What Should Manny Ramirez Do

It was announced earlier today that Manny Ramirez was released from his minor league contract with the Texas Rangers. So this leaves Ramirez at the age of 41 without a team to play with. What should he do? Do what other ballplayers that are deemed to be over the hill here in the United States. Follow the example of Bob Horner and go play in Japan.

No knock on the Nippon Professional Baseball league (NPB) but I feel that the Japanese fans would go nuts over Manny Ramirez similar to how the Taiwanese fans were when Manny was playing for the EDA Rhinos of the CPBL earlier this year. I'm sure that some team over in the NPB needs a power bat for the stretch run.

Maybe Manny just needs to forget playing in the majors. Play for the sake of playing and Japan is more than a suitable place to play Baseball. Plus winter ball is right around the corner. I'm sure Manny is playing ball in the Dominican League like he did last season with Las Aguilas del Cibao. But who can tell what Manny Ramirez will ever do. We'll just have to wait and see.

Sisco Kid

****AUTHOR'S NOTE: Was just told by Patrick Newman of NPB Tracker that the player aquisition deadline has expired in Japan for this season. There goes that idea. ;)

Just a little bit of the excitement Manny can bring with the long ball. He did this last season in the first pitch he saw in Winter Ball:

再見...Manny Ramirez says Zhai Gen aka Adios to Taiwan

Photo Courtesy of AP

Ay-yay-yay. So the Manny Ramirez era in Taiwan has come to an end with his opting out of his contract with the EDA Rhinos of the Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL). Ramirez states that his reasons for leaving have to do with his being homesick. This might very well be true but I really think that Manny wants to make a return to the MLB but the question remains does any team in MLB want the traveling drama show that is Manny Ramirez. Has he fully burned all his bridges in MLB or is there a team that is actually willing to give him a chance.

Rumors have it that the Chiba Lotte Marines of the Nippon Professional Baseball League (NPB) is serious in their intent to want to sign Ramirez. Lotte is currently in first place of the Pacific League and I'm sure they see Ramirez as a power bat and a potential draw. If he was indeed homesick in Taiwan, he'll surely be homesick in Japan. But I think its a masterful move. If he joins the NPB, the competition will be stronger there than in the CPBL and if he can put up similar numbers there then I would think he would seriously get better interest from an MLB team.

In 49 games with the Rhinos, Ramirez hit .352 with 8 homers and 43 RBI. His slash line was .352/.422 OBP/.555 SLG.

We'll have to see where Manny lands next. I do have to say that I'll miss the homerun calls that the Taiwanese announcers would bellow when ManRam would go deep. This ball is long gone. Just like an ex-girlfriend who will never return...Awesome

FH

Latinos on the Hall of Fame Ballot

Now that the uproar of this past Hall of Fame election has died down, I want to focus on the Latino ballplayers that are currently eligible for the Hall.

The last Latino to get enshrined into Cooperstown was Roberto Alomar in 2011 in his second year of eligibility with 90.0% of the vote. So who is the next one to be inducted.

Before I go into who is next allow me to elaborate in who can get elected to the Hall of Fame. To be eligible for induction, players must have spent 10 years in MLB and must be five years removed from their playing das. If a player receives less than 5 percent of the vote, he is no longer eligible. In addition, if a player appears on the ballot 15 times and does not reach the necessary 75% then he is no longer eligible for enshrinement. Now that I got the rules out of the way, here is who I think will be the next Latino(s) to get in the Hall of Fame.

I would have to say that the next one to get in is Pedro Martinez who will be eligible for the Hall of Fame in the year 2015 with Vladimir Guerrero and Ivan Rodriguez in 2017. Vlad just announced that he will be attempting to make a comeback this season. If he happens to play one game for a MLB team then his first year for eligibility would be pushed back. I feel these three players are all first ballot caliber players. Manny Ramirez is also eligible for induction in 2017 but with his two positive tests and suspensions for violation of the MLB Drug Policy who can really say if he ever gets in. Talk of positive tests and suspensions brings me to Rafael Palmiero.

Palmiero is a member of a rare club of one of four players to reach BOTH the 500 Home Run and 3000 hit plateaus. Hank Aaron, Willie Mays and Eddie Murray are the other three and are members of the Hall of Fame. I believe that Palmiero will not be joining them since I feel that this will be his last year on the ballot. Look at his showing in the last three years:

11.0% in 2011
12.6% in 2012
8.8% in 2013

He lost ground in a year that saw first year eligible candidates Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Sammy Sosa, Mike Piazza and Craig Biggio not get elected. Take into consideration that next year's first ballot eligibles include Frank Thomas, Greg Maddux, Tom Glavine, Jeff Kent and Mike Mussina among others. Next year will prove to be the deepest Hall of Fame ballot ever and the voters can vote for up to 10 players. I really have a hard time seeing Palmiero getting more than 8% let alone the necessary 5% to stay on the ballot.

The other Latino who is still on the ballot after multiple years is Edgar Martinez. Martinez is considered by many as being the best Designated Hitter of all time. He has been much more consistent when it comes to his standing on the Hall of Fame ballot. In his first year Martinez received:

36.2% in 2010
32.9% in 2011
36.5% in 2012
35.9% in 2013

Given the fact that next year is a stacked ballot, Martinez might drop a bit in terms of percentage but is in good shape to recoup his losses and even move up closer to the necessary 75% within the next five to ten years.

Sammy Sosa received 12.5% in his first year and who can tell where he'll rank in the next few years. Bernie Williams received 3.2% of the vote this year and is no longer on the ballot.

So what do you gals and guys think. Agree? Disagree? Leave me a comment and let me know what your thoughts are.

FH

Manny Being Manny A-La Taiwan Style

Manny Ramirez has popped up once again in the Baseball news circuit. Not content with staying out of the public eye, it was announced by Enrique Lopez of ESPN Deportes that unless Ramirez gets a contract with a MLB team by March 7th, he will sign a contract to play for the EDL Rhinos (formerly the Sinun Bulls) of the Chinese Professional Baseball League in Taiwan. This is after Ramirez played Dominican Winterball with Las Águilas Cibaeñas. Ramirez put up decent numbers with Las Águilas hitting .298 with eight homers, 27 RBI and 21 runs in 181 innings.

What I find amusing is how in the video footage Lopez seems to be astonished  that there is not an MLB team that needs Manny Ramirez. How Ramirez was quoted as saying:

"My agents called almost every team in the AL with apparent needs a veteran to use as a designated hitter and occasional pop and nobody was interested,"

Well why would any team stick their necks out to sign him. He's a two time offender under the performance enhancing drug rules and in his last stint with the Tampa Bay Rays batting .059 with no homers, 1 RBI and no runs scored in 17 at-bats before he retired due to a second violation of the PED policy. Clearly with the whole Biogenesis scandal and the announcement of in season HGH testing the  teams, the players union and the league are showing that they are tired with the whole steroid mess that seems to be rearing its ugly head once again. Why bring back a shamed player who many believed was one of best right handed hitters in the history of the game. Why take the chance of being the team that signed Ramirez to a contract and have him fail a third test which would lead to a lifetime suspension from Major League Baseball. Ramirez had already served a 50-game suspension for his first violation and retired from the game instead of serving a 100-game suspension for his second violation. The stipulation for his reinstatement was that he serve a 50-game suspension, which Ramirez did while under a minor league contract with the Oakland A's. Knowing the back story of Ramirez and his suspensions, its no wonder why any team would not sign him to any kind of a deal. No team needs that kind of negative press. 

Maybe the best thing for Ramirez would be to play abroad during the summer and play in the Dominican during the winter. Out of sight...out of mind would be the best for all parties involved. What do you think. 

FH

- Click Here to Access Manny Ramirez's career statistics from Baseball Reference.com

Bye Bye Manny Ramirez

I get a text from my friend Pete while listening to the Yankees-Red Sox game that says "O S#!T Sisco. Now Manny never gets into the hall". Since I was already listening to the game, John Sterling and Suzyn Waldman had been discussing first the rumor that Ramirez had retired and later the reports that he decided to retire rather than continuing the program for those who fail a drug test. That further led to speculation that Manny had failed another test for performance enhancing drugs (PED's) and was looking at a 100 game suspension. The speculation was rendered fact when Major League Baseball confirmed that Ramirez had in fact failed a drug test administered during Spring Training. 

Didn't Ramirez learn from his suspension two seasons ago? Did he really think that if he took something that as a former offender, they wouldn't look at him through a stringer point of view? At least Rafael Palmiero had the good sense to disappear from public view the season after he served his suspension. To answer my friend Pete: Yes, the only way Ramirez enters the Hall of Fame is as a paying customer. 

You can forget his career .312 batting average, his 555 homers and 1831 RBI. You can disregard his career OPS of .996 (.411 OBP/.585 SLG). You can forget that Ramirez made up one of the most dominating one-two combinations with David Ortiz since Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. You what's the sad part about it, he didn't need any kind of drugs to enhance himself. 

Ramirez, along with McGwire, Palmiero, Barry Bonds, Alex Rodriguez, Sammy Sosa and Roger Clemens to name a few, has the god given natural ability to play ball and never needed to resort to using PED's. Who knows why he did so. Maybe time and age started catching up with him. At least give McGwire and Rodriguez credit for coming out and admitting that they had used PED's. It might not aid theirarmando enshrinement to the Hall of Fame. Only time will tell that story. In Ramirez's case he should do the same and try to salvage some part of his legacy instead of running away from his mistakes. 

Like my friend Migdalia said earlier today: Manny being Manny. He always went by some different beat. Well, the beat has stopped. Until he comes clean, Manny Ramirez is nothing but a coward. 

FH

Dismantling and Rebuilding of the Tampa Bay Rays

After winning two American League titles in the last 3 years and a trip to the 2008 World Series, the Tampa Bay Rays have been dismantled but there is hope for the Tampa Bay faithful. Before I go into the current state of the Rays, let me recap the players that have left the Rays:

- Juaquin Benoit (RP) to the Detroit Tigers
- Carlos Peña (1B) to the Chicago Cubs
- Carl Crawford (LF) to the Boston Red Sox
- Jason Bartlett (SS) to the San Diego Padres
- Rafael Soriano (RP) to the New York Yankees

The Rays also made an 8-player trade with the Chicago Cubs during the beginning of January. Here are the details on that trade: the Rays sent starting pitcher Matt Garza, outfielder Fernando Perez and another minor leaguer to the Cubs for prospects pitcher Chris Archer, outfielder Brandon Guyer, catcher Robinson Chirinos, shortstop Hak-Ju Lee and outfielder Sam Fuld. For more information of the prospects received by Tampa Bay in the trade, read Steve Slowinski's article A Look at the Matt Garza Haul: Archer, Lee, Chirinos, Guyer and Fuld from Draysbay.com.

So what does this mean for the Rays. Here's the bad news first. The positions of 1B, LF, SS, 8th inning reliever and closer are seriously depleted. In dealing Garza, Rays traded their number two starter leaving a big hole after number one starter David Price. But no need to fret, there is hope of the horizon.

- Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez
It was made official today: The Rays have signed Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez. As it was reported by Joe Smith of the St. Petersburg Times in his article Introduction of Manny Ramirez, Johnny Damon 'an exciting day' for Tampa Bay Rays:

Ramirez, who will make $2 million, is expected to be the full-time designated hitter. Damon, who will earn a base salary of $5.25 million, will likely be the primary leftfielder and potential leadoff hitter; Manager Joe Maddon said he hasn't set settled on a batting order yet.

I know there are those fans of the Rays that have doubts about Ramirez. The footage of his antics in Boston are readily available and it seems as if he has not been the same since his 50-game suspension for the usage of performance enhancing drugs, but don't forget, Ramirez is considered to be one of the best right handed hitters in the history of the game. Will Ramirez be the dominating force he was when he was traded to the Los Angeles Dodgers? Probably not, but I think Manny is still good enough to hit between .280 and .310 with 30-40 HRs and 100 RBI. I believe that Ramirez will help to fill the hitting void that was left with Carlos Peña's departure. Maybe the change of scenery and a return to the division where he put up career numbers will do him good.

In terms of Damon, we all know his deficiencies in terms of his arm strength but after seeing him play on the Yankees from 2006-2009, I can say that Damon is a solid player who will play everyday if you let him and his demeanor is perfectly suited for the Tampa Bay Rays. Will he play everyday? I don't believe so, but Damon will provide insurance and guidance for super prospect Desmond Jennings, who is slated to take the place of Carl Crawford. If Jennings' performance is not up to what is expected of him this season, Damon can be plugged into any position in the outfield and he is still a threat on the base paths providing opportunities for run scoring by sluggers Longoria and Ramirez. I think in terms of both Damon and Ramirez, the positives outweigh the potential negatives.

- Casey Kotchman
The Rays have also signed first baseman Casey Kotchman formerly of the Seattle Mariners. I believe that Kotchman will platoon at first with Dan Johnson who was resigned by the Rays during the winter meetings in December. In 414 at-bats, Kotchman hit .217 with 9 HRs and 51 RBI. Kotchman had 90 hits (20 2B/1 3B/9 HR) with 57 strikeouts and 35 walks. His OPS was .616 (.280 OBP/.336 SLG). Kotchman's strength lies in his fielding abilities and as Ramirez will do with his hitting, Kotchman will help fill the defensive void left behind by Peña's departure.

- Reid Brignac
I believe that super utility player Reid Brignac will become the everyday shortstop. Having played at the majority of his games at second and short, Brignac will be paired with second baseman Ben Zobrist to shore up the middle infield for the Rays.

- The Bullpen
I think this is the area where the Rays have helped themselves out the most. Granted, it'll be hard to replace Benoit and Soriano was arguably the best 8th inning and closer combo in baseball last season. But the bullpen was shored up somewhat with the signings of fireballer Kyle Farnsworth (3-2 with a 3.34 ERA, 55 hits, 61 strikeouts and 19 walks for a WHIP of 1.144 in 60 games with the Kansas City Royals and the Atlanta Braves) and Joel Peralta (1-0 with a 2.02 ERA, 30 hits 49 strikeouts and 9 walks for a WHIP of 0.796 in 39 games with the Washington Nationals last season).

Farnsworth and Peralta join a bullpen that already includes J.P. Howell, Jake McGee, Andy Sonnanstine, Cory Wade, R.J. Swindle and Mike Ekstrom. I'm not sure if Tampa's bullpen can match those of division rivals Boston and New York but even after losing Benoit and Soriano, I think the Rays bullpen can be consistent enough to help keep games close.

- The Prospects
Based on MLB.com's recent Top 50 prospect list, the Rays have the following players in the top 50:

- #2 Jeremy Hellickson
- #11 Desmond Jennings
- #27 Matt Moore
- #47 Chris Archer

As I mentioned earlier, Jennings is seen as the heir-apparent to Carl Crawford in the outfield. From what I've read, Jennings is deemed to be a five-tool player similar to Crawford with better patience at the plate. Matt Diaz of Roto-Hardball describes Jennings as so:

While Jennings has a long way to go to reach Crawford's big league status, Jennings has shown throughout his minor league career to be a more ideal lead-off hitter than Crawford. Jennings has a career BB% of 10.6% (1831 PA), compared to Crawford's minor league career (5.4% in 1855 PA). With Jennings ability to hit for a high average and the ability to be patient and take walks, he will have tons of opportunities for SB's.

Pitcher Jeremy Hellickson has seen some limited major league experience. In 10 appearances (of which 4 were starts), he went 4-0 with a 3.47 ERA. He gave up 32 hits with 33 strikeouts and 8 walks for a WHIP of 1.10 36.1 innings pitched. It is believed that Hellickson will move into the starting rotation joining David Price, James Shields, Jeff Niemann and Wade Davis.

It is also believed that there will be some limits placed on Hellickson similar to those placed on Yankees starter Phil Hughes this past season. Matt Diaz of Roto-Hardball describes it as so:

Look for the Rays to monitor Hellickson's 2011 workload a bit. He has never gone more than 152 innings in his minor league career, so expect somewhere from 150-170 innings out of Hellickson in 2011. Likely to pitch out of the 5th spot in the Rays rotation, Hellickson could win 10-13 games while posting solid ERA, WHIP, and K totals. He is one of the early favorites for AL Rookie of the Year.

Do I think the Rays can will 96 games like they did last season? No, I think it'll take some time for the new players and the prospects to gel around stalwarts Evan Longoria, B.J. Upton and David Price. Will they be at the bottom of the American League East? No, I still believe that the Rays are better than the Toronto Blue Jays and the Baltimore Orioles. I think the Rays will provide some tough challenges for both the Red Sox and the Yankees and compared are better than most of the other teams in the American League. Maybe if the gelling takes place faster than expected and Manny Ramirez and Johnny Damon have comeback seasons the Rays can contend for the Wild Card this season. Otherwise, 2012 would be a more realistic goal for a rise to the top for the Rays.

FH