So much for the hopes of a Red Sox-Manny Ramirez showdown in the World Series.

The Red Sox' situation -- trailing the remarkable Rays, 3-1, heading into tonight's Game 5 -- is dire enough, but at least there's still a small chance they can hold up their end of the bargain.

Manny and the Dodgers don't even have that slim hope anymore -- they were eliminated in the NLCS last night by the Philadelphia Phillies, who secured their first World Series berth since 1993 with a 5-1 victory to take the series in five games.

And with the season suddenly complete, those in LA are already wondering if Manny, who becomes a free agent this offseason and wants a lucrative long-term contract at age 36, will even be a Dodger when the next season begins.

T.J. Simers -- the usually cynical LA Times columnist who has emerged as Manny's head cheerleader in the local media -- writes this morning that there is no doubt what the Dodgers should do:

[Ramirez] not only puts the Dodgers in the playoffs, stretching the season out an additional eight games and making millions for the Parking Lot Attendant [owner Frank McCourt] in souvenir sales and additional ticket sales, but he single-handedly makes the Dodgers relevant again.

He plays 61 games in Dodger blue, hitting .410 with 21 home runs and driving in 63 runs, and there's actually some folks in the media debating whether to bring the showman back?

Of course, it won't be so simple. Simers suspects McCourt will position the Dodgers to finish second in the bidding, and as Manny says in his own inimitable way, he's not ready to make any commitments or decisions anyway.

I just want to go home [to Florida] and spend some time with my family," Ramirez says, while adding with a grin, "I want to see who is the highest bidder. Gas is up and so am I."

Another Times columnist, Bill Plaschke, has a more clear-eyed look at the Ramirez situation, suggesting that hitting the jackpot in free agency is more important to the slugger than his newfound affection for LA:

I asked Ramirez [after the game] whether he wanted to be here.

"We'll see," he said.

We'll see? We'll see????

This is a guy who spent the last two months romancing the media and fans as if he wanted to be here forever, and suddenly he's not sure?

Of course not. The last two months were a show. Given his history, he will never again be that focused on the field, or as affable in the clubhouse.

Now, understandably, it's all about the money, Ramirez wanting to cash in on the performance of a lifetime.

Gotta believe Plaschke has bingo there.

Two other links on this morning's episode of MannyWatch: