Manny in Hollywood
LOS ANGELES — Manny Ramirez is heading west, a summer rental of sorts for the Los Angeles Dodgers following an ugly exodus from Boston.
The Dodgers acquired the future Hall of Famer from the exasperated Red Sox Thursday, giving up two minor leaguers in a stunning three-team trade that sent outfielder Jason Bay from Pittsburgh to Boston.
The Dodgers also received cash considerations, general manager Ned Colletti said, in a deal that was completed just before the 4 p.m. deadline for making trades without waivers.
The Red Sox will pay the estimated $7 million owed to Ramirez through the end of the season, at which time he can become a free agent. Ramirez was in the final guaranteed year of an eight-year, $160 million contract, and the Red Sox held $20 million options for the next two seasons.
As part of the trade, the club options were eliminated, meaning the mercurial slugger might be playing elsewhere next season.
Ramirez is expected to make his Los Angeles debut tonight against Arizona's Randy Johnson in the second game of a four-game series. The Dodgers trail the NL West-leading Diamondbacks by two games.
"We figured we had to do it," Colletti said. "Hopefully it pays dividends. We're confident we've got one of the best hitters in baseball coming in here — one of the best hitters of his generation from the right side. He's a champion, he's a winner, and we really couldn't be happier with trying to make the club better at this point in time than to do this.
It appears the Dodgers need some pop if they're to reach the postseason, much less experience playoff success. They have a dreadful postseason history since winning the World Series in 1988, qualifying only four times and winning just one game.
Former Boston teammates Derek Lowe and Nomar Garciaparra, now playing with the Dodgers, were delighted with the move.
"I think people for some reason think he's lazy and a bad teammate and that he doesn't care," Lowe said. "He's none of the above. Does he do some goofy things? Absolutely. He does do some goofy things. But as far as preparation and knowing the game and wanting to win, there's no way you put up those numbers year in and year out unless you're a special talent and work at it. And he does both."
The 36-year-old Ramirez, who hit his 500th home run earlier this season, was batting .299 and led the Red Sox with 20 homers and 68 RBI. He is one of eight players to hit at least 20 homers in 14 consecutive seasons.
Among active players, Ramirez ranks third in RBI (1,672), fifth in home runs (510), sixth in on-base percentage (.409) and seventh in batting average (.312). He also ranks eighth in baseball history, and second among active players behind only Albert Pujols (.620), with a .590 slugging percentage. His 2,318 hits rank 10th among active players and his 493 doubles are tied for fourth.
Ramirez, the MVP of the 2004 World Series, remains one of baseball's best hitters and has enjoyed plenty of big moments in October. But his relationship with the Red Sox soured — again — in recent months.
So now, Manny can be Manny on the West Coast.
"Manny being Manny can also mean he'll hit a lot of home runs and drive in a lot of runs," Colletti said.
