The Oakland A's are the clown car of baseball, a small market team crammed with weird ideas. Just when you think they've all emerged, another one pops out.
This week 's floppy-shoed, red-nosed development is Manny Ramirez, an almost 40-year-old, two-time drug violator whose last good year was in 2008. The A's agreed to a minor league contract with Ramirez; he's expected to be in camp on Friday.
General manager Billy Beane called the deal "low risk" on Tuesday. And that's true. The A's don't do high-risk financial moves. The A's will only be on the hook for less than $500,000 when -- if? -- Ramirez joins the major league roster after serving a 50-game suspension. http://cnnsi.com/2012/writers/ann_killion/02/22/manny/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_wr_a3
Shacks' Take: Although I may question the wisdom of picking up a 40 year old flake like Manny, I agree much more with Beane than Killion. Obviously Ann doesn't like the direction the A's are taking and she's using Manny's signing as a lightning rod for all their off-season moves. Simmer down, Ann, Billy's right, this is a no risk move. He comes back mid-season from suspension and plays in the minors, if he plays well he comes up to help the stretch drive or he's trade bait. If he continues to underperform he's down the road before he even has a cup of coffee with the big league roster.
I fail to see how that is a clown's move.
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