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The A's have varying degrees of interest in Manny Ramirez and Magglio Ordonez, which makes only a bit more sense than them having interest in Peyton Manning.
Feb 10, 2012 - There are paragraphs that make sense in February. There are paragraphs that don't. Here is one that doesn't, from Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle:
I’m hearing that the A’s are continuing to pursue Manny Ramirez, and that they’re much more interested in Ramirez than Magglio Ordonez at this point; Ordonez’s health is more of a concern.
The A's and Manny Ramirez. More ridiculous than the A's and Magglio Ordonez, or more sensible? I go back and forth. The A's signing Manny is crazy like emptying a bottle of ketchup down your pants and dancing on a table during a first date. There's a one-percent chance that the date has a weird sense of humor, I guess. Might work out. The A's signing Magglio is more like eating unwrapped packets of Splenda when the date's head is turned. It's a deeper, darker kind of crazy.
To recap: The A's are rebuilding. Oh, it's not a pure rebuild. It's not like they've razed the earth like the Astros have, bringing up whatever they could find in AA in a search for warm bodies. The A's signed Bartolo Colon and Coco Crisp, legitimate big-league players who will allow the A's to avoid forcing someone into the majors who isn't ready.
It's also not a horrible collection of talent that the A's have going -- every player in their projected lineup deserves to be in the majors, which isn't a small feat for a rebuilding club. Of course, every hitter on the roster is expected to be below average, so a little more offense might not be a bad thing.
But if they're going to spend money on Magglio or Manny, that means that they're counting on one of three things:
1. Fan Interest
As in, the signing of one of these two will generate ticket sales and goodwill, possibly allowing the team to turn the 2013 FanFest into a FansFest, even if Jake was excited that he didn't have to wait in line for the bathroom this year. This is a hard thing to quantify, but while you could make an argument that Manny could do it over his 112 games, I'm pretty sure no one in Oakland cares about Ordonez at this point, other than to throw things at him for the 2006 ALCS.
2. Trade Deadline Flippin'
This is where the A's use the player for a couple of months before exchanging him for shiny prospects. But that's a risky proposition with a DH, as only a select few teams will be able to use Manny or Magglio at the deadline. And even then, would either of them do so well that a team would give a prospect back that was more valuable than the money the A's paid for the three months? Probably not.
3. Contending
In this scenario, the A's are battling with the Rangers and Angels, and the key addition of Magglio or Manny has provided a surprising jolt to the middle of the lineup. Also providing a surprising jolt in this scenario: the time that Billy Beane thinks he saved Mary Jane after the Green Goblin dropped her, only to find out that she died from shock during the fall. Because as long as we're making crap up, why not pretend that Billy Beane is Spider-Man?
Based on any of those three things, I'm not sure why the A's would want to mess around with either of the aging sluggers. While I mentioned the cost of their respective salaries up there, that's not really the important part. The important part is the opportunity cost that the A's would give up. They should have the following players at their disposal:
Signing Magglio or Manny means that the A's will figure out if one of those players can hit enough to stick as a first baseman. The others? To the bench or to Sacramento, where another year will pass without the A's having a good idea who can or can't hit major-league pitching. In the meantime, the A's will mess around with the remains of a guy who used to be a top slugger, and they'll do it in true underwear-gnome fashion.
Maybe they'll squeeze an extra win out of it. Not sure what good that would do anyone. For some teams, a flyer like this can make sense, but for the A's, this is more Brad Pitt from True Romance than Brad Pitt from Moneyball.
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Grant Brisbee:
Oakland's Bizarre Interest In Manny Ramirez And Magglio Ordonez
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Comments
This joke just never stops being funny.
I have Croix de Candlesticks older than you.
Golden Gate Beer Bars | Tweetybox
by troymccluresf on Feb 10, 2012 1:28 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Nope.
I will not apologize for using it four or five times every year.
by Grant Brisbee on Feb 10, 2012 1:43 PM EST up reply actions
We had 7,000 people there!
And I was excited I could walk up to the players and say what’s up without police escorts. For all the bad rap Oakland gets.
by Billy Frijoles on Feb 10, 2012 2:15 PM EST up reply actions
(I know 7,000 people isn't a ton but it's more than just Jake)
by Billy Frijoles on Feb 10, 2012 2:22 PM EST up reply actions
That's pretty impressive considering it wasn't free
Or was the cost of admission just a rumor?
by Grant Brisbee on Feb 10, 2012 2:28 PM EST up reply actions
Like the rallies for Bashar al-Assad, they bus them in at gun-point.
