The contenders might start to separate from the pretenders Friday, when agent Scott Boras said he will begin to field offers for his dreadlocked hitting machine, mainly because Friday is the first day Boras is allowed to field offers from all clubs.

Owners of the Yankees and Angels have already indicated interest in Ramirez and have the resources for this hand of poker with the Dodgers, who already have made an offer and are obligated for the pursuit because of their torrid 2 1/2-month marriage with Ramirez after the Red Sox unloaded him. The Yankees have the added incentive of enticing Ramirez to help them beat his former club.

But even though Ramirez is coming off one of the most remarkable displays of hitting in recent years while carrying the Dodgers into the National League Championship Series, and even though Ramirez "pays for himself," as Boras said, he's 36 years old seeking a six-year contract for maybe $150 million in a fearful economic climate.

Ramirez's age and the lack of a designated hitter present an added obstacle for the Dodgers or any National League club, leaving the Yankees and the Angels as the logical favorites, even though both also figure to be bidding briskly on another Boras client, first baseman Mark Teixeira.

The Dodgers -- Ramirez's most recent club and the only one allowed to make an offer during the 15-day window of exclusivity that expired Thursday night -- last week lobbed an opening bid of two years and $45 million, with a $15 million third-year option that actually would cut his pay the final year. That offer has gone without a response as Boras said he uses the 15-day window following the World Series for fact gathering, not offer gathering.

"We had to do our due diligence," Boras said. "We spent the past two weeks meeting with clubs at the General Managers Meetings, determining what their plans were for their clubs, determining the team's interest in Manny and whether the player is interested in the team. We have gone about it in a very methodical manner and weren't in the negotiating mode last week."

He rings the bell Friday, the first day free agents are allowed to sign with clubs other than the one they just left. In Boras' words, the process will be "methodical." In other words, slow. That's how he orchestrates a bidding war, especially when the field of contending teams appears short.

For bidding purposes, the Angels' interest in Ramirez, voiced this week by owner Arte Moreno, adds intrigue to a rivalry between ownerships of the Southern California clubs dating to winter 2003, when a Dodgers front office, paralyzed by the pending sale to Frank and Jamie McCourt, allowed the Angels to scoop up free-agent outfielder Vladimir Guerrero.

The Angels, with a payroll this year of $120 million, have freed $11 million by buying Garret Anderson out of a $14 million option for $3 million and are letting closer Francisco Rodriguez leave rather than pay him a salary inflated by free-agent bidding.

The Dodgers have $63.5 million coming off a similar $120 million payroll, but they also have 14 free agents to replace, including their top two starting pitchers over the past four years (Derek Lowe and Brad Penny), four starting infielders (Rafael Furcal, Jeff Kent, Nomar Garciaparra and Casey Blake), a pair of key relievers (Joe Beimel and Chan Ho Park) and the eighth-winningest pitcher of all-time (Greg Maddux), along with Ramirez, Mark Sweeney, Gary Bennett, Pablo Ozuna and Jason Johnson.

Although the Mets have expressed pitching as an offseason priority, the Yankees' interest in Ramirez could spur cross-town competition. Like the Yankees, they have a new stadium to keep full and a solid balance sheet that sheds nearly $40 million salary in departing free agents. The Mets went into last season with 41-year-old Moises Alou as their left fielder, but had to piece it together when injuries limited him to 15 games.

Boras will be looking to lure an unexpected club into the bidding. He's done it before with Texas (Alex Rodriguez) and Detroit (Pudge Rodriguez), among others.