Now that's fine, everybody has a tough defensive play every once in awhile, but then he proceeded to "chase" the ball down at his own leisurely pace. He jogged it out! By taking his time, he allowed two runs to score and the batter to reach third.
Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez pulled Ramirez from the game, saying his two-time All-Star shortstop was hurting the team. Then, making an example out of the player, Ramirez was not in the lineup on Tuesday either.
Ramirez claimed that his effort on the play was everything he could muster at the time and he wasn’t giving up. In the first inning of Monday's game, Ramirez fouled a ball off his leg during an at-bat and he leaned on that crutch as an excuse for his lack of hustle. He said it wasn't really his fault and said he lost some respect for Gonzalez for pulling him from the game.
Ramirez flapped his mouth a bit more Tuesday, disagreeing with his manager’s decision to keep him from a playing in a second game.
“It's OK. He doesn't understand that,” Ramirez said. “He never played in the big leagues. That's fine. That's the example that he set. It started with me. Let's see how far it goes."
Now hold on there, Hanley. If there’s one sure way to screw up a clubhouse, it’s disrespecting the manager. And this is more than disrespecting. He very obviously tried to show up his boss and take some shots at his experience. That’s inexcusable. It sounds like he thinks he could manage a major league team better.
Ramirez may be a good player, but the five-year veteran is no sure Hall of Famer at this point and he can’t get away with this sort of in-your-face insults.
The Marlins are currently in second place in the NL East, but to stay in the hunt for the rest of the season and try and dethrone the Philadelphia Phillies, the Fish are going to need to be firing on all cylinders. They can’t have their stud player making all kinds of distractions and trouble.