Hanley Ramirez 2011: Knocking on .250's Door

[Party]

HanleyRamirez Hanley Ramirez
La cambie anoche esta es nueva de caja praaaaaa RT @Enrique_Rojas1: @HanleyRamirez Ponte las pilas peloterito!!!

Rojas: Put on your batteries, player.

Hanley: I changed them last night-- brand new out of the box.

[Ramp]

Hanley is Ready for a Big 2011 Season

JUPITER -- Hanley Ramirez is showered and dressed. His day is done. He is standing inside the Marlins clubhouse and preparing to head home after playing six innings of an irrelevant Grapefruit League game that is now in the ninth – entirely permissible under spring’s relaxed rules.

He slings his Gucci over one shoulder, slips on his Dr Peeper sunglasses and shuffles toward the clubhouse exit and his waiting Aston-Martin Rapide.

But before he can make his escape, he overhears the voice on the clubhouse television announce that teammate Wes Helms has singled in the winning run. He stops. He meanders. He walks over to a cooler and grabs a bottled water. He is stalling, pretending to be disinterested.

Finally, after 10 or so minutes, Ramirez spots Helms when he walks in the clubhouse, wanders over, and shakes his hand. Ramirez has waited all that time just to praise the southern-tongued Helms, a gritty Alabaman and backup infielder whom younger teammates call “Uncle” for the wisdom he regularly imparts.

Whispers one Marlin, who notices Ramirez in this moment of team camaraderie, sees him go out of his way to congratulate Helms: “Maybe he’s starting to change. It would be nice if he did.”

TOUGH WORK AHEAD

In what will mark his sixth season with the Marlins, the All-Star shortstop will be trying to not only improve on what was a subpar year on the field by his high standards, but repair an already battered image that took still another hit when he was benched for loafing on a play last May.

Ramirez has his work cut out.

His batting average fell from a league-leading .342 in 2009 to a barely perceptible .300 last season. His RBI total plunged from 106 to 76. His OPS (on base percentage plus slugging percentage) plummeted from a robust .954 to only .853.

He all but disappeared from the national conversation, going from a runner-up finish behind Albert Pujols for 2009 N.L. MVP to not receiving a single vote for the award last season.

But it was his image that suffered the most following the May incident, one in which former manager Fredi Gonzalez forced him to apologize to teammates, many of whom had long questioned his commitment, before returning his name to the lineup card. It was a ticklish moment, creating an awkward tension within the clubhouse.

Some members of the organization still aren’t convinced that Ramirez has turned the corner.

“He’s got all the talent in the world,” said Hall of Fame outfielder Andre Dawson, a special assistant in the Marlins’ front office, as he watched Ramirez take batting practice one morning this spring. “Everything is there for this guy to take off and be the best at his position. But you’ve got to bust it day in and day out to be the best. You have to show that in more ways than just up at the plate.”

Ramirez, 27, is vowing to do that, become a better teammate and more of a leader than he has shown in the past. He said he is talking more to other players and trying to open up with them.

MUTUAL RESPECT

“As you get older, you realize there are a lot of things you’ve got to do better,” Ramirez said. “I think they’re [teammates] starting to listen to me, and that makes me feel better. That makes me talk more to them. People are starting to show me a lot of respect, and I’m showing them respect, and they know that.”

A few of the Marlins say that not all the blame should rest with Ramirez, that part of the fault is their own in not making a better effort in getting along with the team’s biggest star and richest player ($11 million this season alone in salary).

Catcher John Baker said that, other than former Marlin Dan Uggla, who was openly critical of Ramirez in a heated clubhouse exchange two years ago, nobody has stepped up to challenge Ramirez the way they do with each other.

“I think that one of the problems has been that in the past here, with the exception of Danny, nobody has been man enough to stand up and say something when he was out of line,” Baker said. “So how is he supposed to change his behavior unless he’s called on it? And that’s everybody’s fault but his.”

Baker said he also believes that part of the issue is cultural.

“I’ve talked to him before and said ‘I don’t pretend to understand where you came from,’” Baker said of Ramirez, who is from the Dominican Republic. “Imagine being the best player from that country, and the kind of pressure that is put on you to prove day in and day out that you’re the man. That’s what he deals with.

“We don’t have anybody else on this team that deals with that. Yes, Josh Johnson is on his way to being a superstar. But he’s not as heralded as Hanley has been. Being from a different country and having to constantly prove to your people at home you’re the man. That’s a tough thing to balance.”

A CHANGE IN RAMIREZ

The bottom line, Baker said, is that he’s noticed a change for the better in Ramirez.

