We come to talk about Manny Ramirez, and the Dodgers, and free agency. Yet we must first talk about cool scented towels.
This is because the Dodgers have forfeited the chance to cite the economic crisis should Ramirez sign elsewhere. If they offer him three years and he takes four years somewhere else, the Dodgers cannot claim they held the line on behalf of their fans.
The Dodgers are freezing prices on season tickets. So are the Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates -- and the Boston Red Sox, who have sold out every game since 2003. The NFL is cutting the price of playoff tickets.
Commissioner Bud Selig has warned teams not to "get too cocky" on prices in these rocky times. Yet the Dodgers have done just that in setting the prices for their new spring complex in Glendale, Ariz.
For an exhibition game -- for three innings of Matt Kemp and six innings of A.J. Ellis -- the Dodgers are charging $90 for the best seats in the house, $30 and $26 and $24 for everything else between the bases.
The perks of the $90 seats, according to the Dodgers' website, include "complimentary water, sunscreen [and] cool scented towels."
Scott Boras will love that. He'll ask Frank McCourt how the Dodgers can charge their fans beyond top dollar for practice games, then submit a low-ball offer for Ramirez.
And that's too bad, because the Dodgers' offer to Ramirez is perfectly reasonable as a first offer, entirely respectable even as a best offer.
Boras, as the agent, is entitled to scoff at the Dodgers' bid of two years and $45 million. But McCourt, as the owner, is just as entitled to scoff at highly publicized wishes for six years, or for $30 million per year.
We'll see what the market holds for Ramirez starting today, when every other team can bid on him. You don't read breathless reports about such wishes with regard to Mark Teixeira. There is no need to float them. The market will be there for him.
The market does not appear to be there for Ramirez, at least not now, not among the traditional big spenders. The New York Yankees want CC Sabathia. The New York Mets want a closer. The Detroit Tigers want whatever pitching they can get, and cheaply.
The Chicago Cubs have Alfonso Soriano in left field. The Philadelphia Phillies prefer to bring back Pat Burrell. The Boston Red Sox would rather take back Bill Buckner than take back Ramirez.
