"Advertising signs that con you
Into thinking you're the one
That can do what's never been done
That can win what's never been won
Meantime life outside goes on
All around you"Bob Dylan, It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
I don't know if you've heard, but Manny Ramirez turned down a 1-year, $25 million offer from the Dodgers. This has created quite a buzz, especially since there really hasn't been any real news regarding the Manny negotiations since November, outside of the veiled Scott Boras press releases disguised as columns by SI.com's Jon Heyman. However, outside of the fact that something has finally happened in the negotiations, there's not really any news here.
From the Dodgers' standpoint, the one-year offer was something they had to do. Even though it had little chance of being accepted, It was a necessary evil -- if even evil at all. Even though Manny is not a base stealer, this was the equivalent of the Dodgers throwing to first base keeping him close. Sure, fans may boo for the Dodgers to get serious, but there's no impetus for them to do anything just yet.
To date, the Dodgers are the only team to make any real offer to Manny. They offered him a 2-year, $45 million deal in November (with an option and potential for $60 million over 3 years), and Boras never even responded. The Giants are the only other team to have expressed any interest, and their interest has also been for short-term deals. Henry Schulman of the San Francisco Chronicle noted that the Giants are interested on a two-year deal at most for the slugger. However, with no offer details published, it appears the Dodgers have both the highest one-year and highest two-year offers for Manny. How many people were pissed when the Dodgers reportedly bid against themselves to sign Kevin Brown to baseball's first $100 million contract? The Dodgers have no reason to increase their offer unless there is a credible threat from another club to sign Ramirez.
Just because Manny rejected the Dodgers' one-year offer doesn't mean negotiations are dead. Once Scott Boras realizes there are no 4- or 5-year deals out there like he previously thought, the deal will get done. Wake me up when the real news happens.