The Chicago White Sox have been awarded exclusive rights to negotiate with Manny Ramirez until 1:30pm ET (10:30 PST) to work out a deal that would give their team a definitely boost to try and make a run into the playoffs.

The other two teams were the Tampa Bay Rays and the Texas Rangers, who because they had higher winning percentages than the White Sox, lost the bid for Manny’s services.

I on the other hand am surprised that neither the Red Sox or Yankees thought that they could use Manny in the playoffs. Its my opinion though, that they knew they wouldn’t have a chance and that the White Sox would surely claim him before anyone else could get the chance to, so they decided not to waste their time.

The Los Angeles Dodgers scouting staff has been taking a look at the White Sox minor league system ever since they announced that they would put in a claim for Manny if and when the Dodgers put him on waivers. No word on who the Dodgers were looking at specifically but it could be assumed that the Dodgers will be looking at pitching with Kuroda not expected to resign with the team, and with Padilla and Lily being free agents. The only two for sure rotation guys for the Dodgers will be Billingsly and Kershaw.

Of the major league ready arms that the White Sox have in their system, the most intriguing is 23 year old Daniel Hudson, who has a 2.90 ERA in 3 seasons in the minors and has a 3.47 ERA with a 11-4 record on their AAA team. There is also 21 year old 3B/1B, Dayan Viciedo, who has 17 HR’s in only 75 games at the AAA level and with Loney not really showcasing any power and Casey Blake showing his age, I would love to see his bat on the Dodgers next season, although I doubt that they Dodgers could snag him, because he’s been in their line up this year already and I doubt they see Omar Vizquel as a long term option at 3B.

I get the feeling that the Dodgers will wait and see what happens in Colorado to see what they’ll do with Manny. They will most likely chat with the White Sox about what they could get, all the while, watching the team for signs of life, and if they could take 2 out of 3 or even better sweep the Rockies, I really doubt Manny will be leaving us and with Furcal looming on the horizon, there’s definitely a chance that the Dodgers could be making a run for the playoff door.

Note: There are other Dodgers players placed on waivers. Scott Podsednik, Casey Blake, and Jay Gibbons along with Manny Ramirez and Hiroki Kuroda.

The White Sox have expressed interest in Manny Ramirez if he goes on waivers and have stated that they’d put him at DH, which is where Manny would want to play if he does go on waivers. He’s said that if he goes to another team, that he wants to go to an AL club so that he can prolong his career at the DH position, which tells me that there’s a good chance he’d decline anything to an NL club unless he really likes the team.

He’s Baaaaack?

Could this be Manny Ramirez in under a week? It’s quite possible because the Los Angeles Dodgers are planning on placing Manny Ramirez on waivers this week. Johnny Damon has also been placed on waivers by the Detroit Tigers but he has a selective no trade clause in his contract and one of the teams on his list is the Boston Red Sox.

Both players left without much fanfare, in fact Boston Red Sox fans were happy to be rid of both Johnny Damon and Manny Ramirez both causing headaches with management and coaches but the Red Sox haven’t been the same since and with the Red Sox trying to catch up with both the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays, adding a bat the caliber of Ramirez could help propel them into the playoffs.

Now let’s look at the other teams that could vie for Manny’s services.

The Top Three.

#1. Tampa Bay Rays: They could use him the most. Their current Designated is another ex LA Dodger, Willie Aybar and his slash line of .240/.313/.361 doesn’t exactly cause an opposing pitcher pause. Because of their record, they’re above the Yankees in waivers but behind the Red Sox, so if the Red Sox end up passing on Manny, the Rays are my #1 destination for his services.

#2 New York Yankees: It’s obvious, they’re the Yankees, every big name that comes up in the trade market we put the #1 destination as New York. Now while Austin Kearns and Marcus Thames are hitting well this season they’re not Manny Ramirez but where would he bat? You may see the Yankees nab Manny just to keep him away from the Rays and Red Sox.

#3 Boston Red Sox: David Ortiz currently occupies the DH spot and hits right handers really well but is a horrible .218/.276/.331 versus left handers with 44 strikeouts in only 133 at bats, that’s one strikeout every 3 at-bats versus left handers, so if Manny does go to Boston he will more than likely be platooned with Ortiz and with Manny having a full no trade clause, I just don’t see him wanting to do that, Im sure he wants to play to make sure that he gets the best pay day he can in 2011.

After that we have the Chicago White Sox, Minnesota Twins and Texas Rangers who it has been rumored he could go.

The White Sox are currently 4.5 back of the Twins and 9.5 back in the Wild Card and with Manny’s no trade clause I can’t see him going there.

The Twins have Jim Thome currently in the DH spot and may want to give him a rest versus lefties but its the same situation as with the Red Sox, Manny’s going to want to showcase his talents and he can’t do it platooning.

The Rangers currently have Vladimir Guerrero and he was the DH for the American League All Stars and is a right hander, I just can’t see Manny getting any playing time there, so that is also out of the question.

So it seems Ned Colletti either read what I had to say this morning about the Dodgers not having a chance this year at the playoffs or he feels like putting Podsednik on the bench will be a waste and he could save a little money by getting rid of Manny.

I just don’t get the guy, in two days time he shows signs of not giving up then the next day we hear about him waiving Manny, which by the way, he said not too long ago was key to the Dodgers playoff run. With Furcal coming back soon, the Dodgers would have had their opening day line up for the first time since June 26th when the Dodgers beat the Yankees 9-4.

Here’s to hoping the Dodgers are now finally sellers and not buyers and we can get something before this season ends that can give us Dodger fans some hope for the future.

On Wednesday, the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the San Diego Padres 7-2 on the back of two Manny Ramirez home runs.  In a series thats well known as a pitcher’s park has been beat up by Manny ever since joining the Dodgers.  Ramirez finished with three home runs in the series, and has 14 home runs and 40 runs batted in over 38 games.

The Arizona Diamondbacks continue their losing ways, giving up a 3 1/2 game lead to Los Angeles.  Joe Torre has everyone playing together ever since the addition of Manny.

On Thursday, the Dodgers reactivated Brad Penny from the disabled list.  Penny was 6-9 before going on the DL with shoulder inflammation.  He will initially be used out of the bullpen, making one to two inning appearances.