Joe Christensen's Sunday Insider: It's all about the money

Dodgers fans may have fallen for Manny Ramirez, but the free-agent-to-be is doing this strictly for the cash.

By JOE CHRISTENSEN, Star Tribune

Last update: September 15, 2008 - 1:45 AM

He'll fool Dodgers fans into thinking this is about the pennant.

It would be their first since 1988, so forgive them for being gullible.

He'll fool the rest of us into thinking this is about revenge.

The Red Sox unloaded him, so Manny Ramirez decided he'd show them.

He batted .396 with 14 home runs and 40 RBI in his first 38 games for the Dodgers. The team went 21-17 in that stretch, and with Brandon Webb and Dan Haren wilting in Arizona, it was enough for the Dodgers to open a commanding lead in the feeble NL West.

Remember Fernando Mania? Now, Manny Mania is sweeping the Southland.

They're selling dreadlock wigs with blue skull caps for $25 at Dodger Stadium.

Ramirez is the star those fans have been clamoring for since Mike Piazza left.

With the top pitching staff in the NL, the Dodgers are hoping Ramirez can put them back over the top. He is the all-time leader with 24 career postseason home runs, and he helped the Red Sox win two World Series titles in the past four years.

The Dodgers will take all the help they can get. They are 1-12 in postseason play since Kirk Gibson and Orel Hershiser led them to their World Series title in 1988.

But for Ramirez, it's hard to believe this is about the pennant or revenge. More likely, this is about money. Forget Manny being Manny. This is a completely focused effort to land the next big contract.

He'll be a free agent at season's end. To waive his no-trade clause, he had his two options voided, even though each paid $20 million per year.

So when this fairy tale ends for the Dodgers, Ramirez and agent Scott Boras will be on the market, looking to cash in again.

Boras will be shopping a client who ranks 17th on the all-time home run list after recently passing Ted Williams, Willie McCovey and Frank Thomas, who are tied at 521.

The Yankees and Mets are rumored to be potential suitors, which will only drive up the price.

For now, it's all sunshine and lollipops for Ramirez. Manager Joe Torre is a master at keeping superstars focused. Ramirez said he's found "peace" in Los Angeles and has described it like going on "vacation."

L.A. is certainly more laid-back than Boston. But it's also a place where big-money players tend to drift -- Andruw Jones, Kevin Brown and Shawn Green, to name a few.

Throwing more money at Ramirez will be a risk, especially since he's a 36-year-old with marginal defensive skills who might be best-suited as an American League DH.

If the Dodgers let him leave, their fans might be furious. But how can people forget how badly it ended in Boston? There was Ramirez decking the traveling secretary and the general perception that he quit on the team.

It's hard to overlook the quote Red Sox GM Theo Epstein gave the day after completing the three-way trade with the Pirates and Dodgers, which brought Jason Bay to the Red Sox.

"We had a meeting with 25 players who felt like a team," Epstein said. "We haven't felt like that for a week."

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