Manny Ramirez Will Decide 2009 NL West Winners
Free Agent Signing To Make or Break Los Angeles Dodgers
Jan 31, 2009
What If the Dodgers Sign Manny Ramirez?
This offseason, Los Angeles lost pitchers RHP Derek Lowe and RHP Brad Penny to free agency, RHP Greg Maddux retired and, as January comes to an end, they have yet to sign a starter to replenish their rotation.
On offense, however, the Dodgers are stocked with great young hitters such as 1B James Loney, OF Matt Kemp, OF Andre Ethier and C Russell Martin. If Los Angeles can stick Ramirez in the middle of that lineup, he will make all of those young sluggers even better, which will create a very intimidating run scoring machine in LA.
Ramirez has played for winners his whole career because he makes the hitters around him so much better. His career average with runners in scoring position is over .300, and it gets even better in those situations when there are two outs. If SS Rafeal Furcal can stay healthy, Ramirez’s presence in the lineup will force opposing teams to give him plenty of fastballs. This will increase Furcal’s ability to get on base and, with his base stealing prowess, he will get into scoring position for Ramirez on a regular basis.
Manny Ramirez could give the Dodgers enough offense to overcome their weakness in the starting rotation. Furthermore, if RHP Jason Schmidt returns to form after missing most of the past two seasons with shoulder injuries, Ramirez could make Los Angeles World Series contenders instead of just NL West contenders.
What if the San Francisco Giants Sign Manny Ramirez?
The Giants front office has stayed in contact with Ramirez’s agent, but they do not appear to be the right fit for the future hall of famer.
The Giants have arguably the best rotation in baseball led by reigning NL Cy Young Award winner RHP Tim Lincecum and anchored by former Cy Young Award winners LHP Barry Zito and LHP Randy Johnson. What the Giants do not have is a potent offense—or even an adequate one.
Manny Ramirez could be the marquee run producer San Francisco needs to make them favorites to win the NL West. If Ramirez gets upset with the Dodgers’ failure to give him the amount of years he desires, he could conceivably sign with their arch rival Giants for a sum similar to what the Dodgers are offering just to show them up. That would surely be a “Manny being Manny” moment, which would create the kind of media explosion Ramirez seems to relish.
That being said, San Francisco already has their 2009 outfield set and Ramirez’s weak defense does not fit with the club’s plans on fielding the best defense possible for their terrific pitching staff.
What If Neither the Dodgers nor Giants Do Sign Ramirez?
If not for Los Angeles’ trade for Manny Ramirez last season, the youthful Diamondbacks would have won the NL West in 2008. Arizona has been very quiet this offseason as of the end of January, and they will miss 2B Orlando Hudson. But, like the Dodgers, the Diamondbacks have a very talented group of young position players returning from good 2008 seasons that will be even better this year.
Because Arizona has a better top end of their rotation with the one-two combination of RHP Brandon Webb and RHP Dan Haren, they will have a more well-rounded team on paper than a Manny-less Dodgers to start 2009, and would likely be the early season favorites to win the NL West.