Though I’m not sure if I’m talking about the fans or the players
by J0SER on Feb 10, 2012 2:53 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Haha
Official prediction: The Angels will win the AL west this season.
by RexTookMyStash on Feb 10, 2012 4:00 PM EST up reply actions
Actually
The cost of admission was taking 10 swings in the batting cage, just to find out if anyone could hit an MLB offspeed pitch. Gots to identify that talent however you can when no established hitters will sign here of their own free will!
by ahhall on Feb 10, 2012 3:32 PM EST up reply actions
In KC
they have a 90-foot section (in the Fans Distraction area behind center field) that has a series of lights timed to the speed of various Royals. You run the 90 feet and see if you can beat the lights.
I always wanted to put Billy Butler’s time on it and see if I could beat it. And I’m a 43-year-old fat guy.
by HawkeyeEdward on Feb 10, 2012 4:56 PM EST up reply actions
For what it's worth
In 18 years, Butler will be a 43-year-old fat guy as well.
by ahhall on Feb 10, 2012 5:16 PM EST up reply actions
My son did that
When he was about 6 weeks shy of his 3rd birthday. He ran it in exactly twice the time of Butler’s pace. I don’t know if that’s good or not, but I was impressed that my 2-year-old was half as fast as a Major League baseball player. He loved all of that stuff.
by Stephen Suffron on Feb 10, 2012 10:11 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
Maybe they'll sign a Molina someday
"He's listed as day to day, but then again, aren't we all?" — Vin Scully
by YonYonson on Feb 11, 2012 10:29 AM EST up reply actions
I did not have to pay to get in, I just went to the ticket services window and they handed me 2 tickets
I am not sure about others. Although in fairness all the money from those sales were supposed to go to the A’s community fund (which is a charity organization).
by Billy Frijoles on Feb 10, 2012 6:57 PM EST up reply actions
I'm assuming they double counted some of the fat guys.
Official prediction: The Angels will win the AL west this season.
by RexTookMyStash on Feb 10, 2012 4:00 PM EST up reply actions
fair enough.
by Billy Frijoles on Feb 10, 2012 6:56 PM EST up reply actions
Very good article. I too don’t understand the reasoning w/Manny & Magglio, especially given the possibilities w/Allen & Barton …
Lee [ Cowboy ]
Lee Cress
by Cowboy33 on Feb 10, 2012 1:47 PM EST reply actions
Oh yeah. More characters should die of shock from those falls.
I’m stealing this if I get staffed on Alphas or something this season.
by Every6thDay on Feb 10, 2012 2:00 PM EST reply actions
Manny makes a lot more sense
You have the 50 game suspension to start the year. Plenty of time to see what you have in the young guys.
by Billy Frijoles on Feb 10, 2012 2:11 PM EST reply actions
Good point
But that plan would work better if we only had one AAAA slugger to check out. There’s time to try Barton at 1st with Carter DH’ing, wait 50 games, and then start over with Allen at 1st and Kila DH’ing. It could take us all year just to give each of these guys a legit chance. And I mean a legit chance, not giving Carter 50 AB’s and calling him a failure again.
And I would also give Donaldson time DH’ing if none of the others pan out, just to see if he can hit enough to someday supplant Suzuki behind the plate. And there’s Jermaine Mitchell to take a look at. And even Johnny Gomes gets hot now and then…at least, I assume that he probably does. That could cost us a few dozen starts at DH over the season.
As fun as it would be to give Manny a shot, it would never be more than a 4-month stopgap. I’m more interested in finding out, once and for all, if we have a 6-year answer toiling in Sacramento.
by ahhall on Feb 10, 2012 3:40 PM EST up reply actions
That's a good point; I'd like that answer to be Chris Carter
The fact that he takes a while to adjust to each level, but then dominates, gives me hope he could do the same at the MLB level.
by Billy Frijoles on Feb 10, 2012 6:59 PM EST up reply actions
neither makes sense
makes no sense whatsoever, let the kids play!
give kila the first 150-200 ab’s, and if he doesn’t stick, then hand the reigns over to carter
Snoochies
by guessatomo on Feb 10, 2012 2:34 PM EST reply actions
Not Mary Jane
The girl dying from shock was Gwen Stacy. But since you’re pretending, go with it.
