Late Thursday evening the Los Angeles Dodgers announced that
they received a letter from Scott Boras, the agent for Manny Ramirez, rejecting
the most recent offer that the club made. This rejection is the fourth by
the agent in the club's attempts to sign Manny.
"And we want Manny back, but we feel we are negotiating against
ourselves. When his agent finds those ‘serious offers' from other clubs,
we'll be happy to re-start the negotiations.
"Even with an economy that has substantially eroded since
last November, out of respect for Manny and his talents, we actually improved
our offer.
"So now, we start from scratch."
The Dodgers had offered Ramirez a two-year deal; $25 million
for the first year and an option for a second year at $20 million. The all-star
slugger has said he is looking for $25 million per year for a long term
contract.
For a player who last year captured the hearts of Dodger
fans, Ramirez may now find that he has captured their very last nerve.
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