By Chris Cue
February 3, 2009

     Imagine a cartoon with every Major League player in it wearing their teams jersey. Picture them all standing on the field in a Baseball Stadium looking upward as if they were being photographed by someone in blimp hovering above.

     The title to the cartoon is “Where’s Manny?”. Serious competition for Waldo don’t you think? Much like one of those “Highlights” books you used to read as a kid, this would give you some serious “hidden picture” time.  So just where is Manny? We know he is still a free agent without a team to call home. Perhaps the better question would be: “Where will Manny play and for how much?”.
                         (photo -Boston.com)
Manny once had a home where the fans and players alike seemed to love him. On the flip side of that coin, there were also  reports of his unhappiness with the team. Reports that left many Boston fans scratching their heads wondering “What could the problem be?”. He was making 20 million a year, he was on a team that contended almost every season and he was playing well. As we all know by now, Manny was never comfortable in the Red Sox organization. The real reasons why remain unclear, but he himself said that the day he walked into the clubhouse back in 2001 was the day he knew he wanted to leave. He even said that he had a conversation about it with Pedro Martinez at the time. Was there too much pressure playing in Boston? Too avid a fan base that would not respect his private time? Maybe he realized that for the first time in his career, he was just playing for the money and not the love of the game. We may never know what lead Manny out of Boston. Chances are there are many reasons, but one thing is for sure, he didn’t leave on the most pleasent of terms. An unfortunate set of circumstances that he brought on himself which he may now be paying the price for. It would be nice to sit down and talk to him several years from now and ask “Was it worth it?”. Guessing at his answer being an honest one or not, would surely be a discussion starter, but getting that answer, no matter what it is, would be something worth reading.
                                                                                                              (photo-SI.com)
Manny’s options this off season seemed like they might be plentiful after his second half performance with the Dodgers in 2008. Things didn’t turn out that way. To date, it appears the Dodgers have been the only one’s to make a formal offer to the future Hall of Famer. Their 2-year, $45 million offer went unanswered by Manny and his agent Scott Boras, so the Dodgers took it off the table. Recently, it’s been reported that the Dodgers have made a second offer. This time it was one year and $25 million. If you’re Manny, you have to think your worth is heading in the wrong direction. At the start of the off season, Manny was quoted as saying “Gas is up and so am I”. Now, gas is down and apparently so are his options…not to mention his hopes of securing a 4-5 year deal. There has been wide-spread speculation on where he might end up….(that “Where’s Manny?” cartoon comes to mind again). Some say the Giants will land him. Others suggest that the Dodgers remain the only ones interested. Still other pundents are suggesting the Mets, Nationals or even the Yankees might be interested. The truth is, just about every team probably has some sort of “interest”, but it’s tempered by his cost, his demands for a multiyear contract, the fact a signing club would have to give up a draft pick and although it’s not spoken of out loud, his behavior remains a huge red flag as well.

     With just about 2 weeks left before position players need to report, Manny still doesn’t have a home. Few will pity him and many will be left wondering why? Why did such a great player burn a bridge that may have given him 2 more years at $20 million per year? Was it that bad or did Manny and his agent over estimate what his worth would be after he quit on his team? This story doesn’t have and ending yet, but someday he’ll have to answer those questions….if only to himself.