We Have An Opening Bid In The Manny Auction

The Dodgers have an offer on the table to keep Manny Ramirez, but is it just for show? We'd know better if we knew what it was, but GM Ned Colleti isn't talking. Speculation is that it's "either two years for $50 million or three years for $75 million," according to the Los Angeles Times. That's less than the 2 years for $60 that was initially reported, and a sight less than Alex Rodriguez' $27.5 million average for his 10-year deal. Ramirez' agent, Scott Boras, will likely hold out for a longer deal, perhaps six years. Dealing with Boras is always fun! It all just could be a beard anyway. Dodgers owner Frank McCourt wants to look like he's trying to keep him, knowing full well, probably, that the real Manny Money is on the east coast. And I don't mean Baltimore. From the Los Angeles Times:

The deal that was proposed to Ramirez on Tuesday night would give the 36-year-old free-agent outfielder "the highest average annual value in the history of the franchise and the second-highest average annual value in baseball" — somewhere between the $27.5 million per season earned by Alex Rodriguez of the New York Yankees and the $22.9 million earned by Johan Santana of the New York Mets — according to General Manager Ned Colletti.

Somewhere, Indonesian children are standing by in sweatshops poised to assemble thousands of these. They're just waiting for the official word. Oh, and the Dodgers declined to pick up the option of pitcher Brad Penny as well. • Yankees Lose The 'Stache. No!. He survived a steroids scandal and thrilled us all by growing a controversial yet formidable porn 'stache, but it seems that the Jason Giambi era in New York is finished (unless the Mets pick him up. Or perhaps the Brooklyn Cyclones). The Yankees sent our hero into the wilds of free agency, declining to pick up the $22 million team option on his contract for 2009. Pitcher Carl Pavano is also gone, New York opting out on the $13 million they would have spent watching him get treatment in the trainer's room. • Glove Is A Many Splendored Thing. Greg Maddux won his major league record 18th gold glove on Wednesday, while the Phillies captured two with outfielder Shane Victorino and shortstop Jimmy Rollins. The Mets also had two, with outfielder Carlos Beltran and third baseman David Wright.