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Thursday, January 12, 2012

Manny Ramirez: I’ll be a role model

Early last season, Manny Ramirez abruptly retired from baseball after a second violation of baseball’s performance-enhancing drug rules, choosing to walk away from the game rather than serve a 100-game suspension.

Now, Ramirez wants to land a tryout with a major league team for spring training, hoping that his filing for reinstatement and having his ban shortened from 100 games to 50 games will show teams that he’s changed.

“I want to show people that Manny can change, that he can do the right thing,” Ramirez told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez in an interview. “And to show people that I still can play. I don’t want to leave the game like I did. I also want to show my kids that if you make a mistake, don’t quit. Just go back and fix it. And if you’re going to leave, leave the right way.”

Ramirez, who’s currently working out in Florida, taking swings in a batting cage and getting in shape by working out in a pool, believes he can be a role model if a team gives him a chance.

“A bunch of guys are going to look at me and say hey, this guy made a mistake but he didn’t quit. Look how he finished. He did the right thing and came back,” Ramirez told Gomez.

Thanks to DT.

Repoz Posted: January 12, 2012 at 06:35 AM | 38 comment(s) Login to Bookmark
Tags: general

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1. Rants Mulliniks Posted: January 12, 2012 at 07:08 AM (#4034912)

OK then.

2. Ron J Posted: January 12, 2012 at 07:50 AM (#4034917)

I was thinking he'd be the perfect guy to use as a bad example. Remember, if Manny thinks it's a good idea, it probably isn't.

3. ray james Posted: January 12, 2012 at 08:20 AM (#4034931)

I want to show people that Manny can change, that he can do the right thing,” Ramirez told ESPN’s Pedro Gomez in an interview. “

And, Manny added "But I'm not going to unless someone pays me a handsome sum to do it.".

4. depletion Posted: January 12, 2012 at 08:27 AM (#4034938)

Make yourself at home, Manny. Hit somebody.

5. Champions Table Posted: January 12, 2012 at 08:36 AM (#4034942)

He's a gooooooood R-Truth!

6. RoyalsRetro (AG#1F) Posted: January 12, 2012 at 08:41 AM (#4034943)

I was thinking he'd be the perfect guy to use as a bad example. Remember, if Manny thinks it's a good idea, it probably isn't.

Don't do what Donny Don't does.

7. Mickey Henry Mays Posted: January 12, 2012 at 08:46 AM (#4034947)

Just Manny trying not to be Manny.

8. Dale Sams Posted: January 12, 2012 at 08:48 AM (#4034949)

I had to turn the interview off. Wathcing men breaking down crying isn't on my to-do list.

9. micker17 Posted: January 12, 2012 at 09:08 AM (#4034965)

If I'm the GM of a mediocre team, I'd sign him, but 100% on my terms.

That means a non guaranteed contract for a very nominal amount. If he says no or is insulted by my offer, big deal.

I'd sell him on the idea of having a big year and the delusion of receiving a big score as a free agent.

What do the A's or perhaps the Orioles have to lose?

10. Rafael Bellylard: The Grinch of Orlando. Posted: January 12, 2012 at 09:27 AM (#4034981)

Manny, you already are a role model. Just not the way you think you are.

11. Rally Posted: January 12, 2012 at 09:31 AM (#4034984)

What do the A's or perhaps the Orioles have to lose?

What do you stand to gain?

If you're the A's you've built up quite a collection of AAAA power hitters, getting guys like Kaaihue and Brandon Allen to add to Vernon Carter. You can give them some playing time and see if any can actually hit MLB pitching, or you can see if a 40 year old DH has anything left.

12. Zonk Won the Mental Acuity Golf Trophy at his Club Posted: January 12, 2012 at 09:43 AM (#4034994)

Isn't this somewhat complicated by the fact that Manny can't serve his suspension unless he's on the active roster?

I.e., if the O's/A's sign him - since he's been gone for a year - doesn't it stand to reason he's going to need a good month or so of minor league 'rehab' time? He wouldn't be working off the suspension in that time, correct? This means you basically get him ready, THEN bring him up to serve the suspension, THEN send him back out on another rehab assignment. Maybe you get a 1/3 of a year from him IF the league does lower his suspension.... but if they don't (which seems probable)?

Sounds like a team would get maybe a couple of September weeks from Manny. To me - rather than the A's/O's -- sounds like a contender might have more use for that.

13. Clint Posted: January 12, 2012 at 09:43 AM (#4034995)

If I'm the GM of a contender with old/injury-prone corners/DHs, I'd sign him to a contract for the minimum, plus incentives. If one of your regulars is injured when the 50 games are up, you have Manny to fill in. If you don't need him, you release him.

He'd be an asset for team in a situation like the 2010 Red Sox, where you're relying on J.D. Drew and Mike Cameron, with guys like Daniel Nava, Jeremy Hermida and Darnell McDonald as your backup plans. (Not the Red Sox, heaven forbid. But a team like them.) In that sort of situation, I think having him in reserve as an option after 50 games would be a nice insurance policy. Maybe that's the Rangers this year.

