It’s official.
Manny Ramirez and the nearly $4 million left on his contract are heading to the South Side of Chicago to finish the season out for the White Sox.
Manny, of course, will play his first game for the White Sox against his former team, our Cleveland Indians.
It’s unclear whether or not Manny will play tonight or debut tomorrow for the White Sox, but either way, it could prove to be an interesting conglomeration of personalities.
Manny has been a non-entity with the Dodgers since June 29th because of a calf strain, only playing in six games since then. One of those games was Saturday’s one-pitch performance in which the enigmatic outfielder was thrown out of the game for arguing a call.
When he has played, he’s been effective, batting .311 with eight homers and 40 RBI. Still, it’s distinctly arguable whether at this stage of his career, hitting or not hitting, Manny is ever really effective in helping his team win games.
We all know Manny. When he’s interested, there really isn’t a better hitter in baseball. The swing is sublime and hasn’t changed since picking up his first bat. He’s absolutely a hitting savant. When he’s not interested, well, he’s still a great hitter, but one could argue that he takes more away from a team than he brings to it.
How will this translate to the Chicago White Sox, who are 4.5 games behind the division leading Minnesota Twins? I’m not sure, but it should be an interesting watch.
Manny may show up and may help this team offensively. As a matter of fact, I can almost guarantee it. Ramirez has something to prove, and he’s known to respond under similar circumstances. But you do have to wonder, as a Tribe fan, what could happen if something goes wrong.
What happens if something tweaks Ozzie Guillen? What happens if Manny is Manny, and Ozzie realizes that it isn’t just “Manny being real,” as Guillen stated in his comments about Man-Ram coming to the team just yesterday? What happens if he really gets under the skin of the outspoken White Sox manager?
Well, that could be an explosive proposition, couldn’t it? I, for one, can’t wait to see it happen. There isn’t a team that deserves it more than the Chicago White Sox.
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