Former Dodger Manny Ramirez joins the White Sox today

The deal is done; Manny Ramirez has left the Dodgers to join the White Sox, who picked him up on waivers. He joins the Sox today. The decision to let the dreadlocked slugger go follows two years after Ramirez arrived in L.A. – and hit like no Dodger had hit before.

In August and September of 2008, Manny Ramirez drove the Dodgers into the playoffs by hitting .396 with 17 home runs and 53 runs batted in. If he’d hit like that for a full season, Ramirez would have broken every batting record in Dodger history.

But Manny never played a full season in L.A. There were those two glorious months in ’08 – and six strong weeks in ’09 before the infamous 50-game suspension for performing-enhancing drugs. When he returned, Ramirez was an average player.

This season, he’s been an old player – three trips to the disabled list. The Dodgers let him go for nothing in return, but you don’t get much for a 38-year-old player whose contract is up. They do save about $4 million in salary.

Remember the talented high school pitcher, Zach Lee, who signed with the Dodgers for a bit more than $5 million this month? Now you know how they paid for him.

One more note: Manny comes back to Southern California on September 24 when the White Sox visit the Angels.