14. Rafael Bellylard: The Grinch of Orlando. Posted: January 12, 2012 at 09:59 AM (#4035005)

If I'm the GM of a contender with old/injury-prone corners/DHs, I'd sign him to a contract for the minimum, plus incentives. If one of your regulars is injured when the 50 games are up, you have Manny to fill in. If you don't need him, you release him.

In the meantime, Manny gets to sit home on his ass and collect a few hundred thousand dollars. Nice deal for a guy who, due to layoff and suspension, may not be any more help to the team than you or I.

15. Ivan Grushenko of Hong Kong Posted: January 12, 2012 at 10:32 AM (#4035032)

If you're the A's you've built up quite a collection of AAAA power hitters, getting guys like Kaaihue and Brandon Allen to add to Vernon Carter. You can give them some playing time and see if any can actually hit MLB pitching, or you can see if a 40 year old DH has anything left.

Well on the positive side, he's suspended till late May so you could still play Kila and Brandon for 7-8 weeks, and if he shows anything at all in a month you can trade him for a C prospect. Maybe Barton will get well by the time you trade Manny.

16. Craig in MN Posted: January 12, 2012 at 10:37 AM (#4035036)

In the meantime, Manny gets to sit home on his ass and collect a few hundred thousand dollars. Nice deal for a guy who, due to layoff and suspension, may not be any more help to the team than you or I.

Players don't collect their salary while they are suspended, do they? In that case, it's just the hassle of having him around, not the money.

Interleague games start about 50 games in...maybe an NL team could sign him as their DH and figure out what to do with him later.

17. micker17 Posted: January 12, 2012 at 10:48 AM (#4035042)

#12 Zonk:

Your idea is better than mine; a contender should sign him and store him away as insurance.

The bottom line is that if he can still hit, and I would bet that he can, he is a worthwhile risk as long as the deal is on the team's terms. The parameters must be that the contract is non guaranteed and for a nominal amount. I would not even add in incentives, because then he'll complain about playing time.

I don't believe that he gets paid while suspended.

And if I'm the Yankees, Manny must cut his hair BEFORE any contract is signed.

18. Krusty Posted: January 12, 2012 at 10:54 AM (#4035047)

He's a gooooooood R-Truth!

Pedro Gomez really is quite the Little Jimmy, isn't he? He needs a water bottle to the head.

19. micker17 Posted: January 12, 2012 at 10:57 AM (#4035051)

A team like the A's or Orioles could also sign him, and if he hits, trade him to a needy contender at the deadline in July.

Manny will not clear waivers in August because of his nominal salary, so he needs to be moved earlier unless the team wants to risk a waiver trade.

20. The Long Arm of Rudy Law Posted: January 12, 2012 at 11:20 AM (#4035073)

“A bunch of guys are going to look at me and say hey, this guy made a mistake but he didn’t quit. Look how he finished. He did the right thing and came back,” Ramirez told Gomez.

"'And then a couple of years later, he made the same mistake, so he was going to be suspended for twice as long. This time, he did quit for a while, but he did the right thing and came back again. Until he was caught making the same mistake a third time, and we all wished he wouldn't have tried to come back after that.' That's what they'll say, these bunch of guys," Ramirez continued.

21. jmp Posted: January 12, 2012 at 11:21 AM (#4035075)

The Brewers should petition to have Manny be able to start his suspension with game 51, so he could serve when Braun comes back.

22. Tricky Dick Posted: January 12, 2012 at 11:29 AM (#4035082)

doesn't it stand to reason he's going to need a good month or so of minor league 'rehab' time? He wouldn't be working off the suspension in that time, correct?

My recollection is that he is allowed to do his rehab time in the minors while he is on suspension. I think that was the case when he served his suspension with the Dodgers; I remember being surprised when he was playing in AAA before the end of his suspension.

23. I Am Not a Number Posted: January 12, 2012 at 11:51 AM (#4035102)

Manny Ramirez: I’ll be a role model

Kirstie Alley: And I'll be a Victoria's Secret model.

24. UCCF Posted: January 12, 2012 at 12:32 PM (#4035154)

Pedro Gomez really is quite the Little Jimmy, isn't he? He needs a water bottle to the head.

I'm sorry, but the water bottle is the stupidest foreign object in recent memory. Who gets knocked out by a plastic 16 oz bottle of water? Whatever happened to the days of the X-Press tennis racket?

25. Joey B. is counting the days to Trea Turner Posted: January 12, 2012 at 12:34 PM (#4035160)

If America had the technology to somehow turn the thoughts going around in Manny's brain into a theme park, Disney World would get put out of business.

26. Jose is an Absurd Sultan Posted: January 12, 2012 at 01:32 PM (#4035246)

Players don't collect their salary while they are suspended, do they? In that case, it's just the hassle of having him around, not the money.

