It appears that only the Orioles may be interested in the Boston slugger, but even that is a long shot.

01:14 PM EST on Friday, October 31, 2003

BY SEAN McADAM
Journal Sports Writer

BOSTON -- After failing to entice the New York Yankees into taking Manny Ramirez and his prohibitive contract off their hands, the Red Sox' last best chance before irrevocable waivers run out this afternoon may lie with the Baltimore Orioles.

Even that, it seemed last night, constituted a long shot.

After some brief consideration yesterday, the Yankees passed on claiming the mercurial slugger, who was placed on waivers Wednesday by the Red Sox. According to sources, the Yanks were fearful that claiming Ramirez would set in motion a series of personnel moves which would see the Sox, newly flush with Ramirez's $20.5 million for next season off the books, deal for Houston Astros closer Billy Wagner. Dumping Wagner's salary, in turn, would free the Astros to sign Andy Pettitte away from the Yankees. Pettitte lives near Houston, but the Astros currently don't have room in their budget to become bidders for the Yankee lefty.

At the same time, the New York Mets, while in need of a power bat in the outfield, are seeking to reduce their payroll below the $100 million level, taking them out of the hunt.

The Los Angeles Dodgers, meanwhile, are in the midst of an ownership transfer and would be unlikely to take on such additional debt.

That leaves the Orioles, who yesterday were said to be giving the idea of putting a claim in for Ramirez some consideration, a baseball executive with knowledge of their thinking said.

AP photo Manny Ramirez in Game 5 of the ALDS versus the Oakland A's.

The Orioles, thought to have the resources to compete for top free agents, have had difficulty attracting marquee players over the last five years, enduring five straight fourth-place finishes in the A.L. East.

They had previously targeted both shortstop Miguel Tejada and outfielder Vladimir Guerrero as their prime targets this offseason, but will have considerable competition.

A greater likelihood, industry sources indicate, is that Ramirez will pass through unclaimed today, leaving a trade as the best option for the Sox to unload him.

Without the burden of assuming the full $100 in salary obligations, there may be more potential partners for the Sox. It's a given that the Red Sox would have to assume a significant portion of Ramirez's remaining salary to facilitate any deal.

If the Sox were to assume half of the remaining $100 million over the life of the existing five-year contract, Ramirez would become, in effect, a $10 million player.

Such a tab would eliminate the majority of teams, many of whom will be looking to scale back payrolls for the second year running. But that price tag would make Ramirez at least as affordable as the expected asking price for top free agents such as Tejada, Guerrero and Gary Sheffield.

The Red Sox would not set a high asking price for Ramirez in a trade, but would balk at taking back a similarly untenable contract in return.

Moreover, the Sox are fully prepared to go to spring training with Ramirez as part of their team. If nothing else, said someone close to Ramirez yesterday, the lack of interest in him on waivers may serve as a wakeup call and have a humbling effect.

"If he can't be given away," the source said, "what does that tell him?"

According to someone who spoke with the Red Sox, the team is unafraid of the effect the process could have on Ramirez, since the outfielder had already communicated a preference to play elsewhere. The Sox are merely trying to accommodate him, while at the same time giving themselves more revenue to fill potential holes -- second base, starting rotation, bullpen -- for the 2004 roster.

DIGITAL EXTRA: Given all the recent shifts in personnel, do you think the Boston sports' franchises know what they're doing? Take projo.com's poll, at the link below, then check online and in tomorrow's Journal for results:

http://projo.com/sports/poll.htm