A few days after the Los Angeles Dodgers expressed a desire to talk with free agent slugger Adam Dunn, word filtered out of Denver that San Francisco was "quietly ... aggressively" pursuing free agent outfielder Manny Ramirez.

Scott Boras, who represents Ramirez, must have been getting nervous.

Boras excels at creating a market where none exists for his high-profile clients. Boras should go into the negotiators' hall of fame just for his fleecing of Texas owner Tom Hicks in the Alex Rodriguez negotiations. Boras lured Hicks into bidding so avidly against himself that the Rangers' final offer was $100 million more than the next-highest bid. Hicks bought into Boras' talk of a "mystery team" being ready to make a staggering bid.

This is not to suggest that Boras planted the Ramirez-to-San Francisco item with a compliant media lackey to help his negotiating position. But at the very least, the timing was odd.

The Dodgers are the only team known to have made an offer to Ramirez. With that offer off the table, the Dodgers began to consider other hitters, such as Dunn. A couple weeks earlier, Angels general manager Tony Reagins changed the dynamics of the Manny sweepstakes by announcing his club would not pursue the outfielder.

So, Ramirez stands on the outside, waiting for attention that is not coming.

Suddenly, the Giants reportedly crash into the picture.

If form had held, the next step would have been the Dodgers leaping into action, repenting for their ways and making a bigger offer that would enable them to bring back Ramirez.

Not this time.

The Dodgers could very well keep Ramirez, but it will be on their terms. They will not panic at the mention of a potential showdown with the hated Giants over Ramirez. The Dodgers are in control, putting Boras in an unfamiliar position.

This much is true: San Francisco is interested in Ramirez.

With a new managing general partner in William Neukom, there is increased pressure on general manager Brian Sabean to produce a contender. The Giants have the pitching to contend in the National League West, but their lineup creates the specter of a long line of 2-1 losses.

Sabean needs to add muscle to a lineup that ranked dead last in the majors in homers and RBIs, 29th in runs scored, 28th in slugging percentage, 24th in on-base percentage and 20th in batting average last season. Only three Giants (catcher Bengie Molina, outfielder Aaron Rowand and outfielder Randy Winn) had 53-plus RBIs last season. Ramirez had 53 RBIs, with a .743 slugging percentage, in only 53 games with the Dodgers.

Sabean is wise to explore the possibility of signing Ramirez and patient enough to wait and see how far the market falls. If Ramirez and Boras become desperate enough to take a back-loaded, short-term deal, the Giants will become players.

The Giants know their fan-base embraces big names. Why else would the franchise have tolerated left fielder Barry Bonds for his last few seasons with the club?

At least Bonds produced at the plate and tracked down some fly balls. If the Giants were to get Ramirez on a bargain deal, they would be asking for trouble. Ramirez's unhappiness about his contract usually shows in his play. He also would become disenchanted with hitting at pitcher-friendly AT&T Park.

If Ramirez were to land with the Giants, it would be a doomed marriage.

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The Dodgers make much more sense for Ramirez. They reportedly were willing to pay him about $45 million over two years. That offer could go back on the table and be inflated through clever accounting methods to make it look as if Boras and Ramirez got a bigger contract.

With the Dodgers, Ramirez could save face. A new deal could be spun as the Dodgers crawling back to Manny. Everyone would be happy. The fake dreadlocks would go on sale again at Dodger Stadium concession stands.

"He certainly seemed comfortable playing here," Dodgers manager Joe Torre said. "And we certainly loved having him. He made a huge difference. As we go back to it, Manny is Manny."

That means that nothing is as it seems, but Manny is far more likely to be a Dodger than a Giant on opening day.

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