Disclaimer: Some information written in this section is strictly rumor, and has no factual information outside of what has been heard, or speculated upon, via outside sources.

Manny’s Farewell Tour

In the final year of his two-year, $45 million contract (overpriced much?), Manny Ramirez has announced that he is not coming back to the Dodgers next year. Please tell me he’s retiring..!!! Well, not so fast – Manny says he is undecided on what to do next year, but he expects to be either retired or back to DH in the American League. I’ll tell you now, he will NOT retire. He is just trying to get everyone’s attention back because no one cares about him anymore. Manny announced this on Monday, and on Tuesday Manny said he was amused by the attention his comment got. JUST IGNORE HIM AND HE’LL GO AWAY!

Aaron Boone Says Goodnight…Again

The first time he said goodnight was to the Red Sox in Game 7 in 2003…ooooo. That was lame, sorry. But yes, Boone has announced his retirement from baseball. He retires a .263 hitter with 126 homers and 555 RBIs, but he is best known for an extra-inning walkoff homerun off Tim Wakefield of the Red Sox in Game 7 of the 2003 ALCS for the Yankees. For that, he goes down in history. I hardly ever got to root for Boone because he was on teams I didn’t like, but this past season he had open-heart surgery and came back to play 10 games for the Astros. He’s a gamer for sure. Boone will now be an ESPN baseball analyst, so we haven’t seen the last of him.

Tidbits

• Mike Lowell is still with the Red Sox, despite being traded to the Rangers and being returned due to a nixed physical. Awkward much? He says he is treating this like a tryout and he is extra motivated.
• Dodgers manager Joe Torre wants a contract extension. Guess he loves that laid back LA… and that wheat grass drink? What was it in the commerical??
• Cubs 1B Derrek Lee is in the final year of his contract, but he is not pushing for a new contract. He wants the Cubs to come to him before the season starts rather than to negotiate in season. He deserves money from this team. He’s been the most consistent player they’ve had in the last 10 years.
• Bobby Cox gave his final spring training speech on Tuesday as he moves towards retiring. Chipper Jones has heard it so much (17 years), he could recite it word for word. Turns out it was a little different, but he didn’t fail to mention that he’ll get grumpy every once in a while, haha.
• Word from Phillies camp from NBAtoday.net’s G is that the Phils are extremely focused on winning. Almost too focused. They gotta relax a little! They got their ‘ship two years ago – don’t go crazy!
• Royals fan John Coomer has filed a lawsuit against the Royals for a hot dog that was launched into the stands by their mascot Sluggerrr. Coomer says it caused a detached retina and he is seeking more than $25,000 for injuries from the September 8 ‘shooting’. I couldn’t make this thing up.

-Chris