Manny on the SI cover: Dodgers are now doomed

It must have helped that Sports Illustrated writer Tom Verducci was doing the dugout reports for TBS during its NLDS coverage of the Dodgers-Cubs series. Verducci has cranked out the cover story for the upcoming SI issue that features the Dodgers' Manny Ramirez gliding gracefully into home place on the cover.

Which, as Cubs fans know, is a guarantee that the Phillies win this upcoming NLCS best-of-seven series in three games.

"That Ramirez can rake is not news," writes Verducci. "That the man can hit while carrying an entire franchise on his back, not to mention a city that is falling in love with baseball all over again, is one of the greatest feats of his prolific career."

The story quotes Greg Maddux: "Even we look at Manny and go, 'That's just on another level.' It's like watching Tiger Woods hit an eight-iron a thousand feet in the air and knocking it stiff. Normal people just don't do that. Guys like Tiger and Manny are out there in a class by themselves."

Says Dodgers GM Ned Colletti : "I've been around Maddux, (Barry) Bonds and Manny. Those three guys are the smartest baseball players I've ever seen. They're in a class by themselves. They see and understand the game at a higher level than everybody else."

Yes, the Dodgers are doomed.

Also in the next SI issue is a story that Lee Jenkins did on the Red Sox's Jason Bay, who replaced Ramirez: "(Bay) is the anti-Manny in seemingly every way but one: He can rake too."

Raking seems to be all the buzz in baseball this autumn.

And yes, Manny has been on the SI cover before -- twice.
We came across the 2004 cover when looking through the official website for Manuel Aristides Ramirez (linked here), where he also has new stuff from his Dodger days.

We also came across a 1996 cover, when he was in Cleveland in a much smaller capacity, predicting an Indians victory over Atlanta in that year's World Series (which, of course, ended up with Yankees winning it all -- with Joe Torre managing).