A handful of words on Manny Ramirez

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I’m no apologist for the Dodgers, but before you go off and write your letter to the editor on how typical and cheap it is that they lowballed Manny Ramirez and his high-stakes agent, I have one word for you.

Thirty-six.

That’s how old Manny is now.

And two more words: left field.

That’s where Manny WON’T be able to play when the two-year contract is up and he’s 38 with knees that are begging for the American League.

Now, I know what Manny did with the Dodgers. He did what no one else could. He hit .410 for almost three months! That’s not good or even great, it’s ridiculous.

But just because Manny may be the best hitter alive, even at 36, doesn’t mean the Dodgers are obliged to break the bank and give agent Scott Boras what he most likely wants: five years and $125 mil ... a.k.a a $75-million Lifetime Achievement Award.

By year 3 or 4 in a deal like that, Manny will be slower than molasses and probably as fat as Sherman Klump. He will be a classic designated hitter, with one teeny little problem. The Dodgers play in the National League, which doesn’t have the DH.

At $50 mil for two years, the Dodgers and Boras are going to be farther apart than Obama and McCain. But don’t blame the Dodgers. Blame Gordon Gecko, who said greed is good, and Boras, who lives by that credo every day.

-- Ted Green

Ted Green is a former sportswriter with the Los Angeles Times and National Sports Daily. He is currently senior sports producer for ‘KTLA Prime News.’