Now that Manny will be Manny in Chicago, the Chicago White Sox have some work to do.  The first order of business is getting Manny on the roster.

I would imagine the correct move would be to send Carlos Torres down for a day.  If the Sox cut a bench player, they are doing themselves a disservice.  If the Sox get into the playoffs, Torres will most not likely be on the roster as J.J. Putz and Matt Thornton will be back.  And for all you Mark Kotsay haters, he still is Paul Konerko's backup, so he needs to stick around.  Being a pitcher short for one day is no big deal.

Second, where do you hit Manny in the lineup?  Do you hit him third to protect Paulie?  I would do that moving Alex down to five and Q to sixth. Or maybe hit A.J. sixth to break up the righties and put Q seventh.  In my book, Manny sort of picks up some of the slack from Q, so hitting him lower in the order may relax him and give the Sox big time power threats at three, four and seven.

Finally, how will the free spirited Manny fit in the Sox clubhouse?  The Sox are a pretty button down organization.  Will he have to lose the dreads?  As far as how Ozzie will deal with him, Ozzie is a great player's manager.  Ozzie will lay the law down to Manny the minute he gets off the plane that Manny's sole focus is to help the Sox win games and that anything else is unacceptable.  I think Manny and Ozzie are a lot alike in that both are a lot smarter than the media gives them credit for.

It is reasonable to conclude that  Manny wants to compete for a championship to maximize his potential for a contract with someone next year. Certainly his agent Scott Boras is aware that so many name players were idol this year (like Jermaine Dye.)  In order for Boras to get Manny one more big payday, he'll have to hope Manny can be the difference maker in the AL Central race.  Otherwise, this may be the end of the line for Manny. 

For Manny, hitting some bombs and driving in some key runs while helping the Sox win the division just makes Manny look better.  I think the only time the Sox might have issues with him is when and if they get eliminated from the race.

It is a gamble for sure, but this clearly shows you the White Sox want to pull out all the stops to try and catch the Twins.  They certainly need some help and will Manny Ramirez playing for a contract, they may just get it.