Mike Celizic

Manny should have taken the $25 million. And then he should have kissed everybody in the Dodgers’ front office for being willing to pay him so much money for one year of play.

As soon as the ink is dry on his new contract, he should give agent Scott Boras his commission and then tell him to go screw up somebody else’s career. At the press conference to talk about the signing, he should swallow his pride (It’ll take a lot of swallows to get that much ego down, but if he sticks to it, he’ll get it down.) and apologize to Los Angeles, to Boston and to baseball for being such a jerk.

Tell everybody he shouldn’t have behaved the way he did during his get-out-of-Boston crusade and it was inexcusable what he did to the Red Sox traveling secretary. Say he’s seen the error of his ways, he’s grateful to be given another chance, and he’s going to show everybody that the Dodgers just spent the best $25 million ever.

He’s not going to get a better per-annum deal anywhere else. That’s getting clearer by the minute as team after team passes on Boras’ demands for $100 million and four years.

The Dodgers say they still want to sign him and there’s no deadline for Manny to decide. His manager, Joe Torre, told ESPN that it doesn’t mean the team won’t sign Ramirez. But it could change in an instant, the Dodgers said. Manny’s got to slide through the door that’s been left ajar before it’s slammed shut and locked.

Pitchers and catchers are reporting at the end of next week, and camps open for everyone shortly thereafter. Boras likes playing this brinksmanship game, but somebody has to understand that Manny is damaged goods. Since Boras is never going to get that message, it’s up to Manny to do it.

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He’s still the best right-handed hitter this side of Albert Pujols, but he’s saddled with a history of being a jerk. It’s not often that he goes into full Manny-being-Manny mode, but that’s like saying it’s not often that the San Andreas fault lets go. The problem is that when it does cut loose, it wrecks everything.

So nobody wants to make him comfortable. They’re afraid of what he’ll do somewhere down the line. It’s a legitimate fear, backed up by his own behavior. In fat economic times, teams might have taken the risk. But today, nobody wants to commit huge amounts of money to a player who could very well turn into a whining dog.

It's the economy, stupid. Last year, I wrote that the recession wasn’t going to hurt the premier free agents, and it didn’t — then. But Manny needs to take a look around. Bobby Abreu has reportedly been offered a one-year deal with the White Sox for $8 million. That’s half of what he made last year with the Yankees. And it’s the best deal he’s been offered.

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Manny had a $45-million offer for two years from the Dodgers in December. Since then, unemployment has continued to rise and even sports are being affected. The NFL is laying off 150 people, and individual NFL teams are laying off staff of their own. The NBA has seen similar cuts.

Baseball has to be facing the same problems. It’s already clear that the economy is going to get worse before it gets better — President Barack Obama reminds us of it every day. If you were a general manager, would you commit that much money four years into an uncertain future for a guy who has a congenital need to give regular vent to his inner spoiled brat?

Actually, if Manny’s smart, he’ll ask the Dodgers if they’d mind going back to the $45-million, two-year deal. They’d probably agree to it to make a deal. That would get him through to when the economists say things are going to start getting better. If he can keep his nose clean for those two years — a big if in his case — he can get a nice bundle for the final two or three years of his career.

If he behaves, he can get that money in Los Angeles, one of the few teams that can afford him. If he doesn’t, he’ll be begging for work.

But he needs a job this year, and he still doesn’t have one. The Dodgers are offering him even more than Bud Selig makes as commissioner, more than anybody in the game not named Alex Rodriguez.

It’s only a year, but it’s a year he can use to prove he’s worth a longer commitment. Right now, with money so tight, he’s a risk no one has yet been willing to take.

Take the $25 million, Manny. Then get down on your knees and show some gratitude.

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