The Manny Ramirez negotiations are going nowhere and we are now a month away from the start of the 2009 baseball season. The Dodgers won’t budge — at least not forward, and Scott Boras we all know isn’t going to give in.

At this point, the offers are only going to get lower. Are Manny and Boras big enough to take a lower offer than one they already passed on? History says no, but times are clearly not the same as they once were.

So with the Dodgers offers slowly coming down, and Boras and Manny insistent on them going up, is it possible that the only money Ramirez is getting this year is unemployment?

I really think at this point Manny is hoping to avoid playing any spring training games, then sign with whatever the Dodgers’ most recent offer is in the first week of April. Unfortunately, I don’t know if Boras will agree to the terms that are on the table at that point.

Realistically, if it weren’t for A-Rod cutting Boras out of the loop, we’d have seen this same scenario play out a year ago. But Rodriguez was man enough to recognize his agent’s failures and make a deal happen himself with the Yankees.

Does anyone really believe that Manny is motivated enough to call Dodgers owner Frank McCourt and get this thing hammered out? I don’t.

Now that McCourt has essentially taken all deals off the table and insisted that negotiations start all over from scratch, I can’t see Manny jumping in to save this thing. If he hasn’t stepped up yet, he isn’t going to.

So the question becomes, is Scott Boras willing to let his top free agent client sit out if they don’t get the deal they’re looking for, especially in today’s economy?

Remember, if Manny makes zero dollars, then Boras does also. At what point does Boras suck it up and say that 2-years, $35 million is better for him than nothing, and make the deal.

Let this be a learning lesson for the rest of Boras’ clients. No matter how good you are, you can’t invent a buyer’s market. The Yankees called A-Rod’s bluff and he had to come crawling back, sans Boras. All of baseball called Mark Tiexiera’s bluff and if it weren’t for the Yankees being idiots, they could have gotten him for about $30 million less. No one else in baseball was interested in either of them at Boras’ asking price. Now he can’t get Manny Ramirez a job?

If you are a big-name baseball player, you may want to think twice about signing with Boras. The day the Yankees tighten the purse strings, or the (impending) day that the salary cap becomes a part of baseball, all he will be good for is keeping great baseball players unemployed and ruining the reputations of draft picks — and keeping them unemployed.

Please, Frank McCourt, don’t give in on this one. I know you need Manny, but in today’s economy, you also need to keep your teams heads above water. Even with Manny last year, you couldn’t get through the playoffs. Don’t overspend on one player when you don’t have to. Taking a stand now will save you millions in the future. I promise.

I’m not saying that I want to see Manny go unsigned in 2009. In fact, I’d love to see him play somewhere. He’s so good I just enjoy watching him play.

But at the same time, I think it is important, specifically in today’s economic climate, for teams to build rosters within their means, and not mortgage the future of your franchise on one player. The market has already determined Manny’s value — don’t go out and overpay for him when you’re the only ones in the bidding.

I want to see Manny play — but only if Boras and Manny agree to realistic terms. Otherwise, it’s their own fault and I will completely support the Dodgers’ decision to let him stay home.

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