I think suspensions for violation of the drug policy are the only suspensions where pay is forfeited. I'm pretty sure other suspensions are paid.

In 2006 the Red Sox traded David Wells to San Diego on August 31 for George Kottaras. This is obviously not a blockbuster but Manny comes back in May and hits for a month and a half he could net a potential backup catcher/LOOGY/utility infielder for a team like the A's. That's not a bad get for what would be about two months of near league minimum salary to Manny. The likeliest scenario is that Manny would bring nothing of value in return but why the hell not?

27. Gonfalon Bubble Posted: January 12, 2012 at 02:09 PM (#4035305)

#5 is perfect.

I'm sorry, but the water bottle is the stupidest foreign object in recent memory. Who gets knocked out by a plastic 16 oz bottle of water? Whatever happened to the days of the X-Press tennis racket?

Mick Foley once knocked Al Snow senseless in a backstage brawl by striking him with a large bag of popcorn.

28. Johnny Slick Posted: January 12, 2012 at 02:12 PM (#4035308)

Granted that the team already has a bad taste in its mouth regarding Milton Bradley but I for one would sign him to a one year league minimum deal to the Mariners.

29. The District Attorney Posted: January 12, 2012 at 02:19 PM (#4035318)

Water is devastating in wrestling. If someone is thrown into a pool or the ocean, they flop around as if they were being shot through with 50,000 volts of electricity. That is wrestling physics.

Granted that the team already has a bad taste in its mouth regarding Milton Bradley but I for one would sign him to a one year league minimum deal to the Mariners.

Yeah, I don't think there's any way... probably the only place Bradley could ever go back to is Texas. I can't imagine any of his other previous teams is up for giving him a second shot.

(I have not heard a single word since his release about any team being interested in Bradley, however. In fact, I think the only thing I may have heard about him is that he was arrested again, although of course it's very difficult to keep track.)

30. UCCF Posted: January 12, 2012 at 03:16 PM (#4035426)

Mick Foley once knocked Al Snow senseless in a backstage brawl by striking him with a large bag of popcorn.

In all fairness, the trip from Al Snow to senseless Al Snow was a pretty short journey. I think a small bag of popcorn would have done the trick.

31. Fred Lynn Nolan Ryan Sweeney Agonistes Posted: January 12, 2012 at 04:17 PM (#4035504)

Who gets knocked out by a plastic 16 oz bottle of water?

The trick is, you gotta freeze the water.

I'd like the A's to sign Manny to an incentive-heavy Frank-Thomas-2006-style contract, sure. Manny's entertaining. Plus, about the prettiest RH swing I've ever seen.

32. What did Billy Ripken have against ElRoy Face? Posted: January 12, 2012 at 04:42 PM (#4035534)

Hey Manny, how about showing people that Manny can stop referring to Manny in the third person? Because I definitely don't want my hypothetical future kids doing that.

33. Jim Wisinski

Posted: January 12, 2012 at 04:44 PM (#4035539)

I think suspensions for violation of the drug policy are the only suspensions where pay is forfeited. I'm pretty sure other suspensions are paid

No, all suspensions are unpaid. Zambrano last year was a good example of that, the Cubs tried to suspend him for 30 days and he filed a grievance. It was known that he wasn't pitching for them again in 2011 no matter what but by actually suspending him for that long they were taking away his pay. It ended up being settled as a six-game suspension and he was paid everything else.

34. The Ghost of Sox Fans Past

Posted: January 12, 2012 at 07:27 PM (#4035691)

So good of him to be a role model That will keep his peers coming to water aerobics with him.

If he thought there was any chance he's want to return, why didn't he serve the 50 games when he got suspended rather than retire? Manny being Manny.

35. cardsfanboy

Posted: January 12, 2012 at 07:45 PM (#4035702)

I agree with most on here, getting Manny as insurance is a relatively low risk, medium reward investment. And an NL team that thinks it has the chance to go deep into the playoffs, having him on the potential World Series roster would be a nice little backup.

36. Srul Itza Posted: January 12, 2012 at 09:28 PM (#4035774)

Hey Manny, how about showing people that Manny can stop referring to Manny in the third person? Because I definitely don't want my hypothetical future kids doing that.

Rickey says Rickey has no problem with that.

37. Booey Posted: January 13, 2012 at 04:25 PM (#4036469)

Manny's entertaining. Plus, about the prettiest RH swing I've ever seen.

Agreed. It looked so effortless, almost like he didn't even have to try. I loved Manny (in a mostly platonic way).

38. Javy Joan Baez (chris h.) Posted: January 13, 2012 at 04:51 PM (#4036508)

Agreed. It looked so effortless, almost like he didn't even have to try. I loved Manny (in a mostly platonic way).

There are just some swings that you can't help but admire.

Junior had a swing like that. Well, except lefty. Even during 1998 when I was rooting for Sammy (excuse me, I'm a Cub fan) in the HR race, Griffey was just such a pleasure to watch at the plate.

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Manny Ramirez: I’ll be a role model

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