The Chicago White Sox claimed Manny Ramirez off waivers on Friday and will finalize the deal later today, making Ramirez’ sixth inning ejection from yesterday’s LA-Colorado game his last at-bat as a Dodger.

Umpire Gary Cederstrom gave Ramirez the hook after Manny questioned a strike call on what looked like an outside pitch by Rockies reliever Matt Reynolds. There’s a good chance Man-Ram wanted to get thrown out but it’s also possible Cederstrom is boys with John Hirschbeck.

Manny Ramirez gets ejected on first pitch [Frostie 40-Youtube]

Looks like the ending we all saw coming is finally official. The Los Angeles Dodgers are saying goodbye to Manny Ramirez .

It was far from a perfect marriage, though no matrimony really is, especially with Manny. Even at his best, the Boston Red Sox fans over at Fenway always had to cautiously cheer for him, aware that all the good (home runs, RBI’s and his imposing presence in the batting order) could easily be ruined by some terrible “Manny being Manny” moments.

He led Boston past the dreaded Babe Ruth curse, helped them temporarily topple baseball’s Evil Empire and provided all baseball fans with some great showcases in power. When he came to LA, we understood it was on the downside of his career and that his exit from Boston wasn’t pretty, but like an aging bachelor desperate for one last hoorah; we were willing to take the risk.

Now, after two and a half years of a rocky relationship full of the expected ups-and-downs, no World Series title and a lost season, the time came to finalize it all and give Manny the opposite of the classic “it’s not you, it’s me” speech.

Fans fill MannyWood in the left field section at Dodgers Stadium.

Sure we still haven’t won a championship since 1988, we’ll miss the playoffs yet again and he’ll basically be given away, but on the bright side for Dodgers owner Frank McCourt, at least this divorce won’t be as complicated as his real one.

I admitted in last week’s Snob that my long love affair with the Dodgers has been about as painful as most terrible marriages, full of let-downs, a dying lust for one another and the creeping thoughts that it just might be better with another woman team.

But I wouldn’t put the majority of the blame on Manny. With him we made it to two straight National League Championship Series, got the classic dreadlock wigs and of course saw left field transform into Mannywood. He also provided us with one of the most awesome non-playoff moments in modern Dodgers history when he came into the game as a pinch-hitter with the bases loaded (on Manny bobble head night no less) and smashed a grand slam right into Mannywood.

Footage of that grand slam flooded YouTube and gave us all one of those moments of pure elation that few things other than sports can provide. It doesn’t matter how many times you’ve seen it, it’s still likely to give you chills every time you press play.

His power and that knack for clutch hitting are the reason we all wanted him in LA, even with all his baggage and it’s the same reason why the Chicago White Sox are claiming him now. Although he’s had an injury-plagued season this year, he energized the team when they first dealt for him back in 2008 by hitting “.396 with 17 homers in 53 games to power the club to the NL West title.”

Fans wearing Manny Ramirez dreadlocks wigs in support of the slugger.

Although he leaves LA after only hitting 44 total home runs and driving in 156 runs in 223 games, it’s hard to be too angry or disappointed with him. Those numbers were affected by his 50-game steroids (allegedly!) suspension in 2009 and various injuries, and if you’ve bled Dodger blue for long enough, you probably hate to admit you expected it to end this way.

He’ll likely be a Hall of Famer thanks to his gaudy numbers; he’s currently in 14th and 17th place all time with 554 home runs and 1,828 RBI’s. He also trails only Lou Gehrig (23) in career grand slams with 21 bases-clearing bombs. He’s an all-time great hitter and I’m glad he rocked a Dodgers uniform, even if it was a short stint.

We all knew about the flaws when we got into this and still took the chance. He never brought the rings home to LA but he did provided some great, strange and exciting moments. With Manny being Manny, that’s all you could really ask for.

- Will.

The Sports Snob will be published once a week here on YouBeenBlinded.com. Will R. is a journalist/writer who covers sports, news and music for several websites. His music work can be found on www.WestCoastRydaz.com

The Los Angeles Dodgers pitched their way to a 3-0 sweep over the St. Louis Cardinals, and somebody decided to wake up Manny Ramirez for the final game. The dreaded-slugger looked his average post-suspension self through the first two games, but either he picked up some bat speed in St. Louis, or Joel Piniero, John Smoltz, and some other bullpen stiffs for the Birds gave Ramirez pitches he could handle.

Manny was 1 for 8 in the first two games, and closed out the series going 3 for 5 with two RBIs. After the game he did his best Allen Iverson impersonation.

Here’s a longer version of the clip. There’s one problem with Manny’s delivery of the line.. He’s saying it to Tom Verducci who either A) didn’t pick up on it initially or B) doesn’t get it all, which left MbM hanging in the wind after cracking himself up.

Umpire John Hirshbeck ejected Manny Ramirez from tonight’s Dodgers-Mets game for tossing an elbow pad in the direction of home plate after a called third strike. Is the league gonna suspend Ramirez for his behavior?

