Fish Out of Water

So Monday when I was watching the SportsCenter highlights and I saw the Marlins game, I really didn't expect anything blog-worthy. There's rarely anything special about a Marlins-Diamondbacks game. Then when I saw Hanley Ramirez barely jogging to get a ball that went all the way into the outfield after bouncing off his leg, I knew I had something to talk about. This may not have been a big story if it had been a lesser-known Marlins player such as Chris Coghlan or Cody Ross, but with one of the best young shortstops in the MLB, it's different. As a result of his laziness on the field, Ramirez was taken out of the game in the second inning by manager Fredi Gonzalez, and was benched yesterday as well.

Here's the main controversy about all of this: Gonzalez told Ramirez that he could either apology to his team or sit out. The All Star shortstop sat out a game and has now changed his mind, saying that he will apologize before their game against the Cardinals today. Many ESPN analysts thought that Gonzalez was too harsh with the "apologize or sit" theory, but I think it was 100% the right thing to do, especially because of Ramirez's previous history of off-the-field problems. I don't care if this is your franchise player, there is no excuse for what Ramirez did. He is suppose to be this team's leader, and with his laziness in the game on Monday, I'm not sure if he can lead the team by himself.

Let's face it: so far, Ramirez hasn't had the year he was expected to have. Fantasy owners were hoping for more than a .293 batting average when they most likely picked him in the first round (his only lower batting average for a season was his first full season when he hit .292). Last year's National League batting champion has been very quiet in the new decade. To be honest with you, this is the first time this season that I had heard him spoken about other than Marlins highlights. He's just 3 for 5 in stolen bases, while he stole 27 last year. This player really needs to turn his season around, and apologizing tonight is the right move for him to make.