Reasons Why Manny Ramirez Won't Destroy The A's

So I said the other day that all my interest in Oakland would dissipate if they signed Manny Ramirez. They did not take heed of my warning; strange, because I assumed Billy Beane was a regular reader.

In order to cover my bases, just in case the Ramirez signing doesn't ruin the A's season, here are some reasons why it will be successful, or at least not apocalyptic.

1) It's a non-guaranteed contract, which means if Oakland finds a better option while Ramirez is serving his 50 game suspension, they can simply release him.

2) It has certainly generated buzz. Anything to get people talking about Oakland, in addition to the Cespedes signing, has to be good for the Athletics. Maybe a few more fans in the stadium, maybe a little excitement or momentum. Good for the bottom line, hopefully good for the team, and therefore hopefully good for the fans, although if the team is indeed going to move to San Jose, it will be little more than a parting gift. Before these signings, it was likely that people would forget the AL West had four teams. At least now they will remember there is an Oakland.

3) Manny being Manny would make for a good excuse for any distractions or mediocre performances from the team. A good old fashioned scapegoat.

4) He won't be around for the first third of the season anyway, so the season's course will be at least partially defined already. It's a long season, but we will have some sense of how the team is likely to do, and Ramirez could either be an injection of adrenaline to maintain success, or simply a distraction from another disappointing run. It's a gamble, but as Oakland has already been written in as set to lose more than it wins, might as well gamble.

So yeah, I'll watch a few games. And maybe that's the whole point of the Ramirez signing: trying to get a few more people to notice the A's.