Lack of Contract Had Manny Ramirez Freaking Out

All that nonsense about having confidence in Scott Boras to get a deal done was apparently rubbish. Just like I said here about a month ago, Manny was telling Albert Pujols that nobody wanted to sign him. Truth is, he really was worried. From Newsday:

A person close to the situation told Newsday on the condition of anonymity, is that Manny spent most of his free agency “freaking out.” Not only about his lack of suitors but about people discussing that situation publicly.
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In all, the person said, Ramirez grew increasingly frustrated by his situation and became more paranoid — so much so that he changed his phone number “six times.”

Manny put a lot of trust in Scott Boras when he changed agents last offseason. They engineered the strategy to get Manny traded away from the Red Sox by having Ramirez dog it. As a result, Manny was penalized in free agency because teams were worried about his character and attitude. Manny lost because his legacy was tarnished by that ordeal (he certainly lost my respect for his lack of hustle), Boras loses because he got Manny nothing better than what Ramirez already had contract-wise, and the Dodgers lose because there’s a player option after the season. The only party that won when Manny finally signed was the fans, and that’s only for about five months before Manny starts making noise about opting out once again. And check this: Manny has so much power that Torre’s not even going to bother with asking him to cut his hair this year. I think we know who holds the power in that relationship.