News is spreading around the league that Rhinos slugger Manny Ramirez is heading to Japan to finish the season over in that league. Manny had such a huge impact on this league. His presence fueled a league that has been rocked recently by some scandals.

No, Manny wasn't the same hitter he was when I was facing him in the major leagues but he was the same Manny. He was able to help a newly formed team be as huge drawl at home and on the road. For the league bottom line, he put people in the seats. He took their mind off some of the recent negative issues the league has endured.

I think Manny gets a bad wrap in the States for being a diva – maybe rightfully so. But he has always been nice to me, and many ballplayers I have spoken with about him have said the same. Manny hit well here, batting around .350 with about 6-8 home runs. Solid numbers but I suspect that his average could take a little dive in Japan. I wish him well. Glad to see another guy putting on the uniform as long as possible.

Speaking of coming and going. Former Brewer Nelson Figueroa arrived in Taiwan and is expected to be activated maybe as soon as Sunday. What does that mean? Well, his arrival gives us four Americans currently on the team. You're only allowed three foreign players. Simple math says someone has to go. I have a hunch who it might be but I hope I am wrong.

Just a thought...

Most leagues outside of the MLB have allowances for the number of foreign players with a cap on how many can be on the field at the same time.

• Taiwan: three foreign players, only two on the field at the same time
• Japan: four foreign players, only thee on the field at the same time
• Mexico: five foreign players
• Korea: two foreign players per team

My feelings toward this rule are that it's a bit unfair. Just think if the major leagues had a rule like this? Say a major league team could only have five foreign players and three on the field at the same time. How different would the Brewers be (13 players currently on the 25 man roster were born outside the United States)? How different would the league be?

We are currently tied for first place. We are in a make-up game period right now. It's supposed to be our all star break but they give us extra days to allow for make up games we lost during the first half (think extra days for school for snow days). We have seven games to make up.

This is getting pretty intense as each game is coming down to the wire and with playoff implications.

Until next time! Go Uni-Lions!