Why Not?

Daniel messaged me today (likely after reading Simmons most recent column) and the following conversation ensuded:

Daniel: you know what I would love?
me: a creamsicle?
Daniel: the Braves to sign Manny
me: i was thinking that same thing today

Aside from the creamsicle, we both agreed that signing Manny just made sense. The on-field reasons: We need a #4 hitter. He fits that perfectly. We need a right handed power hitter. He fits that perfectly. We need a left fielder. I won't say perfectly, but he is adequate there.

To along with that we have plenty of backups ready to fill in when Manny decides he needs a day or two off. Additionally, the rest of our defense is above average so we can make do with a sub-par LF.

The off field reasons: There isn't a ton of interest in him which should keep his price down (not cheap, but not $18 mil/year). He is actually fairly durable averaging 142 games over the past 14 years, never missing more than 45 games in a single season. He would stand a good chance of thriving under a laid back manager in Bobby Cox. Atlanta has a large latin community and is not too far from his home in Miami.

Additionally, he wouldn't have to be a leader and he could mentor some of our younger hitters like Escobar. Taking all this into account, wouldn't $40-45 million over 3 years get the job done. He would take pressure off of the rest of the offense and the lineup would look something like:

Kelly Johnson 2B Bats: Left
Yunel Escobar SS Bats: Right
Chipper Jones 3B Bats: Switch
Manny Ramirez LF Bats: Right
Brian McCann C Bats: Left
Casey Kotchman 1B Bats: Left
Jeff Francouer RF Bats: Right
Jordan Schafer CF Bats: Left
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So we'd have a good mix of lefties and righties and flexibility off the bench with Norton, Prado, Infante, Anderson, etc.

What's not to like?