“I didn’t want to throw even more fire. I just walked away. I only play five innings, so I was leaving anyway.”

As you can read in the quote above, Manny wasn’t worried about the ejection, and he shouldn’t have been. There’s an angle from above the plate that shows the pitch was four to five inches outside. The ump missed the call and Manny tossed his elbow pad because he was leaving anyways. Not what you’d expect from a guy trying to get on the good side of fans after serving a 50-game steroid suspension, but at the same time, Manny never does what we expect.

The Los Angeles Times is reporting the Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez will be suspended for 50 games after testing positive for performance-enhancing drugs. The Dodgers currently have the best record in baseball, and just set the modern-era mark for consecutive home wins to start a season (13).

Ramirez joins Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, and Alex Rodriguez on the list of legitimate Superstars that were on the juice.. or cream and the clear.. or B12.. or Boli. But Ramirez already has his defense in place.

“Ramirez is expected to attribute the test results to medication received from a doctor for a personal medical issue, according to a source familiar with matter but not authorized to speak publicly.”

Sounds likely, but either way Major League Baseball is suspending Ramirez immediately. More as this develops….

Manny Ramirez will be suspended 50 games for positive drug test [LA Times]

Manny Ramirez and the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Chicago Cubs 10-3 Thursday night giving the Dodgers a 2-0 series lead and making LA reporters nervous. Los Angeles celebrated their playoff berth in the traditional fashion by spraying and drinking beer and champagne. Manny made sure that the local media was part of the fiesta.

Let this be a warning to all members of the media attending game three, and possibly game four. Wear a hat. And cover James Loney’s eyes. I don’t wanna see him blinded by the bubbly.

Knowing Manny being Manny wouldn’t be a big deal on the West coast it was easy to see that Manny Ramirez, plus his bat and dreadlocks, would carry the Los Angeles Dodgers to the playoffs. Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre got Manny to trim his dreadlocks and the team went into a temporary tailspin. The Dodgers have snapped out of their funk and are now trying to hold off the Arizona Diamondbacks for the NL West title. Maybe a Manny Ramirez lookalike contest will give the team some karma down the stretch.

I didn’t get to see enough of the contestants to say that the guy in the video was the best choice, but I have to believe that this cat gave him a run for his money.

Los Angeles Dodgers’ manager Joe Torre asked Manny Ramirez to cut his hair, and Ramirez has complied if you count an inch being taken off of his dreads as haircut. The before and after picture above doesn’t show a lot of difference but Joe Torre is cool with the trim up.

“He took a little bit off. In the initial meeting I had with him when I said, ‘How important is your hair?’ He said, ‘You want me to cut it?’ I said, ‘Well, I’d like you to clean it up a little bit.’ I think he was within the rules of cleaning it up a little bit.”

Unfortunately for Torre, Manny conforming by an inch made T.J. Simer’s prediction come true. At least for one night.

I haven’t come up with a nickname for Torre yet, but Delilah is under strong consideration.

Right now the Dodgers have Samson batting cleanup, and it’s just a fact, if he cuts his hair — he loses his strength and becomes Juan Pierre.

Manny Ramirez went hitless in his first game with his “new-do”. This could be the effect of cutting his hair or a coincidence. Ramirez had an 0-5 night on August 8 against the Giants, but he’s been a hitting machine other than that game. Joe Torre should publicly apologize to the Los Angeles Dodgers fans at the end of the season if Manny goes into a slump and the Dodgers miss the playoffs. Ruining Manny’s mojo for the sake of a rule is gonna seem stupid in hindsight.

Manny Ramirez, Joe Torre, haircut, Los Angeles Dodgers

I posted a video of Manny Ramirez leaving Fenway Park so I had to post this video of Manny’s first day at Dodger Stadium. Manny is accompanied by agent Scott Boras as team owner Frank McCourt and icon Tommy Lasorda show him around his new stomping grounds. The best part of the video is when Manny talks to catcher Russell Martin about his new jersey number.

MR: What’s going on with the number? 99?
RM: Wayne Gretzky bro. You’re the Wayne Gretzky….
MR: I’m not a hockey player.

The jersey number doesn’t matter because Manny Ramirez has been on fire since joining the Dodgers. Wayne Gretzky took the L.A. Kings to the NHL finals in the 99 jersey. Will Manny get the Dodgers to the World Series?

Manny Ramirez, Los Angeles Dodgers, youtube, video

Manny Ramirez was shipped from the Boston Red Sox to the Los Angeles Dodgers in a three team deal that saw Jason Bay land in Beantown. Man-Ram finally got the trade he was seeking, and can be seen is this video leaving Fenway Park for the last time. Manny’s bat will help the Dodgers offense tremendously, but the clubhouse could be a disaster with Jeff Kent and Manny Ramirez sharing space.

Manny Ramirez, Boston Red Sox, Fenway Park, Los Angeles Dodgers, video