Red Sox Miss Manny Ramirez
Lack of Presence has Stymied Run Production
The Red Sox are on the verge of being eliminated by the surprising Tampa Bay Rays, not just because their pitching cannot slow down the Rays’ bats. Boston’s offense has gone to sleep in this post season and you can’t deny the fact that one of the key hitters of the past few years is not there anymore.
Despite all his shortcomings off the field, on the field, Manny Ramirez brought a presence to the lineup. If you can imagine a baseball team’s offense as "a wave", one impact hitter can cause a "ripple effect" that reverberates throughout the lineup from top to bottom.
Numbers Don’t Lie
From 2003-2007, with Ramirez in the lineup, David Ortiz batted .325, with 10 homeruns and 30 R-B-I combined in the Divisional Series and League Championship Series. This season, Ortiz is 5 for 31, including a 1 for 14 clip vs Tampa Bay, with no homeruns and 1 run batted in. Ortiz has been nursing an injured wrist but is playing and not producing.
Leadoff hitter Jacoby Ellsbury is 0 for 14 in the ALCS while Dustin Pedroia, who will vie for the American League Most Valuable Player Award, was 1 for 17 in the ALDS.
Some of the other putrid numbers include C Jason Varitek who is 0 for 10 in the ALCS and RF J.D. Drew who has two hits in 13 at-bats, but, in all fairness, is not healthy.
Jason Bay is not Manny Ramirez
You can’t blame Jason Bay for what’s happened to the Red Sox. The outfielder, who was acquired from the Pittsburgh Pirates as part of a three-way deal involving Ramirez, has done his part. Bay is 13 for 32 with 3 homeruns and nine RBI in his first post season stint.
Those stats don’t make up for the loss of Manny’s presence. Opposing pitchers don’t fear Jason Bay as they would Manny Ramirez.
Manny Carries Baggage
Boston had their reasons for parting the ways with Ramirez.
An incident with the team’s traveling secretary earlier this season was just one example. Ramirez was upset with the man for not being able to secure tickets for a game, so he pushed him to the floor. The traveling secretary was 64 years old.
There was a game against the Yankees where Ramirez didn’t start but was called on to pinch hit against Mariano Rivera and he never took the bat off his shoulder. Three straight strikes and Ramirez watched all three go by without a hint of a swing.
At times, Ramirez appeared to demonstrate a lack of hustle and his eccentricities were wearing thin on the New England crowd.
There comes a lot of baggage with having Manny Ramirez on the roster, but there’s also production, so it’s a double edged sword.
Stuck Between a Rock and a Hard Place
The acquisition of Ramirez rejuvenated the Dodgers. So much so, that they won the National League West and advanced in the post season with a stunning sweep of the Chicago Cubs.
Once the season ends, Ramirez will be a free agent. That status is something that many feel is a motivating factor for his performance of the past few months.
Los Angeles will be under enormous pressure to re-sign Ramirez but without his impending free agent status, will he be the same player he’s been since July.
Those are the questions that any prospective buyer will need to answer if they plan to pursue the future Hall of Famer during the winter.
What do you think about this article?
Latest Articles