Mannyball

He's here. And here's a quick word.

After hearing the words "Frank Thomas is an Oakland Athletic" and "Mike Piazza is an Oakland Athletic," you would think that I could hear everything and not bat an eye. But, this is one I never thought I would ever hear myself say. Manny Ramirez is an Oakland Athletic.

He has to sit out the first 50 games after a positive PED test. He's going to turn 40. He's not the guy who compiled 555 home runs and 1,831 runs batted in while batting .312 for the Indians and Red Sox. He's the guy who's going to have to compete for the DH job. At about $500,000 for the season, he was in the bargain bin.

I've never really liked Manny as a teammate, but look, the A's need all the home run threats they can get, and if Manny Ramirez wants to play baseball for your team and his work out went fine, you let him play baseball for your team. It's not like the A's have a clear cut DH anyway. Currently it's a battle between the likes of Seth Smith, Jonny Gomes, Colin Cowgill, and Chris Carter. So, why not give Manny a chance? Either way, I'm sure, come June, there will one more reason to watch the Oakland A's.