Dodgers Talks With Manny Will Start From Scratch

Search

Professional At All Times
Joined
Dec 3, 2003
Messages
42,732
Tokens
GLENDALE, Ariz. -- Los Angeles Dodgers owner Frank McCourt envisioned Sunday as a day for fireworks, ceremonial first pitches and a wall-to-wall celebration in conjunction with the opening of the new $100 million spring training facility that his team will share with the Chicago White Sox.
Instead, McCourt spent the bulk of a 30-minute press conference discussing Scott Boras, deferred money, and the team's decision to "start from scratch" in its negotiations with star outfielder Manny Ramirez.
He did not sound pleased.
"It's fair to say that I'm a little frustrated,'' McCourt said. "The reason we wanted to have this wrapped up by Friday was because we wanted to celebrate the opening of Camelback Ranch and be talking about Manny as a Dodger, instead of talking about Camelback Ranch and the Manny Ramirez negotiations.
"Today is a day to say welcome to Dodger and White Sox fans, and that's why it bothers me. The distraction it causes is just unfair.''
While Dodgers general manager Ned Colletti spoke with Boras on Saturday, there was no news to report Sunday, and no definitive indication from the team on when it expects negotiations to resume.
The Dodgers, who've made three offers to Ramirez this offseason in addition to an offer of salary arbitration, proposed a one-year, $25 million deal this week that included a player option for a second year at $20 million.
But $25 million of the Dodgers' offer was to be deferred with no interest -- which in reality brought the actual present-day value of the team's proposal to about $42 million.
When Boras presented a counterproposal Thursday for a two-year, $45 million deal with no deferred money, McCourt said the team took it as a no and a signal that negotiations had "terminated.''
"It wasn't multiple choice,'' McCourt said.
So in effect, the Dodgers are talking about walking away from the table and starting anew even though the gap between their latest offer and Boras' recent proposal amounts to a mere $3 million.
Although McCourt said the Dodgers have made it "crystal clear'' they want to bring back Ramirez for 2009 and possibly beyond, the public tone of talks has grown testier -- at least from the club's end. McCourt said Boras's objection to deferred money is "disingenuous,'' because the agent had been initially receptive to the idea as a way to increase the overall value of the package.
McCourt also referred to Boras's stance as a "side show,'' a "smokescreen'' and a "red herring.''
Boras, who was attending a college baseball game Sunday, had no immediate response to McCourt's comments.
McCourt indicated that with the recent economic downturn, the Dodgers' financial parameters might be different from what they were even four months ago.
"Every day things are changing, and we need to be mindful of that,'' McCourt said. "We kept our offer virtually where it was in November. And you know what? The world isn't anything like it was in November. So we're going to start fresh and look at this the way we'll look at it sometime next week.''

Jerry Crasnick covers baseball for ESPN.com.
 

Dynasty
Joined
Sep 19, 2007
Messages
13,234
Tokens
Dodgers are practically negotiating against themselves. They would be crazy to give him any more money than they have already offered. What is he going to do pull a Spreewell and retire? He just needs to sign a 2 year $45 million dollar contract and be happy
 

Forum statistics

Threads
1,106,902
Messages
13,439,425
Members
99,345
Latest member
08winlink
The RX is the sports betting industry's leading information portal for bonuses, picks, and sportsbook reviews. Find the best deals offered by a sportsbook in your state and browse our free picks section.FacebookTwitterInstagramContact Usforum@therx.com