Ozzie rips Ramirez
Ozzie Guillen was happy the White Sox overcame a 4-0 deficit Thursday and beat the Dodgers 6-5 in 13 innings at U.S. Cellular Field.
But he was tired after the game, and Ozzie was not happy with shortstop Alexei Ramirez.
When his players make errors, Ozzie usually rushes to their defense. But he didn’t like anything about the 2 muffs Ramirez made vs. Los Angeles, upping his season error total to 8.
“I never criticize my players for making errors on the field, I never will,” Ozzie said. “But when you make a lazy error, that really (ticks) me off.”
Ozzie benched Ramirez earlier in the season when he wasn’t hitting. If the defense doesn’t improve soon, Ramirez might be back in the doghouse.
“I thought he was a better shortstop than me,” Ozzie said. “I made a big mistake when I said in January he's going to be a better shortstop than Ozzie Guillen. I never thought I was that bad.”
Ramirez seems to be Ozzie's whipping post this year. His slow start put him in the line of fire but slow but sure he is getting his production back up to where everyone thought it should be and I'm not sure that Ozzie leaning on him at this point is going to help much. We'll see.
I have a feeling that at the end of the year if we decide that Ramirez was this season's biggest problem for this team it will be a better year than we thought it would be at the end of June. Right now I know I'm more worried about trotting Beckham out there everyday, who is going to play centerfield the rest of the year and when the heck is Quentin going to get back in the lineup among other things.
Ozzie's always veering off course. Had he not guided the team to a World Championship people would have tired of his shtick long ago. But I guess the fans love his FIRE. His DETERMINATION. Competitive fire isn't blasting quotes to the reporters, it's what goes on behind the scenes that counts. Don't like Ramirez at short? Move him! Hate to say it, but Alexei looks a lot like a modern day Shawon Dunston. Makes spectacular plays, then muffs some easy ones.
He had a great year last season and was very clutch but this years pitchers know how to pitch to him. Alexei has a bunch of holes in his swing and a very long swing. He wants to hit the longball every at bat. As for his fielding, he knows he is a very good fielder and therefore takes off plays and gets lazy in the field. Like today, easy groundball, cluched about 2 times then lobbed a throw way off the mark to first. He better get his act together or we will see more of Beckham at SS and Fields back at 3B.
He's been on the honeymoon for awhile... fact is we have a pretty decent SS in Beckham trying to play 3B, where Fields has done a respectable job.
No surprises when we get Beckham starting at SS at some point in the Cubs series and Alexei sits - needs to get it going with the glove and start thinking when he has the bat in his hands too!
Even after today's 2 errors, Alexei's field percentage is better than 20 other shortstops in the league. Let's remember this is his first year playing that position in a while (he was used as a Center Fielder a lot for team Cuba). And you have to factor in that he has made some plays that no other shortstop in th league could have made. Orlando Cabrera has 11 errors so far this year, leading the league.
And what is a "lazy error?" He made a bad throw. Come on, it happens. I have also noticed Hawk getting real down on Alexei later. I guess part of it is the honeymoon wearing out. But I still find him to be one of the most exciting players in baseball and am glad we found him. Give Alexei a break!
Alexei doesn't deserve any breaks! He commits one bonehead play after another. No range, no brains, no fundamentals. Put him in center or back at second base. He's no Ozzie Guillen at short. He's not even Harry Chappas!
It's about time somebody got on Ramirez. There isn't a game that goes by where he doesn't make one mistake or another. For all the talk about him being a great shortstop, well as a shortstop, he's a good second baseman. Put him at 2nd or in center. Beckham couldn't do any worse at short, that's for sure. Alexie lacks range, panics and makes fundamental mistakes. He was much better last year at 2nd. It's about time Ozzie came down on him!