Or at least that’s what Boras told mlb.com. The Yankees let it be known yesterday that they aren’t interested in signing Manny Ramirez, so the list of “not-interesteds” continues to pile up. It would seem that these talks with the Dodgers are nearing a breaking point. It’s just a matter of which way that point will ultimately break.
By the way, below is a partial transcript from an interview Dodgers 3B coach Larry Bowa gave to the MLB Network’s Greg Amsinger and Mitch Williams earlier today (it will air at 4 p.m. L.A. time). The first question is about Manny, and Bowa’s response is dramatically different — much tamer, to be specific — than when he was asked the same question in a couple of other recent interviews in which he seemed to suggest that the Dodgers have to sign Manny to be competitive. This time, he is much more measured. You almost have to wonder if Bowa wasn’t called on the carpet by upper management or ownership for those earlier remarks. He has never been one to pull his punches, but he seems to do exactly that here.
On whether or not the Dodgers should resign Manny:
“It’s not my money. Mr. McCourt is the owner of the ballclub and I am sure they have their reasons why they wanna give him 1,2,3 whatever if they give him something. I do know that a 4 year contract in my opinion would be too much for Manny in the National League. American League is a different story. He is a DH. But when you get 37, 38 years old playing everyday in left field, it’s tough to justify a 4 year contract even though he is a great hitter.”
On West Coast baseball versus East Coast baseball:
“”Well it’s vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream. I mean the East Coast, there is a sense of urgency as soon as you walk down the tunnel to take the field. On a three game losing streak in Philadelphia, New York, you hear vendors on the street that are there early saying, ‘LET’S GO! Kick it in!’ I mean you better be prepared to play. On the West Coast, it’s more laid back. They are great fans. There is no question they are great fans but there is more life and death on the East Coast. They love to compete, they love to win, and they don’t like to listen to ‘Well we should of done this.’ Just do it. On the East Coast, just do it.’
On Joe Torre “breaking the code” in his new co-authored book:
“There is a code of ethics, but again I haven’t read the book. Talking to people, I don’t know if he went over the line… I look at it this way. When you have a clubhouse meeting, and the manager holds a clubhouse meeting, and at the end of the meeting the manager says, ‘You know what guys. This is between us.’ But how many times do you go out the next day and it says an unidentified player said this is what went on in the meeting. At least Joe put his name behind where as the unidentified player said ‘Joe said this about the team or said that’, I would rather that player just come out and say ‘This is what went on in the meeting, and this is what Joe said.’ You see that a lot but it’s ok when the player makes a statement like that.”
On Alex Rodriguez:
“Well first of all let me get one thing straight. Alex and myself are very good friends. Very good friends. I’ve probably worked with him more than anyone I’ve ever worked with in Spring Training because of his work ethic, his desire to be the best, he’s always prepared, and it was a running joke to keep guys loose. When you play every day and you’re in Spring Training, you’re close to being with that ball club more than you are with your family. So we’d have a running thing going. If Alex had a bad night, I might go out and say ‘Ok A-Rod, was it A-Fraud last night? Tonight it’s gonna be A-Rod’ and he says ‘I gotcha’ just to keep him loose. He’d walk in the clubhouse before a ball game and have to go by the coaches room and he’d go, ‘Bow, A-Rod’s here!’ and I went ‘Alright! Game on!’ Then there was always some games when he had a bad day and would say, ‘I don’t know. Might of been A-Fraud’ but he’d laugh… I can honestly say in the two years I was there I never heard a player call Alex ‘A-Fraud’. I never heard that.”
