Larry Brown Sports

The Marlins’ season has officially gotten so frustrating that players are injuring themselves. Hanley Ramirez is currently in a 2-for-22 slump, and he is not happy with himself. During the sixth inning of Sunday’s game against the Cardinals — one that ended with another blown save from Heath Bell — Hanley punched a cooling fan in the dugout after grounding out. He needed two stitches on his knuckle, but the team is optimistic he will be fine for the second half.

Hanley said he punched the fan because he “got mad” and is upset with his lack of production. As you can imagine, Ozzie Guillen was not happy with his third baseman’s reaction.

“Very stupid injury, very immature,” Guillen said after the game according to the Miami Herald. “You’re going to hurt yourself because you can’t hit? Good hitters don’t do that. Good hitters battle back and try to get better. Your injury doesn’t just hurt yourself, you hurt your ball club.

“I don’t pay attention to stupidities. That made me mad. Players get hurt for no reason — hitting stuff. That’s very childish. We’re not kids. We’re grown people. When you struggle and you’re a great player you have to try and be better. To be honest with you I didn’t even ask him, I was so disappointed. We built this ballclub around him. This is the man in this ballclub and I never criticized Hanley Ramirez for not having the season we thought he had, but I will for hurting himself.”

You certainly can’t blame Ozzie for being furious. After seeing the horrible injury Amar’e Stoudemire suffered by doing something similar, it’s a shame athletes don’t learn from situations like that and think before they act. Hand injuries that are the result of clumsiness and stem from cleaning out a blender or trying to cut strings off your glove are tough to avoid. Cutting your finger by punching something isn’t.

H/T Hardball Talk
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

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Things have not gone the way the Marlins hoped this season, particularly in the month of June. After beginning the year with an impressive 31-23 record, Miami has dropped 15 of its last 18 games and dipped below .500. Sometimes a team has to hit rock bottom before a player steps forward and tries to be a leader, but rarely do we ever see a guy like Hanley Ramirez assume that role.

According to the Palm Beach Post, Ramirez called a players-only meeting after Saturday’s 7-1 loss to Toronto. One veteran player said he was “impressed” and that Hanley “said all the right things.” What Hanley are we talking about here?

“I don’t like to talk too much,” Ramirez told reporters on Sunday. “I joke a little bit but I don’t like to speak. But sometimes there’s a time when you have too many things in your heart and you just want to say it.

“The past is in the past. We have to start today. It has been tough. You cannot just keep adding loses and losses every day. Clean your mind and let’s start from today.”

It’s worth noting that the Marlins dominated the Blue Jays on Sunday with a 9-0 win. While we’ll need a few more games to determine if what Hanley said may have actually helped, he’s looking good so far. Players calling closed-door meetings during rough stretches is not a new concept, but it’s surprising to see a guy who is better known for showing up late and running his mouth stepping up to rally the team. Good for Hanley. Somebody had to do it.

H/T Hardball Talk
Photo credit: Howard Smith-US PRESSWIRE

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Looks like Hanley Ramirez and Jose Reyes are getting along swimmingly for the Marlins. Ramirez shared the above picture on his Twitter account Thursday with the description “The rubios,” which means “the blonds.” Yup, the pair dyed their hair blond for the start of the upcoming season. It’s hard to tell if the dye jobs were part of a team-building exercise before the season begins, or if they were just trying to match the new neon colors of the Marlins uniforms. Whatever the case, it looks like all the video game playing has brought the two all-star infielders closer after the initially rough offseason for Ramirez following Reyes’ signing. Nothing says “I got your back” in the heat of battle quite like taking a bottle of hydrogen peroxide to the dome for a teammate.

Forearm bash to Big League Stew

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If you thought Hanley Ramirez being deferred to third base with the arrival of Jose Reyes in Miami caused a rift between the two, you thought wrong.

Even though the incumbent Ramirez originally expressed some dismay about being forced out of the starting shortstop role, the left side of the Marlins infield has been getting along just fine now that spring training is in full swing. In fact, the two have even become video-game buddies. At the end of most days, both All-Stars have been going to one of their apartments and firing up the PlayStation.

“The machine doesn’t allow us to play the same team, so I play with Boston, he plays with the Phillies,” Reyes said Thursday.

