Red Sox: Is Hanley Ramirez a Cause for Concern?

Apr 15, 2015; Boston, MA, USA; Boston Red Sox left fielder Hanley Ramirez reacts after hitting a home run during the fifth against the Washington Nationals inning at Fenway Park. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

In yesterday’s game between the Boston Red Sox and Baltimore Orioles, Sox Manager John Farrell announced that Ramirez left in the second inning because he felt lightheaded, but could be back in the lineup by Tuesday, according to the Boston Herald. So the real question here is was Hanley actually feeling ill?

In my opinion, no way was he feeling ill. And unless your vommitting in the dugout bathroom, you play through an illness. This is just Hanley being Hanley, but not in a good way.

Right before being taken out of the game, he’d hit a ground ball to first and after hitting it, barely left the batters box. After the play, it looked as if he was limping but when it was called an “illness”, many immediately went to the theory that Hanley had no interest whatsoever in playing in the Sox tradition of the Patriots Day game. Not to mention the fact that the temperature was in the forties and it was pouring rain.

There have been many other examples of Ramirez loafing it as well.

In the April 15th game against the Washington Nationals, a game in which the Red Sox lost 10-5, Hanley had two distinct times when he was caught loafing.

The first was when he hit his home-run. Being a spectator at that game, it felt as though Hanley took an hour rounding the bases and a good 20 minutes of that time was him watching the ball soar into the Green Monster.

The second was not as funny or as positive of a play. The Nationals hit a liner into the corner in left field and Ramirez took his jolly old time getting to the ball. Even on the replay board in center field, it showed him slowly jogging to get the ball and non-shalantly throwing it in to second base.

Did either of these plays hurt the team? No, but the worry is what these kinds of plays will do for the team in the future.

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Now look: his lack of effort has not effected his offensive production at all. He currently leads the team in home-runs (5) and RBIs (12). He also is second on the team for runs scored (9).

A big concern among many when the Sox signed Ramirez was his attitude. With him being on the Miami Marlins and Los Angeles Dodgers, many of us Bostonians never really knew what his attitude was like. We only saw his numbers, which have always been pretty good.

Many continue to compare him to Manny Ramirez and some of the comparisons make sense: both left fielders, both power hitters, both loafed it sometimes, and of course they also had the same last name. There’s just one big difference: Manny won two world series’ with us and when it came down to winning, Manny was all in.

The slogan “Manny being Manny” was funny because of the stupid plays he sometimes made: the cut-off on Johnny Damon’s throw, going to the bathroom during innings in the Green Monster and just goofing around. The only reason that anyone ever thought that was funny was because of his ability to win and him being unbelievably clutch.

The reason that many point out Hanley’s laziness is because he hasn’t ever won anything. In all of his years with the Marlins, he never even made the playoffs and with the star-studded Dodgers, he couldn’t help them past the NLCS.

Oct 7, 2014; St. Louis, MO, USA; Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez (left) and outfielder Yasiel Puig (right) look out from the dugout during game four of the 2014 NLDS baseball playoff game against the St. Louis Cardinals at Busch Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports

This Red Sox team is looking to win a World Series this year and if there’s any player that the Sox should be worried about, it’s Hanley Ramirez. Not for his lack of production, but for his drive and will to win.

We’ll see how things pan out.

But for now: should the Red Sox be concerned?