Dodger Update: Manny gets big offer, Penny sent packing

It has been confirmed by Dodgers GM Ned Colletti that they have officially offered Manny Ramirez the second-highest salary ever in the MLB. The offer is somewhere between $25.2 million and $27.5 million a year - totalling over $50 million for two years and possibly a three-year deal worth $75 million.

Now that is an inordinate amount of cash to pay for a moody player who is quickly approaching 40. Deaner at Blue Collar Baseball is not happy at all with the contract offer, due to the way he left Boston. To be honest I totally agree with him, no player should be rewarded deserting his team. I don't know of anyone that wants to see a player dog it and cry themselves off of a team. Yet as a Dodger fan, if he can produce the way he did the last two months, it will be easy to ignore the Benedict Arnold-like fashion that brought him to the City of Angels.

However this offer makes me worry that this could handicap the teams ability to fill the holes in the starting rotation, bullpen, infield, left field, and offense. I don't see where they could sign a number one pitcher and a starting third basemen with the amount of money they have invested in the outfield. With the uncertainty of it all, the hot-stove should be as interesting as ever for Dodger fans.

In other news, the Dodgers bought-out the disgruntled Brad Penny's contract. They basically decided $2M buyout would be better than a $9.25M salary for next year's services. And with his 2008 stats, I cannot disagree with the decision. But if he can regain his 06-07 form, it could be a big loss.

The firing of coach Fulmer

It was announced yesterday that Phil Fulmer would be stepping down at the end of the season. The real story is that Phil was fired and will be getting one of the biggest buyouts in college football history. Last year Fulmer signed a new seven-year contract worth $2.4 million, and he's owed a $6 million buyout payable over 48 months as part of that contract. His staff is owed an additional $3.55 million, however that figure could decrease depending on how many of them get jobs next year.

I don't really know how to take the news. The past four seasons has been soul draining but Fulmer means a lot to the team, institution, and the fans. He's been at Tennessee for more than 30 years as a player, assistant coach and head coach. He guided Tennessee to a 45-5 record from 1995-98 and back-to-back SEC championships (3 total), and he also led the team to a national title in 1998 with an unbeaten 13-0 record. The man is UT.

Recently the program hasn't been able to match the magic of the 1998 season. The Vols have lost 31 games since the end of the 2001 season, 19 of those have been by double digits. They haven't been in a BCS game or won an SEC championship since 1998. Along with the mounting losses, the program has had numerous arrests. So many in fact, that it spurned the Fulmer Cup on Every Day Should Be Saturday (EDSBS).

Although it worries me to see the only coach I have known for the Vols headed out the door, it was time for Phil to go. Now the Fulmer Farewell tour begins, hopefully giving the team enough incentive to take Phil to a bowl one last time as the leader of Tennessee.

AD Mike Hamilton wrote an open letter to Vol fans letting us know that the national coaching search will begin immediately. He also included that the Kentucky game on Nov. 29 is when we celebrate "Phillip Fulmer Day" in Neyland Stadium. It will be a sad day on Rocky Top and the mixed emotions will get more convoluted as time moves on. I just hope that Hamilton hires someone with half the heart and dedication for the Vols as Fulmer. Good luck Phil and thanks for the ride, it wasn't always smooth but it was fun.

I leave you with this photo made by the wife of Hooper from Rocky Top Talk. Edited from the original painting of Death of Julius Caesar by Vincenzo Camuccini. The picture is a good representation of Phil's firing, as the angry mob finally caught up to him.

Nationals release Lo Duca, Estrada, and Lopez

Jim Bowden and Manny Acta had been showcasing Lo Duca and Lopez for the last month, in hopes of getting a deal done. But Lo Duca was only hitting .230 and Lopez .234, not nearly high enough to garner a trade for a prospect or even a vat of fat. But F-Lop and Lo Duca left with some good things to say, and came out of this looking classy. Lo Duca wanted to apologize to the fans for his play.

"I apologize to the organization and the fans....I'm a better baseball player than I played."

and Lopez left without saying anything bad about the organization.

"This is definitely not the end of me. I'm still young. I'm healthy. It didn't go well for me here, but it's not the end of the world. I wish everybody the best. I've got nothing bad to say about the Nationals."

The Nationals will put the future on display for the last two months of the season, including recent acquisitions Emilio Bonaficio and Alberto Gonzalez. Finally the Nationals are actually going young, the Nationals fans were promised this last year. Since trader Jim realizes old ball players on last place teams are not good trade pieces he starts the youth movement. It should have happened a long time ago. Here is what he had to say:

"We're going to turn the page, and we're going to get younger for the last
two months," Bowden said. "We're going to continue to develop young players. We
want players here that are going to hustle, that are going to play the game hard
and play the game right."

Oh and Elijah "Your Dead Dawg" Dukes returns less than four weeks after suffering damage to both the meniscus and patellar tendon in his right knee which he suffered during a game in Cincinnati. He went 5-for-15 in three rehab games at Columbus.

The Nationals will need to make another move prior to Friday's game to clear one more spot on the 25-man roster.