Scott Boras rejects Dodgers' latest offer to Manny Ramirez

MESA, ARIZ. — Increasingly frustrated with their inability to close a deal with Manny Ramirez, the Dodgers took an unexpected turn in their negotiations with his agent, Scott Boras.

They made it personal.

The Dodgers took a swipe at Boras in a strongly worded news release they issued Thursday night to report that the free-agent outfielder had rejected the two-year, $45-million offer the team made Wednesday.

That prompted a curious response from the Boras camp, which released a statement of its own saying that it was waiting for a response from the Dodgers about the two counterproposals it made Thursday, the most recent being for -- guess how much? -- $45 million over two years.

So why would Boras propose the very deal he rejected?

Did Boras turn down the offer and panic upon realizing that Ramirez had no other suitors? Or was the deal he was proposing a different one than the one Ramirez was offered Wednesday?

What isn't known is whether there are any other teams actively pursuing Ramirez.

What is known is that, according to sources with knowledge of the situation who weren't authorized to comment publicly on the matter, parts of Ramirez's salary would have been deferred under the Dodgers' proposal. The Dodgers offered Ramirez a deal that would've paid him $25 million this year and included a $20-million player option for 2010.

Boras wouldn't comment and directed questions to the Dodgers. What he did say was that he never rejected the Dodgers' offer.

"They asked me to respond to them and I gave them a counterproposal within the framework of the structure we had agreed upon," Boras said.

Dodgers General Manager Ned Colletti didn't return a message left on his cellphone. Spokesman Josh Rawitch later sent The Times an e-mail saying that the Dodgers wouldn't issue any comments Thursday night other than McCourt's.

The electronic firestorm was started by the Dodgers, who sent a mass e-mail with a subject line that read, "Boras Rejects Dodgers Offer to Manny Ramirez."

"The Dodgers today received a letter from Scott Boras, the agent for Manny Ramirez, rejecting the offer that the club made yesterday," the release read. "This rejection is the fourth by the agent in the club's attempts to sign Manny."

The release revealed the growing tension between Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and Boras, as it included a quote from McCourt mocking the agent and ended with him stating: "So we start from scratch."