Manny Ramirez: A’s Manager Bob Melvin discusses new team member

Oakland A’sManager Bob Melvin told the San Francisco Chronicle that Manny Ramirez, who agreed to a deal with the team on Monday and is expected to report to spring training on Friday, is just “one more guy. He’s not going to come in and get every DH at-bat.”

If he makes the team, Ramirez will have to sit out the first 50 games of the season for violating baseball’s drug policy. But Melvin said that they should be able to evaluate Ramirez during spring training and determine if he can help the team or not.

Melvin, though, seems to think Ramirez will have little trouble making the team.

“This a guy over the course of his career who could jump out of bed in December and hit. I don’t know why he wouldn’t be the DH...” for theA’s.

Ramirez has burned bridges everywhere he has played: Cleveland, Boston, the Dodgers, the Chicago White Sox and Tampa Bay. Oakland should not be in a hurry to put up a “Mannywood” sign in left field.

Here’s a prediction: Ramirez joins the A’s to much hoopla after his suspension is over, gets a couple of key hits in his first handful of games, then goes into a slump. His tenure with the team ends in acrimony and finger-pointing as the rest of baseball pulls up a chair to watch the circus.

Welcome back, Manny.

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