Not that Scott Boras is going to listen to ME. But I think I speak of all the beat hacks — and a lot of people inside the Dodgers organization — when I say this Manny Ramirez issue needs closure. I’m guessing you, the fans, are getting pretty tired of it, too. We have been following this story almost daily since the end of last season, and really, nothing has changed. Until today, or the past few days, or whenever this all started to come together, nothing had really changed on either side in all that time. That having been said, I do think that if this deal gets done, the Dodgers have a chance to be really, really good, especially if they can pick up another frontline starting pitcher along the way and especially if Jonathan Broxton comes through as the new closer. This lineup is going to be scary, with Furcal and Hudson at the top and probably a right-left-right-left look from three through seven. See you in the morning … unless something happens sooner than that.

From what I understand, though, there WON’T be a deal tonight. The offer is a two-year, $45 million contract, with salaries of $25 million the first year and $20 million the second, but the second year is a PLAYER option so Manny can walk away if he believes he can get more on the open market next winter. If he is injured during the first season, the second year becomes guaranteed. Boras and Co. have taken it under advisement, and the club is expecting a response early tomorrow.

It is at Dodger Stadium, it does involve McCourt, Colletti, Boras and Boras assistant Mike Fiore, and it is ongoing. That’s all we have for now.

Gurnick wrote earlier today that they are meeting, and I have been able to semi-confirm that, as well as semi-confirm the fact that said meeting is taking place at Dodger Stadium. What I can tell you, from my own observations, is that people are behaving strangely, or at least at odds with their normal behavior. This could be it, folks. Stay tuned. It might be a long evening.

The North Siders got their long-awaited revenge for last October’s three-game Division Series sweep. OK, not really, but they did get a grand slam from Micah Hoffpauir off an ineffective Ramon Troncoso, who couldn’t get his sinkerball working or keep his fastball down in a rough fifth inning that also included a costly error by Hector Luna. The Dodgers got two hits from James Loney, but no more than one by anybody else. Tony Abreu drove in a pair with a second-inning single, and Blake DeWitt drove in the Dodgers’ other run with a fourth-inning single after Matt Kemp singled and stole second. … The fifth-starter race is officially under way, but Rick Honeycutt said they’re not doing a lot of evaluating this early in the spring. Claudio Vargas started, had a rough first inning, then breezed through the second. Eric Milton followed, had a rough third inning and then a rough fourth but somehow didn’t give up a run. Dodgers fall to 0-1 for the spring. At the Giants tomorrow.