Why not Bonds?
Seriously. Isn't he a much safer bet than Ramirez? Ramirez is petrifying because of his cost (Bonds would be at least half the price), duration of the contract (Bonds would sign for 1 year as opposed to 4) lack of defense (Bonds would be a wash) and his attitude (again a wash). Plus Bonds is familiar with the Mays Field surroundings. The only major thing Ramirez has over Bonds (besides the obvious) is that he's younger and less of an injury threat.

OK, so with that said I know it is ridiculous and won't happen. Fair or not, Bonds is a PR nightmare and both the Bay Bridge and the Golden Gate have been burned between both parties. But when you think of it this way Ramirez just doesn't make a lick of sense. As long as we're looking at a roller coaster in left field why not sign the guy who might give as much production as Ramirez without further mortgaging the future of the franchise?

MLB Trade Rumors reprinted this excerpt from Sabean, taking about Ramirez on a radio show earlier today:

"In our case I’m not sure yet. We’re monitoring the situation. We’ve had talks. We have not made an offer. We’ve talked in parameters of what would be yearwise. It would have to be a perfect fit dollarwise and more so what we’re doing to try and build this thing going forward on a younger basis. It’s actually not what we’re looking for, except that he’s such a profound middle of the order hitter. Which we need."

Sheehan has a more extreme case of Nate Hate than is warranted. He thinks that Nate is the next Lance Niekro. He's also apparently forgot that we have Randy Winn. (Poor Randy).

Lefty:

Chone Smith and The Rainman disagree.

https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=18746612&postID=9052841226961119199&isPopup=true

This is the chat from Friday, January 02, 2009
Players of the day: Barry Bonds and Sammy Sosa

http://www.lanaheimangelfan.blogspot.com/

I agree with you lefty. My resolve is waning as well. Ramirez sure would be nice to see stabilizing the middle of the order. I can't quite decide who I'd rather see go, Winn or Rowand. On one hand, it would be nice to see Rowand's contract go away (maybe for Swisher's), but on the other hand, we would be totally reliant on Randy Winn in center (Fred just can't do it) and Randy in the center fielder that he is the right fielder. Also, after this season, who plays center???

I don't know,but if the price does indeed fall, I can't find a decent argument against it at this point...

You can't pass up on Manny just because you have younger cheaper less productive players filling out the roster. You try to win now because you don't know how long the staff will be together. Manny gives you a legit shot of getting into the postseason, then we have the staff to make some noise.

What is so wrong with Adam Dunn? I think he is the way to go. Get him while power is so cheap. How bad could his defense be? Heres a guy who has literally hit 40 Homers every year for four years and the year before that hit 46. His OBP is good because he walks alot. Even if that 40 turns to 30 at AT&T. I still think he is worth it. Because I'm sure he'll sign cheaper than Manny.

I'm not sure the ManRam price is falling. Yeah, he's not going to get the $100 mil deal he & Boras thought he had coming after the NLCS. But when Boras overplays his hand like this, he works it until the player can sign something that doesn't look like a cave-in.

So: Ned C. offered $44-45/2 years out of the gate. Boras ignored the proposal; only now it looks like Manny's best employment opportunity. But Boras cannot say yes now; that's not his way. He's going to have to squeeze more $$ out of the Dodgers or find another team to offer more years (even at a lower annual salary). Then he can try to scare all bidders into raising the dollars or years to trump what is allegedly on the table.

All it takes is 2 teams, all the better if they're rivals -- even if the Giants' role as the alternative bidder here has more to do with Boras spinning than Sabean negotiating. But unless LAD or SFG tells Boras to stuff it (unlikely, since both Ned C. and Sabes would want at least to feign enough interest to drive up the price), this contract looks like it is going to be a major undertaking-- not a post-holiday clearance sale.

Frankly if either team offers 3 years and $63 million he will bite. He's running out of options unless the Yanks or Mets jump in. The Nats would take him (but I guarantee they will sign Dunn), but where else can he really go? It's down to a couple of teams and honestly, in this case the teams have more leverage. Did you see what Burrell signed for? $8 million a year? That was a pay cut. Many teams are cutting back or have solidified their offense by now.

If I was the Giants I would offer 2 years, plus a guaranteed option year if he gets 500 ABs. That might do it. If not, walk away and grab someone in a trade.

The BP writer and everybody else are ignoring a major factor distinguishing Bonds from Ramirez: Manny is not under indictment, and whatever else is wrong with him, he's not the posterboy for steroids use.

But there are similarities, and "clubhouse cancer" might be one of them. Do we want to sign up for the "will he come out of the clubhouse in the ninth?" theatrics again? Do the other players need to live with that attitude crap? Yeah, I'll take a year, maybe two, but the marriage will go bad before then and we'll need an iron-clad exit strategy!

You are wrong about Fred Lewis not being able to play Center. His trouble is left field where line drives off the bats of right handers can be hard to judge if you are used to playing CF. Lewis would do a better job in Center then Rowand and in turn, Rowand might be a better option in left so why not flip flop them and find out.

Look at last offseason and how much CF got paid in free agency and having an affordable flexible option like Lewis there makes a lot of sense. He has the speed and a good enough arm to play there and if Rowand wasn't signed last year he would have had more PT to show what he is capable of at CF.

Also, if there was ever any thought to eventually trading Lewis then his value would go up significantly if he shows he can handle CF. In turn, his price tag should always remain reasonable and in 2-3 years he may be a poor man's version of Torri Hunter with 20-20 potential.

Bottom line is the Giants shouldn't be hesitant to trade Rowand as both his bat and glove are easily replaceable and his contract is rediculous. There will always be free agent corner outfielders to sign so get rid of Rowand, slide Lewis over to Center, and sign Manny so we can roll the NL West and maybe make some noise in the playoffs.

Manny Ramirez is not going to sign with the Giants. We all know it, and we should all just stop.

Discussion of the re-signing of Barry Bonds should never appear anywhere other than the sfgate.com comments section, next to discussions about the re-signing of Gaylord Perry, Lee Perry and Traci Lords.

I forgot that Nate was a lefty. He would be far more useful to a lot of other teams.

I just don't get the Nate Hate.

I say sign Manny AND Joe Crede (for one year). Why? Well, it won't fit the payroll this year, but next year, a lot of veteran contracts will be off the books - Winn ($8,25m), Roberts ($6m), Molina ($6m), Howry ($2.75m), Johnson ($8m),among others. Since Sabean has loaded up with short term veterans, why not go for it THIS year? Otherwise, why bother signing Renteria, Howry, and Johnson instead of bringing up the young guys? At 3 years + club option for a fourth, Manny's worth it in the context of the other signings. Don't do it half baked, Sabean, go ALL the way.