Just for fun, here are Manny's age 34 BBRef comparables. As a hitter, he's much closer to F. Robby, Mays, Frank Thomas and Barry Bonds than to Griffey and Juan Gone.  In other words, Manny Ramirez is a historically great hitter, probably one of the top 30 who have ever played the game.  Or, to look at it another way, here is Lou Gehrig's age 34 comparable list. It's interesting to see Manny only 40 homers behind Aaron at this stage of their careers, although Hank had great years in his late 30s in Atlanta.

I voted for Thome because he's at DH, which will give him less wear and tear. He's also relatively young, plays in a hitter's paradise and most importantly has the quiet, steady, consistent drive to get him there. He's not Manny's equal has a hitter, but we're not talking about who will finish with a higher EqA, we're talking about a counting stat, which requires consistency and steadiness as much as ability. Look at Rafael Palmeiro, everyone's favourite whipping boy. He made it to 500 HR, without a dominant HR season by being steady and consistent, whether modern science aided him or not. Manny might retire after '08 and wander off to travel Europe and be Manny.