Let’s face it, without October baseball for either New York team, we’ve been forced to deal with some discussions that have lasted way too long, such as this whole funny business about trading either Jose Reyes or David Wright.  It’s not all bad though, as now it appears that no matter where you turn, you’re faced with an argument for or against the Mets signing Manny Ramirez.  Let’s see if we can weigh the pros and cons for this move, shall we?

Pros

+ The guy is a proven winner.  He seemingly manages to find himself in the postseason all the time, and has hit 26 homers in October throughout his career.

+ Speaking of the postseason, a certain NL team that I think renamed themselves the LA Mannys don’t even sniff the playoffs without him.  Since he’s joined the team, he’s batted to the tune of .396, while hitting 17 HRs and driving in 53 runs in 53 games.

+ His presence in the Mets lineup takes a ton of pressure off the likes of Carlos Delgado, Carlos Beltran, and David Wright.  The mere thought of having Manny added to a lineup with those guys makes my head explode with delight.

+ How about the amount of Manny jerseys that would fly out of the stores while he’s here?  You have to think the contract starts to pay for itself before too long.

+ Not only would his presence in the lineup be great, but his presence off the field would create the perfect diversion circus that would take some media pressure off Wright as well.

Cons

- How might his personality affect a younger player like Reyes?  If people were worried about what Rickey Henderson did to him while he was here, there’s no telling how much of an effect Manny has on the guy.

- Sure, Manny merch might make some good cash, but he’s not going to bring more fans to a new park which is going to sell out every game for quite possibly all of the next 2 years.  Signing him might make it harder to go after guys like Francisco Rodriguez, for example.

- Forget about the money, what about the years?  Don’t let his performance in LA fool you.  This guy wants a contract with plenty of zeros in it, plain and simple, and he’s prepared to put on an Oscar-winning performance for 3 months in La La Land to get it.  Once he’s secured for four years, who knows how hard he plays.

- The guy might be a proven winner, but he’s far from a proven gamer.  He’s been known to quit on his team when things aren’t exactly going his way, and his lack of hustle can really put a hurtin’ on the team.  I’ll step aside and let Tim McCarver do the talking on this one:

It’s extraordinary — the dichotomy between what he was in Boston and what he is in Los Angeles,” McCarver said, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I mean, talk about wearing out your welcome in a town, and it was a long welcome with the Red Sox. But some of the things he did were simply despicable, despicable — like not playing, refusing to play. Forgetting what knee to limp on. And now it’s washed, it’s gone.

So the question is: Should Manny continue being Manny, in Flushing?  I’m glad I’m not the one making the ultimate decision on this one.  He’s definitely clutch, and would make Carlos Voltron more powerful.  But if you ask me, I think the risk is just too great, and I can absolutely see Omar regretting the decision down the road, at the unemployment office.  What do you think?  Feel free to agree with or lambaste me in the comments.