Hanley Ramirez has been in and out of the lineup this season with various nagging injuries. He’s had a few incidents where he didn’t run balls out but he’s still firmly the best player on the Marlins. He’s also leading the NL in batting average but in an 0-for-14 slump. On Tuesday night he left the Marlins/Braves game with a hamstring injury and that drew the ire of his teammates.
Dan Uggla, his double-play partner, was the most agressive, actually getting into a verbal argument with Hanley on Tuesday. Uggla says Hanley’s not toughening up and sticking it out in the middle of a wild card hunt and instead trying to protect his stats. Hanley says he’s actually hurt and that he is only 10% healthy, therefore he shouldn’t be playing.
I’m not around the guys enough to make a judgment about the situation and I certainly don’t know how hurt Hanley is. I do know this much: Hanley is their best player and they are trying to win, so he should be out there trying to help. At the same point, if he’s that bad then sitting is the right move. Did anyone give Michael Young crap for going down with a hammy for the Rangers? Sometimes injuries happen. I’ll give Hanley the benefit of the doubt for now but he better be doing his best to try and help that team win.
