Los Angeles Sports

1. Manny being Manny

Breathe easy, Hollywood. Manny is back and hopefully better than ever.

After a rousing first act with the Dodgers in 2008, Manny returns as the superstar and the face of the Dodgers.

Like so many things in Hollywood, this has pros and cons. Manny is of course Manny...and thus will tear the cover off the ball as long as he is healthy and motivated.

But still, Manny is Manny, and is prone to cancerous and curious antics that tend to divide and hurt teams. Which Manny will the Dodgers get? Very interesting sub plot.

The Dutch were clutch in the WBC, sending the DR straight to the ER! 

Okay, that was a poor attempt to sound 'hip'.  However, let not anyone underestimate the profoundly stunning result that 2-1 victory by the Netherlands over the Dominican Republic was. 

The Dominican Republic was a team loaded with MLB all-stars (Miguel Tejada, David Ortiz, Jose Reyes, and Pedro Martinez...to name a few); however, the Dutch had not a single player on its roster who is currently signed with an MLB team. 

Manny: "Ah mi Dios. Otro día en escuela", (Oh my God. It is another day at school) said nine year old Manuel-ito Ramirez from his squalid little tenement in the Washington Heights section of the Bronx.

Manny thinks: Oye tiene cuidado mi ventana. Estoy en las sombras del Estadio Yanqui... (Hey look out my window. I'm in the shadows of Yankee Stadium...)

Manny: "No quiero ir a la escuela hoy." (I don't want to go to school today)

Narrator: Excuse me Manuel-ito. This is Bleacher Report. Please habla in English.

(Photo by Steven Senne / AP)

...but that was awesome.

I can't help but applaud the Red Sox' oft-moronic version of Michael Flatley for his comments about Manny Ramirez in his interview with the April edition of Esquire magazine:

For the last preview in the American League West, I saved the favorites heading into 2009: the Los Angeles Angels. I say "favorite," but never has an incumbent—fresh off a 21-game coast to the division flag—worn the mantle while being supported by wobblier legs.

Consider the five player transactions from this winter that figure to make the biggest impact on the new Major League Baseball season:

1.  CC Sabathia inks with the New York Yankees.

2.  Mark Teixeira inks with the Yankees.

3.  The Oakland Athletics trade for Matt Holliday.

[Today marks yet another first here at JoeSportsFan.com, as we introduce to you the Jackie Robinson of female writers at JSF. That's right, the latest writer to make it past Joe Mustache's rigorous screening process is the first of the female variety. Her name is Julie Adelsberger, and every Wednesday she will nominate a special someone from the sports world and grant them entry into the prestigious JSF Tool Shed. Because frankly, some people deserve to be mocked.]