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Hanley Ramirez didn’t stick around to talk to reporters after tonight’s game. If he did, he might’ve thanked manager Fredi Gonzalez for choosing his words so carefully in explaining why Ramirez was taken out of the game in the second inning.
And to Fredi’s credit, he didn’t try to sugar-coat what everyone in the press box and on TV saw — his $70-million shortstop loafing after a ball that he kicked down the left-field line.
But Fredi was kind compared too what he could’ve said about the lax effort. Here’s the gist of what Fredi said in his post-game session with reporters — while owner Jeffrey Loria stood and watched from the manager’s office:
“He got smoked by the ball in the ankle. Whether he’s hurt or not hurt or whatever it was, we felt the effort wasn’t there that we wanted. There’s 24 guys out there busting their butts. Cody Ross got hit by a ball 95 miles an hour that wasn’t thrown any less slower and he stayed in the game. And battled and got two hits.
“You know what? There’s some injuries there but we expect an effort from 25 guys on this team and when that doesn’t happen we gotta do something.”
What did you tell Hanley when he came into the dugout?
“I told him he needed to go inside and we’re gonna run (Brian) Barden out there, who has a sprained ankle, by the way. And he battled eight innings with a sprained ankle probably killing him, but that’s the effort we’re looking for as any organization.”
Gonzalez said Ramirez offered no excuse when he came off the field after the play.
Will Hanley receive any further discipline?
“You need more embarrassment other than being taken out of a major league game?”
Will he start Tuesday?
“We’ll see.”
How disappointing is it to see that from your marquee player?
“You guys call him a marquee guy. I got 25 guys all wearing the same uniform with the same Marlins insignia on the front. I thnik it’s disappointing if anybody did it, not just one guy.”
Earlier in the day, Hanley was lingering in the clubhouse, talking to a reporter, when Gonzalez came and got him because he was late for a pre-game team meeting.
Don’t forget what happened last September — when Hanley took himself out of a game on a day when Atlanta’s Tim Hudson was dealing. Hanley cited a sore hamstring, but Dan Uggla publicly — and other teammates privately — questioned his desire to win.
Hanley is a two-time All Star who won the batting crown last year by hitting .342. He’s getting $7 million this year, as part of that $70-million extension he signed in 2008.
Any suggestions?
And to Fredi’s credit, he didn’t try to sugar-coat what everyone in the press box and on TV saw — his $70-million shortstop loafing after a ball that he kicked down the left-field line.
But Fredi was kind compared too what he could’ve said about the lax effort. Here’s the gist of what Fredi said in his post-game session with reporters — while owner Jeffrey Loria stood and watched from the manager’s office:
“He got smoked by the ball in the ankle. Whether he’s hurt or not hurt or whatever it was, we felt the effort wasn’t there that we wanted. There’s 24 guys out there busting their butts. Cody Ross got hit by a ball 95 miles an hour that wasn’t thrown any less slower and he stayed in the game. And battled and got two hits.
“You know what? There’s some injuries there but we expect an effort from 25 guys on this team and when that doesn’t happen we gotta do something.”
What did you tell Hanley when he came into the dugout?
“I told him he needed to go inside and we’re gonna run (Brian) Barden out there, who has a sprained ankle, by the way. And he battled eight innings with a sprained ankle probably killing him, but that’s the effort we’re looking for as any organization.”
Gonzalez said Ramirez offered no excuse when he came off the field after the play.
Will Hanley receive any further discipline?
“You need more embarrassment other than being taken out of a major league game?”
Will he start Tuesday?
“We’ll see.”
How disappointing is it to see that from your marquee player?
“You guys call him a marquee guy. I got 25 guys all wearing the same uniform with the same Marlins insignia on the front. I thnik it’s disappointing if anybody did it, not just one guy.”
Earlier in the day, Hanley was lingering in the clubhouse, talking to a reporter, when Gonzalez came and got him because he was late for a pre-game team meeting.
Don’t forget what happened last September — when Hanley took himself out of a game on a day when Atlanta’s Tim Hudson was dealing. Hanley cited a sore hamstring, but Dan Uggla publicly — and other teammates privately — questioned his desire to win.
Hanley is a two-time All Star who won the batting crown last year by hitting .342. He’s getting $7 million this year, as part of that $70-million extension he signed in 2008.
Any suggestions?
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