Maybe it's just my imagination, but it seems that the Oakland Athletics' interest in aging-and-suspended slugger Manny Ramirez might be cooling. Or have frozen completely.
Report: A’s Not ‘Actively Pursuing’ Manny Ramirez
According to the Associated Press:
The Oakland Athletics are open to signing slugger Manny Ramirez but the team is not actively pursuing the free agent.
That was the message Sunday from assistant general manager David Forst, who talked during A’s Fanfest held at the Oakland Arena, next door to the Coliseum. A’s owner Lew Wolff had suggested the move last week.
“We’re open to it,” Forst said. “We do have other things going on and we do expect other additions between now and Opening Day. We have never been in a situation where we had too many good players.”
Hey, who’s running this club anyway?
Alternate Question: Where’s Brad Pitt when you need him?
We kid because we love the Athletics. It’s been obvious for years that Billy Beane has stepped away from many of a general manager’s day-to-day duties, with David Forst taking over. But in Beane’s relative absence, owner Lew Wolff has become the face of the franchise, which might not be the best thing in the world, considering that Wolff has for some years expressed his eagerness to desert Oakland for richer (and warmer) digs.
Of course it's odd that the Oakland A's have become one of Major League Baseball's most famous franchises -- thanks to a certain little Oscar-nominated movie -- while at the same time they've become Major League Baseball's least popular franchise -- last season the A's edged the Florida Marlins for worst attendance in the majors, and this season they're not likely to have any competition at all for that slot.
Maybe Manny Ramirez would help a little in the attendance department, particularly if he actually, you know, did some actual hitting. But I don’t know if a 20-game winning streak could excite the fans, who have essentially been told for some years now that they’re just not good enough.
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