Daily Debate: Should the Dodgers have ever signed Manny Ramirez?

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Manny Ramirez is serving a 50-game suspension enforced by Major League Baseball after officials found out he was using a banned substance -- one that’s used to correct testosterone levels after doing steroids.

The other common use for the drug is to increase fertility in women. Needless to say, childbirth isn’t on the slugger’s to-do list.

Manny was an unexpected gift from Boston in the middle of last season. The Red Sox even paid his salary for the remainder of the year, just to get rid of the guy. Did they know something the Dodgers didn’t? Shouldn’t the organization have suspected that there was more to fear than the slugger’s silly antics? Of all people, Jose Conseco insinuated that the Dodgers knew of or suspected Ramirez’s drug use when it took them so long to resign him this past off-season.

Even if we can’t figure out who knew what (and when), we can wonder if the Dodgers ever should have played ball with Manny Ramirez ...

NEVER SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED

Manny Ramirez’s final months with the Red Sox were, uh ... eventful. He slapped a teammate on TV. He shoved somebody from the team’s front office staff. He refused to play because of an injury that an MRI couldn’t detect. He didn’t run out grounders. He was photographed using his cellphone during a game.

While there wasn’t much talk of performance-enhancing drugs, there was plenty of evidence that Manny was bad news. Now, he’s put a black eye on one of the proudest organizations in baseball history. Last season’s impressive surge will forever be stigmatized, and for what? A trip to the National League Championship Series where the Dodgers fell 4-1?

Assuming Manny comes back this season, his drug use will forever hound him and the record of the team. It means that although we’re just a week removed from April, in some ways the season is already over for the Dodgers. It’s not that they can’t win, it’s that they can’t win without hearing whispers.

And who’s to say that Manny will continue to perform at a high level without the help of whatever he might have been on? He may need to overcome more than regular rust when he returns.

Lest we forget, he also spent his summer vacation driving the Dodgers front office crazy with his contract negotiations. While there are two sides to the story, it was a surprisingly unamicable affair as it played out in newspaper headlines. Manny didn’t get the long-term deal that he wanted, but he does have an option to pick up another year for $20 million. Considering what this latest incident must have done to his market value, it’s a good bet that Manny will pick it up -- and far more money than he could get elsewhere. The last aging superstar to look for a new contract was Barry Bonds, who is still looking for a job after sending his resume around for two years.

Speaking of Bonds, this also torpedoes one of Dodger fans’ favorite ways to talk smack to Giants fans. It’s hard to say anything about an apparent steroid user who plays left field and hits lots of home run when you have one on the roster and they no longer do.

WORST CASE, THE DODGERS BREAK EVEN

Manny Ramirez made the Dodgers relevant again. As a .500 team for most of last season, his arrival sparked a resurgence on the field and in the stands. Not only did the team get blistering hot at the end of the year and win a playoff series, Manny did the most important job of any pro athlete -- he put butts in seats.

Even the day his suspension was announced, fans at the ballpark chanted Manny’s name and expressed a longing for his return. Winning solves a lot of problems, and that’s especially evident in Los Angeles. Look no further than Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. While Bryant and Ramirez have found themselves in different kinds of public scandals, they’ve also found themselves welcomed as conquering heroes with every victory. Manny helped win last year, he has helped win this year, and he will do so again when he returns around Independence Day.

In the locker room, Manny has helped usher in a speedy transition from the awkward ‘leadership’ of the past couple of seasons, with the team’s elder statesmen not known for diplomacy with the youngsters. This year, insiders have remarked on just how much fun it seems around the clubhouse -- and that was before their home winning streak reached record levels. With his carefree reputation, it’s safe to say that Manny’s personality has helped the team on a day-to-day basis.

From a financial perspective, this still makes sense. The Dodgers paid nothing on his multimillion-dollar salary last year. They won some major concessions on their off-season negotiations and are making extended, interest-free payments. And while Manny’s on the bench, the team is saving about $8 million. All in all, any real cost doesn’t seem to show up in the accounting ledger. Come to think of it, they’ve probably made plenty thanks to increased ticket and merchandise sales.

The Dodgers will coast through a weak NL West this year and have Manny back in time to make a serious run. In the interim, he’ll be able to prove himself by totally coming clean (he’s already made a sizable start compared with other athletes in his position) and training with the team until he can finally rejoin them on the field.

-- Adam Rose

Top photo: The Dodgers’ Manny Ramirez warms up during batting practice before a game against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Credit: Christian Petersen / AFP/Getty Images.