Wanted: Manny Ramirez
by 0157H7
on Jun 27, 2008 9:00 AM EDT
in News
Wanted: Gifted Dominican slugger, fan favorite.
Last known home-run: June 10th, 2008.
Aliases: Manny, Manuel, Man-Ram, Manny Being Manny
Over the past several weeks, the Sox have had to weather the absence of their two premier sluggers. David Ortiz is on the disabled list (but he could be back in 2-3 weeks). Manny Ramirez is present physically, but, watching him at the plate, you might be fooled.
After starting the season hot, Manny is on a nasty cold streak. Over the last fourteen games (June 8th to June 25th), he has batted .234 / .333 / .319, with two extra base hits (a homer and a double). In that span, he has a grand total of 2 runs batted in and 4 runs scored.
Granted, this is a very small sample size (54 plate appearances). But it comes at a terrible time, with Ortiz out of the line-up. If not for J D Drew's miraculous June, this recent stretch may have been disastrous for the Sox offense.
Looking closer at his season, we can see a series of hot and cold streaks.
March 25 - April 19: 19 Games, 82 plate appearances, .342 / .415 / .712, 6 home runs.
April 20 - May 30th: 34 G, 146 PA, .258 / .349 / .375, 3 HR.
May 31 - June 7th: 7 G, 32 PA, .407 / .500 / 1.000, 5 HR.
June 8th - June 25th: 14 G, 54 PA, .234 / .333 / .319, 1 HR.
Total: 74 G, 314 PA, .291 / .379 / .516, 15 HR.
For 26 games, Manny was superhuman, slugging above .700 and getting on base at a clip above .400. He clubbed 11 of his 15 homers during this span. The other 48 games, he was mediocre, with a sub-.350 OBP and very low slugging percentage.
Hot and cold streaks are typical in baseball, particularly for Manny. Last season, he began the year by hitting .202 / .314 / .315 in April, before heating up in May. By this point last season, his numbers were close to his present total, with a better OBP and less power: .296 / .394 / .487, and 11 homers. In the second half, Manny bombed in August (.749 OPS) and missed all but 6 games in September, resulting in a disappointing season. Then he started raking in the playoffs.
With all of this in mind, the $20 million question is: how Manny will perform going forward? Will the current cold streak continue, or is he about to break out? Is Manny heading for another 2007 (126 OPS+) or another 2006 (165 OPS+)? And should his 2009 option be picked up, or should the Sox look elsewhere for power (Teixeira? Dunn?) for the future?
(Original image sources: www.rauckmanutility.com and http://keithsouza.com )
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He's getting old
So I guess he’ll be okay, but we may never again see the old production from him again.
It's the same old story. Boy finds girl, boy loses girl, girl finds boy, boy forgets girl, boy remembers girl, girls dies in a tragic blimp accident over the Orange Bowl on New Year's Day.
by MerryGoByeBye on Jun 27, 2008 12:59 PM EDT 0 recs
Injured?
Manny’s missed several games with a hamstring injury, and those things aren’t easy to heal without complete rest. So it’s possible that he’s playing through the injury. I know it’s hard to believe, given how readily he’s sat out in other seasons, but the fact that Ortiz isn’t around and that Manny’s in a contract year (over whether the Sox will pick up his 2009 option) may make him more inclined to tough it out than he might have been in other years. That being said, if that’s the case, his toughing it out isn’t helping him or the Sox.
by argo0 on Jun 27, 2008 8:55 PM EDT 0 recs
Manny being Manny
Manny might be in a terrible slump but he is still projected for 30 HR and 97 RBI’s with a .287 BA. Certainly not the best but still very respectable numbers. Every player has highs and lows, we are certainly not used to seeing them out of Manny though. He is one of the most consistent players of all time. He has been nursing an injury and because Papi is riding the Pine he DOES have to stay in. A slumping Ramirez is still scary to oppossing pitchers. If he is in the lineup, Drew will not get as good of pitches and the fear of our lineup will be gone.
Keep him as DH, keep him in the 4 spot and give him time to heal. Once he does, he will snap out of the slump and be back to Manny being Manny. If he is not fully healed by time Ortiz gets back, give him some time off then. If you take him out of the lineup now, we will be in alot of trouble.
It is too early to tell if we will sign Manny back next year. However, I think he will snap out of the slump and finish the year with 35-40 HR and 105-110 RBI’s. If he hits that I think we are stupid not to sign him. If he doesn’t come back and Managment decides to sign another power bat, I think the best option is Holliday or Burrell.
by drabidea on Jun 28, 2008 4:41 PM EDT 0 recs
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