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Manny's Debut

Manny Ramirez's Dodger debut did an amazingly good job at showcasing exactly what he'll be for the Dodgers.

Even though he ended up grounding into a double play in the bottom of the ninth, for the first time in a very long time, I actually felt like we had a chance to win the game with one swing right there. The Dodgers haven't had a player that you could actually expect to hit a home run during the entire Colletti regime, so it was an astoundingly good feeling to see Manny up there with the game on the line.

We also very quickly learned that, no, Manny's defensive issues weren't just because of the Green monster. I can't remember the last time I saw a player move as slowly as Manny does in the outfield. In the second Conor Jackson hit a drive off the left field wall. It would have been a great catch if Manny could have made it, but was miles away from the ball. The second example came when Manny managed to destroy my assumption that any play a middle infielder misses will be a single, turning a ground ball up the middle into a triple. This is why Manny is only a one win improvement over Juan Pierre.

Manny actually brings excitement to this team, which is something we've lacked for  really long time. We're just going to have to pay the price defensively it.