dodgers losing Jeff Weaver to Free Agency, so in a way, the team traded Jeff Weaver for Manny. In talking about Jeff Weaver, let's just say I think his brother is a better pitcher.

II: Now, the 3rd baseman:

-La Roche also had left shoulder surgery between 06 and 07, and back problems involving discs last season, all before the thumb injury. I think at the very least, having an extensive injury history is an appropriate description of him.

-I understand the lack of stability at 3b. But it's in the Dodgers history, long before the team's last title, so I'm not bothered by it that much.

-I remember reading something about the Dodgers having 100 (or some crazy number) 3rd basemen play in LA before Ron Cey, and they probably had just as many after him before Adrian Beltre. I guess we can call it the curse of Gil Hodges (who btw needs to go to the Hall).

(here's a question, who was the starting 3B in 1988 for the Dodgers? hint: he batted .105 in the world series, and nobody cares)

-Finally, DeWitt was performing better overall, La Roche wasn't. The Dodgers realized that Greg Maddux wasn't going to be as big a splash as getting Manny, so they had to do it.

-La Roche was the Playboy Model to the Florence Henderson that is DeWitt, and the Red Sox preferred the one-night stand over the one-life commitment.

Baseball is about taking risks, whether you're sabermetric, old-school, or whatever.

VA, If you're scared that La Roche is going to turn into Jeff Bagwell, fine, but I'm for this deal because Dodgers because they had the balls to do something, and I think it's worth it.

They're not really screwing things up long term (yet), unlike the Angels if they don't sign Teixeira to a ridiculous deal after the season ends. Either way, it's gonna be a fun 2-3 months.

PS: Tuxer- I second you on the hair, but I have a feeling Torre won't stand for it, seeing how "clean-shaven" Joe Beimel is compared to last year as a result of Torre talking to him during spring training.

PPS: I will, on the other hand, look forward to hearing Vin Scully chastise Manny for chatting on his cell phone when Penny gets pulled in the 6th inning in September.

PPPS: For those of you listening to the radio, Rick Monday will groan, and Charlie Steiner will say something stupid like "well, that's Manny being Manny. whoop dee doo!" (ok, so I just added the whoop dee doo)

I'm done. Sorry for the long rambling post.

And like you said, he was walking in the 8th spot. What a shocker, people would rather pitch to the pitcher behind him.

I'm not saying LaRoche is terrible, but I don't think he has quite the upside that all the young guys that HAVE made it up and stayed up do.

As a Bostonian who got to watch Manny everyday, I like him (as opposed to Curt "collecting a few mill on the DL" Schilling, who I wish would shut up) . He does march to his own drummer. Some players probably hate him, but I'm sure a lot of players don't love each other. Two things are pretty clear: Manny is on the decline and his defense is god awful. Too bad you can't make a hybrid of two outfielders. He really is a DH (and he would probably admit to being happy to be one).

As for the Dodgers? Five outfielders? Depends who plays, but if Ethier and Kemp sit. Gotta think Manny won't hit for quite as much power in Chavez Ravine. But the good trade for the Dodgers, who really lost nuttin'

I love this deal! We gave away LaRoche, an overrated prospect who is hurt as much as Garciaparra. We gave away a class A pitcher returning from TJ surgery! And for what? A guy that can hit the crap our of the ball. When was the last time we had a guy who could hit home runs?

For all the Dodger fans who keep whining about the rookies (anyone remember Edwin Jackson who was untouchable?) it is about time we added a bat to this lineup.

Man Ram will make all Dodger hitters better batting around him. And it is only a few month experiment that cost us nothing.

Unlike Andruw "couldn't hit myself out of a paper bag" Jones. Send his butt to AAA!

Way to go Dodgers - at least we did something!

if furcal makes it back, we could be pretty darn good.

furcal
kemp
martin
ramirez
loney
kent
blake
ethier

that would be a pretty good lineup.

our bench would be decent: garciaparra, pierre, jones (might get better)

if saito and penny come back, our bullpen will be fine and we only need either kershaw or kuroda to step up.

Unbelievable. Torre is still playing Jones and now he's bringing Manny aboard. When does the Blue Monster go up in left. I thought WCBias.com had some good takes on Manny heading west. If anything, it'll make them more fun to watch this weekend.

I like the fact that the Dodgers may have gotten one hell of a big stick, but I'd kill to get to LA for Manny's first game. Just so I can sit in the outfield with a big sign that says "Welcome to LA, Manny. Now save the drama for your mamma." I dread the first article about "Manny being Manny", although I see Plashke already has one in today's column.

Of course Manny will go Free Agent after the season so hopefully someone else will get his headache in spring training. No matter how good his bat may be, I'm not entirely sure it's worth the "Manny being Manny" crap we may have to put up with. Manny's not colorful, he's an asshat, and it's just a matter of time before the rest of the team starts getting tired of his crap.

Manny was a red sox during his prime and we got to see him at his best. He was ready to leave and we were ready to kick his arse out of town. He was fun to watch but the un professional attitude was over the top. I hope he brings a world series championship to LA. Unfortunately, we will not be able to see him much due to later night games so enjoy him but when he pulls something, take it with a grain of salt.