Public Feud Bruising Manny, Dodgers

(NEWSER) - Manny Ramirez will be back with the Los Angeles Dodgers for at least a year after contentious contract negotiations, the Los Angeles Times reports. The 37-year-old slugger, pending a physical, will sign a $45 million contract for 2 years, with an opt-out clause after the first year and a $25 million payout. “I know how people treated me in LA,” Ramirez said. “And I want to thank them.” The deal includes a no-trade clause. More»

Deferred payments deep-six deal

(NEWSER) - The Dodgers sent out an angry mass email last night, titled “Boras Rejects Dodgers Offer to Manny,” complaining that agent Scott Boras had shot down yet another offer—this time for a two-year, $45 million deal. But Boras says he didn’t reject the offer, he simply made a counter offer—for a two-year, $45 million deal. Confused? The devil is in the fine print, the LA Times reports. More»

(NEWSER) - The Los Angeles Dodgers tossed aside another counter-offer from Manny Ramirez's agent today, the Los Angeles Times reports. Sounding testy and calling the talks "a distraction" from spring training, team owner Frank McCourt said the two sides would "start from scratch" in negotiations. "And you know what? The world isn't anything like it was in November," he said, referring to the economic crisis. More»

Dodgers get one loopy guy, but hey, they got him for nothing

(NEWSER) - Look out, LA—Manny Ramirez is coming. The ex-Red Sox outfielder brings "510 career home runs inside 510 pounds of baggage,” writes Bill Plaschke of the LA Times. And "the only thing that flops around more than his trademark dreadlocks are his moods." But the deal was a no-brainer for the Dodgers: "They do not have to pay someone who immediately becomes their best hitter." More»

Move comes days before payroll due

(NEWSER) - With owner Frank McCourt unable to meet this week’s payroll, the Los Angeles Dodgers have filed for bankruptcy. McCourt will likely hold that this means Major League Baseball can’t take over the team, notes Craig Calcaterra at NBC Sports , though the courts may decide otherwise in the coming days. "The end game for McCourt doesn’t look all that better than it did before," he writes. One detail noted by MarketWatch : The biggest creditor listed in the bankruptcy papers is former outfielder Manny Ramirez. The team still owes him $21 million. More»