Dreams of Manny fading fast

Maybe Albert Pujols wants Manny Ramirez to join the ranks of the Cardinals, but GM John Mozeliak is probably wishing the All-Star first baseman had never verbalized his feelings about signing Ramirez.

Ramirez is probably the top player in a bloated free agent market nearly a 100 players strong.

When it comes to Ramirez, there's not a lot of grey area in the popularity category. Most people are either total fans or have a definite dislike for the man. And those people may include the ownerships of all major league teams.

It's probably more fair to say that GMs and their bosses look at players much more objectively, and therefore, it logically follows that "Manny-avoidance" surely has to do with the bottom line. Simple baseball business.

Manny will demand--or want, anyway--lots of contract dollars. Most ML teams cannot deal in Manny's level.

For those who can, there's still the "want" aspect, where what Manny wants ... well...

Suffice it say that Pujols' desire to see Manny in St. Louis must remain wishful thinking.

At one point, Pujols hinted Ramirez offer St. Louis a discount. Most likely, that won't happen, but it certainly would cut to the chase. Cardinals' ownerships' response would fall into the money talks, "bologna" walks category.

Of course, sooner or later, someone is going to ask Pujols whether he wants Ramirez in St. Louis bad enough that he is willing to "discount" his own salary.

photo by Barbara Moore