The City of Manny being Manny?

According to the Boston Globe, Charlie Manuel has voiced his interests for the Phillies to go after left-fielder Manny Ramirez. If it does indeed happen, it'd be a huge financial burden.

Charlie Manuel on the shape Ramirez is in:

"I think Manny is in the best shape that I've ever seen him in," Manuel said. "His lower body is very strong. His legs are strong. You can tell by the way he hits and the way he moves around in the outfield. He's got a lot of baseball left in him."

Don't get your hopes up Phillies fans. I'd put the chance of the Phillies signing Manny Ramirez at about 1%. We're not going to win a bidding war with the Dodgers, Mets, Yankees, Angels, etc.

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Will the Phillies Make a Move?

Prepare yourself, with the desire to acquire a left-handed reliever the Phillies might do something to make the entire fan base jump off the Walt Whitman.

According to Jayson Stark the Phillies have an interest in former Phillies reliever, Arthur Rhodes. I don't even know to go into the stats he compiled during his one-year tenure with the team. The Phillies have also called about John Grabow, Will Ohman, and Jack Taschner. The Phillies would love to acquire Brian Fuentes or George Sherrill, but it seems that both players are off the market. They've also been mentioned in the Ron Mahay sweepstakes, but it appears that Jason Donald would not be enough.

John Grabow - 53.2 IP, 5-3, 3.19 ERA, 1.30 WHIP, 45/23 K/BB ratio, 0.88 GB/FB, 29 years old. Lefties hitting .240 off him

Arthur Rhodes - 21.1 IP, 2-0, 2.53 ERA, 1.27 WHIP, 26/10 K/BB ratio, 0.55 GB/FB ratio, 38 years old. Lefties hitting .200 off him.

Will Ohman - 44.1 IP, 3-0, 2.84 ERA, 1.13 WHIP, 41/18 K/BB ratio, 1.12 GB/FB ratio, 30 years old, great Harry Caray impression. Lefties hitting .160 off him.

Jack Taschner - 36.2 IP, 2-1, 2.95 ERA, 1.31 WHIP, 29/16 K/BB ratio, 0.98 GB/FB ratio, 30 years old. Lefties hitting .179 off him.

The best two for the Phillies to look for are Jack Taschner or Will Ohman. Lefties are hitting relatively poorly off them and that is what the Phillies need the most. Ohman would be the most appealing as he is just outright better, but it would also cost more to acquire him. Also, the Braves would also look for more from the Phillies because they'd be trading inside the division. Taschner would be an acquistion I'd approve of. I'd like him to get a few more ground balls with that lower K-rate, but you take what you can get right now. The market is pretty weak.

Some other deadline rumors:

Rays are scouting Jayson Werth and feel he could be availble for the right price. [MLB Trade Rumors] If the Phillies look to trade Werth or Victorino, I prefer that it'd be Werth. I like Victorino's speed and ability to switch hit in the lineup. I also like his range and arm more than Werth's in centerfield. If the Phillies were to trade Werth for some pitching, I would have a problem with Geoff Jenkins starting every day.

Also, looks like Manny is coming to the NL East, just not the Phillies. According to reports, Manny Ramirez is likely to be traded to the Florida Marlins. [Baseball Prospectus]

Multiple baseball sources say the Red Sox are on the verge of sending disgruntled left fielder Manny Ramirez to the Marlins in a trade for a package of three players that included low Class A Greensboro outfielder Mike Stanton, an 18-year-old who is hitting .275/.351/.569 with 26 home runs in 96 games.

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Manny to Philly?

Manny to Philly? Shut up. It's not going to happen. The Phillies have absolutely nothing to trade for a great talent, but awful team distraction type of player in Manny. The Phillies still need pitching and that should be their focus. The offense is slumping (will and has to return at some point) and Manny would fill a great hole, but it's hard to see the trade for Manny not involving Pat Burrell and some prospects.

Right now, I'll take the hit in average and keep Burrell over Manny. They're both slow, can't field great, but Pat has a better arm. Also, you have the conditions of Manny's contract. Will his options be picked up or will he just be a rental? Manny fills one need that the Phillies have, but as a replacement for possibly Burrell, it still leaves another hole in the lineup.

Oh and regardless of Manny being a cancer, when in a pennant race, it'd be absolutely fucking stupid for Boston to trade Manny right now. No one's going to want to give Boston what Manny's talent is probably worth.

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