Manny Back in LA for 2 Years, $45M

(NEWSER) - Teams don’t usually publicize their offers to players, but the Dodgers have publicized their offer to Manny Ramirez—in fact, they’ve publicized all four of them. And so LA is embroiled in a bizarre spring training, dominated by an ongoing negotiation/feud with a player who isn’t there. “I don’t recall a more public negotiation with an athlete in recent Los Angeles history,” a USC sports business professor tells the LA Times. 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»

But MLB doesn't move to seize woeful team

(NEWSER) - Major League Baseball commissioner Bud Selig gave Dodgers' owner Frank McCourt a major league headache today after putting the kibosh on a proposed TV deal between the Dodgers and Fox—and simultaneously squashing McCourt's divorce deal from Jamie McCourt. Selig said the deal was "structured to facilitate the further diversion of Dodgers assets for the personal needs of Mr McCourt." Under the deal, $173.5 million of the upfront money would have gone to the McCourts and their lawyers, notes the LA Times. More»

Defending World Series champs now up 2-1 over Dodgers

(AP) - Cliff Lee dominated the Dodgers and Ryan Howard and Jayson Werth provided the big swings early as the Philadelphia Phillies cruised past Los Angeles 11-0 last night for a 2-1 lead in the NL championship series. Lee provided another brilliant playoff start, striking out 10 and allowing only three hits in eight innings. "Cliff Lee, what can I say about him? He was absolutely outstanding," Phillies manager Charlie Manuel said. More»

Ramirez heads to triple-A Isotopes

(NEWSER) - Manny Ramirez may play for the Albuquerque Isotopes tonight, and droves of locals are planning to be there, the Los Angeles Times reports. The Triple-A team sells 7,715 tickets for a typical game; tonight it expects up to 15,000. Fans aren’t much concerned about the slugger’s suspension for using a performance-enhancing drug. “He’s a cheater,” one told the AP, “but I want to see him play.” More»