Tag: Hanley Ramirez Fredi Gonzalez

I have a new respect for Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez in wake of his decision to bench All-Star Hanley Ramirez. Because Gonzalez has sent a message that most fans wish athletes would receive.

I didn’t think Ramirez could make himself look any worse than he did after he loafed after a ball that he booted into right field against the D-Back on Monday night. Then he spoke on Tuesday.

Did you lose respect for Gonzalez?
Ramirez: A little bit. We got 24 more guys out there, hopefully they can do the same things I do. That are wearing the Marlins uniform. There’s nothing I can say.

Are you going to apologize to your team for dogging it?
Ramirez: For what? Do what? We have a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They never pull guys.

Profound. You have to appreciate it when a guy doesn’t take responsibility for his own actions and instead shifts the blame to those around him. I guess if some his teammates all decided to rob a bank, Ramirez wouldn’t have a problem following suit. After all, they did it first, right?

This is what Gonzalez had to say following Ramirez’s interview session with the media yesterday:

“I think he’s got to take care of some problems,” Gonzalez said when asked when his star might play again. “When he handles that the right way, he’ll be fine. It could be good. I think whatever feelings he has with me or not . . . it’s fine and dandy. We don’t need to get along. But I think he needs to get along with the 24 other guys on his team, and when that happens, we’ll run him back in there. I think if he sets his ego aside, this could be good.”

Spoken by a man who gets it. There are plenty of professional athletes that need to be reminded that their team comes first and Ramirez is one of them. This isn’t a Gonzalez vs. Ramirez thing – it’s a Ramirez thing. He didn’t only let his manager down – he let his entire team down. And while it’s only one game in the middle of May, every game counts. What if the Marlins finish one game out of the Wild Card race in September? Teams come up a few games short every year of making the playoffs and maybe Ramirez just cost his team one of those opportunities.

If this were the first time that Ramirez acted up, then maybe everyone would be willing to move on quickly. But even the Red Sox had to discipline him for behavior problems and last year Marlins’ second baseman Dan Uggla called him out for his poor attitude. He’s not 19 anymore – this kind of thing shouldn’t be happening.

Either way, he’s crossed the wrong person in Gonzalez, because the Marlins’ skipper is all about the team. Ramirez can either get on board with the philosophy or ride the pine. It’s his call.

Photo from fOTOGLIF

There’s a problem brewing in South Florida these days and at least this time, it has nothing to do with the weather.

Hanley Ramirez showed more than a little frustration on Tuesday morning when he was probed about being benched by manager Fredi Gonzalez for not hustling after a ball in the second inning of Florida’s 5-1 loss to the Diamondbacks on Monday night.

Here are some snippets from Ramirez’s interview with media from the Miami Herald this morning:

What was reaction when he said he was taking you out of the game?
Ramirez: I just said ‘I’m going to go home. I just wanted to go home. It’s brutal. It’s fine. It’s OK.

Are you angry?
Ramirez: It’s brutal like I said. I’m just going to play the game and he’s just going to have to leave me alone.

Did you lose respect for Gonzalez?
Ramirez: A little bit. We got 24 more guys out there, hopefully they can do the same things I do. That are wearing the Marlins uniform. There’s nothing I can say.

Are you going to apologize to your team for dogging it?
Ramirez: For what? Do what? We have a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They never pull guys.

Do you want to play for Fredi?
Ramirez: It’s over. I’m done. No more [questions].

Do you hold yourself accountable for not running?
Ramirez: That was as hard as I could go right there. I wasn’t trying like I gave up. That was the hardest I could go after the ball.

Ramirez fouled a pitch off his shin in the bottom of the first inning, which happened before he booted the ball in the second inning and jogged after it. He can try to blame not hustling on the injury, but I implore anyone in their right mind to watch the replay and convince me that he didn’t dog it while running after the ball. I don’t know if he was trying to play it cool after he screwed up or what, but he was clearly not going 100%.

This is one of those times when a star athlete needs to swallow his pride, choke back some of his ego and apologize to his manager, teammates and fans. Ramirez is a phenomenal player, but just because he’s an All-Star it doesn’t give him the right to take plays off. He says that other people dog it “after ground balls” but even if that’s true, it doesn’t mean he should do it. He’s paid a lot of money to do what he does and seeing as how he’s the Marlins’ best player, he should set the bar higher for himself. If he doesn’t, then every team he plays for will have a pretty low ceiling.

Photo from fOTOGLIF