So I’m a fan of Manny.  I really am.  What he did for the Dodgers last year changed the whole season and gave hope to the fans.  He was the hero we’ve all wanted, and he was clutch in every way.  Having said that, I believe the fans were move motivated by the winning and his clutch-ness, than just Manny alone.  He was his own personality, which people liked, but the fans liked more that the Dodgers were winning.  If the Dodgers have Manny, and they take 3rd place, it’s a totally different discussion.

So now that Manny has rejected offer number 3, it’s time to move on.  At a certain point, it’s obvious if sides will come to meet in-between.  That doesn’t seem to be the case with Manny and the Dodgers.  I give the Dodgers credit for holding their stance to a short term contract and knowing the market.  Even more, they have come from different angles, but Manny hasn’t changed his stance.

I personally like the idea of signing Wolf, Sheets, Hudson and Dunn to 1 year deals worth 8 mil each.  Yes, the 32 mil is worth more than the 25 for Manny, but taking the budget from ~65 mil to ~97 isn’t that bad considering all the holes are met.  You get pitching – #1.  You get a bat – Dunn.  You get a solid second bat in Hudson.  Worst case, you have too much pitching, but I don’t know that this is a bad thing.  Since Sheets and Wolf and Schmidt are all wildcards, if you need to move them in and out of a bullpen role, there is always that flexibility.

Just for fun – I did a comparison from MLB.com.

Dunn:

YR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2008	158	517	79	122	23	0	40	100	265	122	164	2	1	.386	.513	.236

Hudson:

YR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2008	107	407	54	124	29	3	8	41	183	40	62	4	1	.367	.450	.305

Ramirez:

YR	G	AB	R	H	2B	3B	HR	RBI	TB	BB	SO	SB	CS	OBP	SLG	AVG
2008	153	552	102	183	36	1	37	121	332	87	124	3	0	.430	.601	.332

Interesting results.  Adding Dunn and Hudson does give most of what Ramirez could give, but without the Average.  Manny still rules on that count.  When it comes to clutch-factor…you can’t really measure that, and it’s hard to say either of those guys will match Manny.

Manny would be the first choice, especially at 1 yr and 25 mil; but for 3 or 4 years at 25 mil, it just isn’t going to happen.  Old baggage doesn’t leave quickly, and what Manny did is finally coming back to haunt him.

So what do you think Dodger Fans – take the poll below and tell me if you think the Dodgers should move on.

Tags: Adam Dunn, Ben Sheets, Manny Ramirez, Orlando Hudson, Randy Wolf

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009 at 11:15 pm and is filed under Manny Rumors, Offseason Dodger News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.