“Every year, he’s been a better teammate than he was the year before,” Baker said. “And that’s not through anything other than his own effort. I think generally, what happens here is he’s matured and becoming an adult.”
Few doubt Ramirez’s ability. He is, after all a three-time All-Star and former Rookie of the Year.

He has his defensive shortcomings, but infield coach Perry Hill said that Ramirez is working hard to improve by putting in extra time on the practice field.

“I’ve had to chase him off the field a couple of times,” Hill said. “I’ve had to tell him ‘That’s enough.’ ”

Ramirez said he is driven to improve, wants to raise his batting average and increase his stolen base output. He has said he wants to put the Marlins on his back and help lead them to the playoffs.

“I think we can do it if we stay together, like we’ve been doing this spring,” Ramirez said of the upbeat clubhouse chemistry. “This spring, we have been the most together, pulling for each other. That’s what we’re here for, man.”

http://www.miamiherald.com/2011/03/3...y-ramirez.html

[Party]

Hanley hasn't hit a home run since September 6th. This is including Spring Training.

[emkayseven]

jesus

he also hasn't successfully made a routine throw in that span

[MiamiHomer]

jesus

he also hasn't successfully made a routine throw in that span

But he has.

/I know what you were doing.

[MiamiHomer]

Hanley Ramirez has tried just about everything to change his hitting luck, besides putting in extra time working on his swing. He hiked his pants up to expose his socks. When that didn’t work, he lowered them back down, hoping that would do the trick.

It hasn’t. Next?

“Maybe no pants,” Ramirez said, producing laughter after going 0 for 4 on Sunday and hearing boos for the second straight day.

Ramirez, the league batting champ in 2009, is now mired in a 2 for 27 slump that has lowered his average to .182.

“I know I’m going to get out of it,” he said. “At the end of the year, the numbers are going to be there. So I’ve just got to go through it right now and try to get out of it soon, get back on track.”

Ramirez said he heard the boos Saturday and Sunday, and understands why fans are unhappy.

“It’s good because they expect a lot of things from me,” Ramirez said of vocal fans. “I’m not doing it right now. But we’ve got five months to go.”

Ramirez and manager Edwin Rodriguez both agree that he’s been guilty of chasing bad pitches.

“The good thing is he’s concerned,” Rodriguez said. “He wants to do good. It’s not like he doesn’t care. In my opinion, I think he’s been way too aggressive at the plate. He wants to do good so bad that I think he’s swinging at balls out of the strike zone.”

Rodriguez said it’s possible he might give Ramirez a day off to get his head together. Teammates are 100 percent supportive of Ramirez and say his attitude, despite the slump, has been exemplary.

“Whatever he’s been in the past is far from what I’ve experienced here,” said catcher John Buck, a newcomer to the team. “He’s struggling probably the worst on the team, and when I’m punching out, he’s the first one patting me on the butt. It’s directly reflected in the way we’re playing the way he’s dealing with it. When he gets going, it’s going to be something fun.”

Ramirez said it’s only a matter of time.

“I’m rushing too much at home plate, trying to hit every pitch,” he said.

Even though he’s struggling, Ramirez is happy the team is winning.
“It’s only me,” he said. “Everybody else is fine right now.”

Humble Hanley Discusses Slump and Fans Booing

[FishFanInPA]

somewhere Dan Uggla is smiling with his HR's and almost as bad average.

[Bobbob1313]

I don't think Hanley's being too aggressive or swinging at bad pitches, given how much he's walking and his strikeouts being relatively low.

I think he's swing's ust a little fucked up right now.
--------------------

somewhere Dan Uggla is smiling with his HR's and almost as bad average.

And his 4 walks. Fuck him, he sucks.

[Ramp]

I like Hanley's response to being booed. That's some serious maturity.

[Bobbob1313]

I really dislike the lede of that story. Maybe it's just me, but doesn't it sound like they're saying he hasn't tried working on his swing?

[MiamiHomer]

I noticed the same, poor wording.

[Bobbob1313]

Good thing blog standards are lower. Pretty sure that stuff doesn't go through a copy editor.

[Beef]

I really dislike the lede of that story. Maybe it's just me, but doesn't it sound like they're saying he hasn't tried working on his swing?

Yeah, I was going to ask you guys if you could tell if it was saying that he has done everything meaningless and has not worked on his swing or if he has worked on his swing and even tried a bunch of other shit too.

[Swifty]

He should just cheat fastball. Get that cheapy double and get the confidence going.

[MiamiHomer]

He changed around his stance quite a bit from last season when they put the two images together during the game today.