Dodgers should realize that Manny is there for the taking

As fat pitches go, even Andruw Jones could hit this one out of the park, Manny Ramirez now sitting there with nowhere else to go but the Dodgers.

So what do the Dodgers do?

"We're still interested in talking about Manny," said Dodgers GM Ned Colletti.

But is this Frank McCourt's dream come true, or his worst nightmare -- and the Dodgers really do end up with the guy?

He's certainly not going to tell me, but we're all going to find out in the next few weeks.

The Angels pulled out of the bidding for Mark Teixeira and then General Manager Tony Reagins said, "We are not going to sign Manny Ramirez," the Angels taking the lead in the league so far in announcing the number of good players they are not going to sign.

The Yankees, meanwhile, came to terms with Teixeira on Tuesday, and there's probably a better chance of the Red Sox bringing back Babe Ruth than Ramirez.

So the Dodgers have no competition. It's like playing in the National League West -- they just have to show up with something, almost anything to win.

Arte Moreno offered Teixeira an eight-year-deal for $160 million, but it wasn't enough to beat out the competition -- falling $20 million shy of the final deal with the Yankees.

It's Moreno's money, and if he doesn't want to spend what it takes to secure Teixeira, it's his choice -- just like every fan has a choice whether to buy a ticket or not.

If McCourt doesn't want to spend money to bring back Ramirez, he'll have his reasons too, just like every Dodgers fan when it comes to deciding whether to attend a game or not.

Why wouldn't the Dodgers sign Ramirez after already offering him more than $45 million? Concerns about his defense? His attitude? Did something happen last season while he was playing here that has yet to surface publicly?

If the Dodgers want Ramirez, Tuesday was the start of a great New Year with everything falling in place. Their toughest decision now: Do they go cheap on a two-year deal and maybe tick off the guy, or allow him to save face after leaving behind two years in Boston and sign him to three years?

Scott Boras will probably have something to say about all this, and the first thing we'll probably hear about is some "mystery team" that's really interested in Ramirez.

Baltimore and Washington were willing stooges when it came to Teixeira, so there's a good place to start.