Baltimore Orioles: Manny revisited

As the offseason starts to wind down (in the sense that pitchers and catchers will soon be reporting), it seems that many free agents are starting to find homes. One name that’s still lingering out there is Manny Ramirez. I wrote about this subject awhile back, and I said that I was against Ramirez signing with the O’s. The Orioles can do better than a washed-up slugger that’s “drugged out.” However the rumors are once again circulating, so I suppose it needs to be revisited.

Ramirez is sort of like the Mother Goose nursery rhyme in my head from my childhood that won’t go away. The only difference is that nursery rhymes are soothing to children; types such as Manny Ramirez are only soothing if you like bile in your stomach. As I said at the time, so far as I’m concerned Manny Ramirez’s antics spit in the face of baseball fans from all generations. It wasn’t enough that he tested positive once, but he had so little regard for the game and it’s wonderful fans that he kept on doing it.

According to multiple reports the Orioles, Blue Jays, and Athletics are the teams that are expressing interest in Ramirez. Unless they make a huge offer I wouldn’t think Ramirez would go to Oakland given the cavernous nature of their ballpark. Regardless of his advanced age, Ramirez isn’t coming back to baseball because he feels he can spray singles all over the place. To that regard, Camden Yards would be a park in which he’d probably like to consistently play given the fact that it has the short porch in right field.

Nevermind any of that; Ramirez will also be sitting for the first 50 games. Why would any team want to sign a player in essence for 110 games? And there’s always the chance that he tests positive again. Not only does that put him in more trouble, but it also leaves an added black mark on the organization.

Ultimately, I’m not in favor of Manny and his antics coming to Baltimore anytime soon. I’m not sure that offensive production is the issue with the Orioles, I think that pitching is their problem. Ramirez could slam 50 legitimate homers and that wouldn’t do anything in the way of helping the pitching staff. The only upside that Manny to the O’s would give would possibly be the fact that he could play with the team for a month or so and perhaps the O’s could trade him to a contending team for a prospect or something. However with his past I think that’s highly doubtful. My hope is that the Orioles wish Ramirez well and then pass on him. If he comes to Baltimore I suppose we’ll have to deal with it, however from the outset he’ll be fighting an uphill battle with the fans in terms of popularity.

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