Options Shrinking for Manny Ramirez

Where will Manny Ramirez wind up? It's starting to look as though - barring something crazy like going to Japan for a year - Ramirez will be back with the Dodgers, and likely for less money than he hoped to get at the start of the free agent season.

The biggest reason that Ramirez appears wedded to the Dodgers at this point is that nobody else seems to want him. The Yankees and Mets have stated they aren't interested. The Red Sox? Not bloody likely. Who else has the money? There had been some reports that the Nationals - the Nationals! - might make a run. But who's kidding whom?

Ramirez wants a 4-year deal worth $100 million. The Dodgers are holding the line at two years. They've offered Ramirez $45 million for two years, and agent Scott Boras rejected it. They've offered Ramirez one year at $25 million, and Boras rejected that, too.

In this game of chicken, who blinks first? The Dodgers need Ramirez - but Ramirez needs the Dodgers, because they're his only good option.