A U M
by Boddhi Oak on Feb 10, 2012 2:42 PM EST reply actions
Huh.
Getting that wrong is a good way to straddle the nerd fence, I guess.
by Grant Brisbee on Feb 10, 2012 2:49 PM EST up reply actions
That's a painful fence to straddle. Lots of pointy heads
by J0SER on Feb 10, 2012 2:54 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
Not shock
Gwen died because he neck snapped due to deceleration when Spidey slung a web to catch her.
Nope, Petey can never catch a break.
by GBSimons on Feb 10, 2012 3:08 PM EST up reply actions
I watch a ton of Mariners games. Even the past two years
But I won’t watch more than a couple of games against the A’s. So boring. So many games.
One thing that will make me watch more than a couple: Manny Ramierez. Just the chance that something… unusual… might happen can get you through a lot of innings. He’s a lot less entertaining when he’s a pure DH, though: clown shoes and WTF moments in the outfield are a big part of the package (as long as he’s on some other team, at least).
by J0SER on Feb 10, 2012 3:00 PM EST reply actions
I wish ...
That either the A’s or Giants were a slugging, all-hit, no-pitch team like the 2008 Rangers. Because watching both all the time … man, it stinks.
by Grant Brisbee on Feb 10, 2012 3:43 PM EST up reply actions
At least with the Giants you get Lincecum every 5 days
To non-baseball fans it looks just as boring, but a dominant pitcher can be a lot of fun to watch (especially if he’s shutting down a team with a lot of offense, because you know how narrow a rope he’s walking). With the A’s, though…. well, you never know, Beane might have some pitching gem he’s pulled out of
his assStockton.by J0SER on Feb 10, 2012 4:28 PM EST up reply actions
Man, I thought for sure that Magglio was retired by now…
by Rujasu on Feb 10, 2012 3:01 PM EST reply actions
I feel misled because you didn't talk at all about the A's signing Peyton Manning in this article
by seattlebruin on Feb 10, 2012 4:01 PM EST reply actions 1 recs
Whether we want to admit it or not,
I think he’d be a draw. Hell, I live in San Francisco and I might even go catch a game to see what hi jinx he might pull.
Official prediction: The Angels will win the AL west this season.
by RexTookMyStash on Feb 10, 2012 4:04 PM EST reply actions
Maybe Beane is doing it...
…under some brilliantly insane plan to pressure local lawmakers into giving him his new stadium. “Show me the way to San Jose or I’ll keep parading these villainous characters out onto the baseball diamond for your children to watch!”
When he signs Milton Bradley in 2013, you’ll know I’m on to something.
"[The Cubs] have a very famous tradition in baseball, and it will be nice to be part of turning it around." ~ Jamie Quirk, Bench Coach
by daver on Feb 10, 2012 5:30 PM EST reply actions
This has a weird "Major League" tint to it
All the A’s need now is a voodoo-practicing outfielder who can’t hit a curveball and a Vaseline-ball-throwing starter.
by frisbeepilot on Feb 10, 2012 8:24 PM EST up reply actions
It's a pay to play scam
I got it. Maybe Manny’s agent will pay the A’s for the AB’s, kind of like showcase gigs for aspiring metal bands. But what would be unethical, right ?
by jjmalden on Feb 10, 2012 8:19 PM EST reply actions
Manny's Suspension = 100 games, not 50
Manny already did a 50-game suspension for his first offense in 2009. Now he has to sit out 100 games for his second offense.
by jjackflash on Feb 10, 2012 9:17 PM EST reply actions
But people who understand that say it's actually 50, not 100, though I've never seen a reason given
Because he didn’t play the rest of the season? Because he retired? Because he’s Manny?
by J0SER on Feb 10, 2012 9:51 PM EST up reply actions
Following up
I found more than one article written in December of last year which stated that he, the MLBPA and Commissioner’s office reached an agreement that he only has to serve 50 games this year, given that he sat out the last 156 games of last season (yes, he “retired,” but that means he didn’t collect a paycheck…he essentially forfeited 156/162nds of his contract).
by jjackflash on Feb 10, 2012 10:04 PM EST up reply actions
Thanks. That makes sense. I guess. As much as anything about Manny makes sense
by J0SER on Feb 11, 2012 2:20 AM EST up reply actions
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