“Me and Hanley have a very good relationship and now that we’re on the same team, it’s even better.”

Well, as long as their games don’t end with one of them throwing the controller across the room and wanting to wring the other’s neck out — like I do when I play “Call of Duty” — this can’t be a bad thing at all. That’s such an Ozzie Guillen thing to do, anyway.

H/T Hardball Talk
Photo credit: Steve Mitchell, US Presswire

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Until the season is underway, we have no way of knowing how Hanley Ramirez truly feels about playing third base for the Marlins. Jose Reyes is the team’s shortstop and Hanley can either deal with that or put up a stink. At the end of the day, it will be up to him. As for whether or not he’s on board with it, opinions have varied throughout the offseason. Earlier this week, Ozzie Guillen said Ramirez was not 100 percent on board with the move but would be by opening day. Franklin Mirabal, a writer for the Dominican Newspaper Hoy, then wrote a piece about how Hanley’s relationship with Reyes would inevitably be strained by the situation. Ramirez responded to the article with a series of tweets on Friday, which the Sun Sentinel translated.

“Folks, via this medium I want to let everyone know that what came out in the newspaper Hoy about me, the team and Guillen is a lie,” Ramirez wrote.

“And now what are you going to talk about if the whole world knows I’m going to play third base with the Marlins?” he added in a separate tweet. “Trying to soil my image with lies. Third base with the Marlins forever baby.”

Hanley then tweeted the photo you see above of him and Reyes hanging out at a golf course. At the moment, all is well. It’s fun to speculate about the situation getting ugly, but it’s tough to argue with, “Third base with the Marlins forever baby.” For now, Ramirez and Reyes appear to be looking forward to holding down the left side of the Marlins’ infield. Whether you believe Hanley or not, his Wednesday tweets should close the discussion — at least until the season begins.

Fist pound to Eye on Baseball

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In order for the Miami Marlins to be successful with their new manager in their new stadium, they will need Hanley Ramirez to be on board with his change of position. Ramirez is a shortstop. He has also been the Marlins’ best player for quite a few years. Now that Jose Reyes was signed to play his position, you can understand why Hanley may feel a bit insulted. While there have been reports that he has accepted the fact that he is the Marlins’ third baseman and Reyes is the shortstop, Ozzie Guillen said that is not yet the case. Check out this video from the Miami Herald:

“No, no,” Ozzie said when asked if Ramirez is 100 percent on board with moving to third base. “Hanley? I don’t think he’s 100 percent on board — not yet. From the last time I talked to him, no. I don’t expect him to be. I expect him to be 100 percent on board with this move when we play St. Louis (in the first game of the season). Right now, just let it be.”

“This is Hanley’s team, man. I said that even when we were going after Albert Pujols.”

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: this is the elephant in the room that could drown the fish this season. Ownership has spent plenty of money and we know Ozzie is capable of leading a team to a World Series, but Miami will suffer if Ramirez decides he wants his old position back.

H/T Eye on Baseball

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From the moment the Marlins signed Jose Reyes to a monster contract, everyone knew there were potential issues looming with he and Hanley Ramirez on the same roster.  Both play the same position and both are quite good at it.  If both are still with the team come late March, new Marlins skipper Ozzie Guillen is going to have to find room for his infield superstars.  At first, it sounded like Hanley would not be open to making a move to third base to accommodate Reyes.  However, it appears that Guillen has gotten through to him for the time being.

“I’ve spoken with (Ozzie) Guillen, and what we both want is to win with the Marlins,” Ramirez according to a Miami Herald translation of an Associated Press report. “When we get to January, we’ll see what happens with the position change and everything else. If it’s at third, fine. Wherever they put me, I’ll do it in order to win.

“I’m very happy, better than ever. We’re the new Marlins. I’m also a new Hanley. Good things are coming for this upcoming season.”

Whatever Ozzie said to Ramirez seems to have worked — for now. A couple months ago Hanley was adamant about remaining a shortstop. Those feelings don’t just disappear overnight because of a conversation he had with his new manager.  As we have seen on numerous occasions in the past, things are always easier in the locker room when teams are winning.  As long as the Marlins stay on a winning track, Ramirez might be happy at his new position.  If things start to go south, the situation could escalate in a hurry.  My gut tells me Miami won’t get through a full season without dealing with a frustrated Hanley.

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