By Lang Whitaker, SI.com
As the Phillies take a break and prepare for the World Series, the Dodgers get to take their bats and go home to kill time before they all report to spring training. Well, maybe they'll all report: Manny Ramirez, he of the devastating bat and mercurial attitude, will become a free agent this winter. And while Manny's recession-proof price tag will almost certainly bring offense to your team, there's also a good chance he'll bring drama along with him. But Manny's not the only one. There are plenty of athletes who should come with a warning label. Here's our list of the top five. And remember: Let the buyer beware.
1. Manny: He probably has the most upside on the list, but because he's so talented and so proficient on offense. He can also leave a gaping hole in your lineup if he decides to flake.
2. Ron Artest: One of the NBA's best all-around players, but also one of the most erratic.
3. Adam "Pacman" Jones: Welcome to his world, Jerry Jones.
4. Milton Bradley: Batted .321 this season and blogged for The New York Times, but also went after an announcer and, just over a year ago, tore his ACL while arguing with an umpire.
5. Terrell Owens: Surprising to include two players from the same team? Perhaps. But it's also true.
Which athletes should come with a buyer beware tag? Let us know below ...
Lang Whitaker is the executive editor of SLAM magazine and writes daily at SLAMonline.com.
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Comments (22) Add A Comment
Manny is like Schroedinger's Cat, viz.: 50 percent he'll give you his all, 50 percent he won't. Caveat emptor yes, but remember also "eventus stultorum ... magister." (Fools must be taught by experience.) So give him a hundred kajillion and roll the dice; then lift the lid on the box and see if your cat is alive or dead.
MrTuckRuehl
Boston , MA
Total Comments (7)
Or don't touch him with a ten foot pole, like the other 30 teams with a brain. Jones is too much trouble for what talent he brings to the equation. You can't just look the other way in hopes that a guy might turn out to be a great nfl player because the risk is you get a guy who drinks too much or is too public when he drinks and it causes a lot of problems for your team. In Dallas its ni big deal because Jerry boy doesn't care at all because felons, blackguards, and drug addicts all deserve it as long as they put money back in his pocket.
Illinois Cheesehead
Rockford, IL
Total Comments (110)
If Manny's July with the Red Sox shows how he performs when NOT giving his all, I'm OK with it: .347 avg, played in 22 of his team's 24 games. Not too shabby.
davidpom50
Moorpark , CA
Total Comments (4)
Chad O NO Catch-o Johnson
FoosBall...Licensed…
Total Comments (1967)
That was terrible...
Gu3
Parkville , MD
Total Comments (14185)
Mats Sundin...
wtnelson = Big Chief
Fort Collins , CO
Total Comments (1517)
Yeah, why would you want to sign Manny? Do you know what happened to the last team to give him a big contract? He helped them win their first World Series in 86 years, and then another one 3 years later. Why would any team want that?!
The Pitt Panther is…
Telford, PA
Total Comments (11752)
You Americans, you're so parochial. "Let's win a World Series today but lose our souls later." An ideology that led to 2 WS's also led to the decline and fall of the financial system as we know it. Manny is nothing but about the money (cf. his quotes after the Dodgers lost last night - "I'm gonna ask for 7 years"; "I'm just going to relax this offseason and see who offers me the most" etc.). Give a man like that a gazillion and the world collapses inevitably later on.
Then again, why do we watch sports in the first place? Is it to validate our system of value and self-worth? Or is it as a surrogate to both? And why begrudge Manny all the money he can get? Isn't that the essence of capitalism? And we all know where that got us (see above).
MrTuckRuehl
Boston , MA
Total Comments (7)
You (insert country of origin here)'s, always so condescending.
Many American fans are willing to put up with whatever for the sake of winning, i.e. Ravens fans(Ray Lewis, manslaughter I believe) Sox fans(Manny being Manny), Cowboy fans (T.O., Pacman), etc. Not all Americans are willing to turn a blind eye however.
MichaelReiter
Hackettstown, NJ
Total Comments (29)
Touch??, MichaelReiter. I said "You Americans" for effect, but to ill use. I'm an American too. What I should have said was "America is the greatest country in the world but sometimes I swear we act like idiots."
Here's a thought: "Buyer beware" should really apply to the American sports fan, a consumer of services and products with a large disparity between value and cost. Is it really worth $200+ to go to a game nowadays? I enjoy sports, playing and watching, but the latter never really required my physical presence at a venue. Yes, there are extraordinary events that demand that (the Olympics for one), but the majority of everyday sports, such as baseball, don't. We balk at the high-priced spoiled athlete while we contribute, sometimes greatly, to his/her salary. I won't be surprised if the next domino that topples in this ridiculous financial crisis is the over-inflated, overrated major-league sports industry. Manny is just a man looking for all he can, but the real plan to span the American way is a panning of pandering. Make it happen, America. Vote "No" to high-priced tickets.
MrTuckRuehl
Boston , MA
Total Comments (7)
PS That really should read "Touche", not "Touch??" ... apparently SI.COM can't handle accent egus.
MrTuckRuehl
Boston , MA
Total Comments (7)
Why is T.O. in this list? He has 4 years left in his contract and happy where he is! You all have nothing to write about so you throw T.O. in every article you write as a filler! Find something to write about!
cptneasy
Total Comments (6)
Yeah, wow - how can Lang Whittaker not come up with someone better than TO for the list - there are so many injury-prone, overhyped, flaky sports stars (esp when the list isn't restricted to just one sport) - but he pulls out TO, who has actually performed well for Dallas overall...just a cheap shot...
Kiwicraig78
Total Comments (175)
Carl Pavano, Mike Hampton, Mark Mulder, Mike Sweeney, among many others.
lendaleusc06
Kansas City , MO
Total Comments (808)
You are right "kiwicraig" it is just a cheap shot. This guy is either not talented enough or willing to work hard enough to find something to actually write about so he sets up there and cheap shots the people he is jealous of. I do not know this guy Lang's sport history but something tells me that he got cut from his T-Ball team for continually wetting his pants!
cptneasy
Total Comments (6)
"Manny is like Schroedinger's Cat, viz.: 50 percent he'll give you his all, 50 percent he won't."
Dude, if his performance were akin to Schrodinger's cat, Manny would have to simultaneously be giving both his all and nothing.
dc44113
Cleveland, OH
Total Comments (2)
Ehhh...lets see...I could give you something like 25 million reasons why...but heres just a few...almost overdosed, possibly intentionally...consistently calls out his QB and the rest of the team...is mopey when not thrown the ball enough during a win...is mopey when thrown the ball 20+ times in losses...is mopey when the team signs a legitimate threat at WR to compliment him...and ehhh...ehhh...t.o. has b.o.
Saihung
Smyrna , DE
Total Comments (301)
oh and a man of his statue is just a risk in general.
Saihung
Smyrna , DE
Total Comments (301)
but there is no way he is one of the top 5 players across all US sports that people should most be worried about their team getting...and that was the point, Whitaker pulled out a well-known name and media target rather than thinking and writing a genuinely insightful article about players who underperform etc...
Kiwicraig78
Total Comments (175)
I'm not surprised to see the Cowboys on here twice. Jerry Jones would recruit from prisons if that's where the talent was.
a.nomaly
Union County, NJ
Total Comments (375)
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