Manny is a Must

Let's face it, without Ramirez the Dodgers were a floundering team. Talented, but floundering. Despite all of the talent, they lacked a clutch hitter in the middle of the lineup with the ability to hit the ball out of the park at any moment.

Other than the fact that he is going to hit over .300, with 30 bombs and drive in over 100 runs, there are also a number of other reasons to bring him back.

1. It keeps Juan Pierre where he should be and that is on the bench. With Rafael Furcal in the fold, there is no feasible place in the lineup for Pierre. He can't hit anywhere but leadoff because he is such a liability, and he is a stretch as a leadoff hitter. Sure, he's fast but his .327 OBP is flat out bad. He can't bat eighth because it would be nice to have someone to get on base to clear the pitcher's spot more than 33 percent of the time. Also, he's a liability on defense.

2. The Dodgers pitching staff is a bit of a question mark, with Derek Lowe, Greg Maddux and Brad Penny gone. The hopes are being pinned on Chad Billingsley, who is coming off a broken leg, Clayton Kershaw, who is going to be 21 on Opening Day, Hiroki Kuroda, who is not good on the road and Jason Schmidt, who has one win in two years. James McDonald will eventually be a solid pitcher and somebody will probably be brought in via free agency, but the simple fact is that the staff won't be the same one with the fourth best ERA in baseball at 3.87. They will need to score runs.

3. As much as I hate to say it, but with their pitching staff the Giants might be one big bat away from competing in the National League West and the rumors that they are interested in Ramirez are alarming. Losing him to the Giants would be devastating. If the Dodgers take themselves out of the Manny running, then the Giants would be the only serious contender meaning he would probably end up there. The Dodgers have to stay in the mix and make sure they do what it takes to ensure he doesn't end up a Giant.

4. He was a revelation in the clubhouse, especially for the young guys who were wound up too tight with veterans like Jeff Kent around. The team loosened up and learned to have fun while playing the game which was nearly as important as anything else. 

I know what the concerns are. The guy will be 37 when the season starts and he isn't a great defender and a three or four-year deal will have him in left field until he is at least 40, but I say so what. He keeps himself in shape, and he isn't an absolute butcher out there. I think he will more than make up for the runs he allows if the Dodgers went with someone who was a defensive upgrade. The options (Pierre, Adam Dunn, Pat Burrell, Bobby Abreau) aren't significant defensive upgrades and in some cases they aren't upgrades at all. Those guys certainly won't put up the offensive numbers that Manny will for three or four years.