Alexei Ramirez write up

[southsider2k5]

http://www.examiner.com/x-425-Chicago-Whit...-to-Sox-success

 

Chicago's other A-Ram: An unsung key to Sox' success

POSTED July 22, 9:49 PM

 

Alexei Ramirez was hitting .143 when he took over for an injured Juan Uribe in Mid-May.

The 2008 Chicago White Sox have been full of surprises, from Carlos Quentin's league-leading 24 home runs to John Danks' sub-3.00 ERA to Gavin Floyd's ten wins before the All-Star break.

 

Somehow, though, the production of Alexei Ramirez has been lost in the multitude of unexpected performances by a team that unexpectedly is in first place here in late July.

 

When Ramirez was signed straight from Cuba to a four-year, $4.75 million contract on December 21, 2007, it was widely known that the "Cuban Missile" had loads of talent. When he would realize that talent was a question mark.

 

Before the White Sox reported to spring training in Arizona, Ramirez was expected to either begin the season in the minors, with AA Birmingham or AAA Charlotte his destination depending on his performance in March.

 

However, in March, Ramirez flashed the ability that led him to star status in his baseball-crazed homeland. He was hitting the ball all over the field, and he was doing it with authority. He was running the bases with speed not seen since Lance Johnson. And he was playing solid defense at three different positions.

 

Ramirez played himself on to the roster for the White Sox this year, and many forget that it was he, not Carlos Quentin, who was starting alongside Nick Swisher and Jermaine Dye in Ozzie Guillen's outfield on March 31 in Cleveland.

 

That only lasted two games, though. In the third game of the year, Swisher shifted from left to center and Quentin took over the final starting spot in the White Sox' outfield. Quentin went on to carry the White Sox through April and May; Ramirez rode the pine for much of that time.

 

At-bats were few and far between for Ramirez, and many questioned why he wasn't getting regular at-bats in the minors. As a result of his infrequent trips to the plate, Ramirez's bat suffered—on May 16, Ramirez was hitting a paltry .143 heading into the White Sox' contest in San Francisco. He had just nine at-bats in the entire month of May, and only had one hit in the month.

 

It was on May 16 that the White Sox placed starting second baseman Juan Uribe, who was hitting .198 at the time, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained hamstring.

 

15 days of solid playing time was more than enough time for Ramirez to show his ability. He hit his first career home run on May 16 and in his first four games as the starting second baseman, Ramirez garnered a hit in all of them, including back-to-back two-hit games May 18 and 20 against the Giants and Indians, respectively.

 

He continued to hit the ball well after that torrid start, hitting .295 for the month of May and raising his batting average on the season to .234.

 

Then, June rolled around. And Ramirez kept rolling.

 

The month for Ramirez opened with back-to-back three-hit games, two of four three-hit games Ramirez had in the month. He had 11 multi-hit games for the month and knocked out three home runs. He hit .355 for the month, and as a result, his batting average peaked at .300 twice in the month before settling at .295 by the end of June.

 

All of a sudden, Ramirez had rocketed past another Chicago rookie in the batting average department. That rookie started the All-Star game, Ramirez? I'm sure he enjoyed the time with his family.

 

After he went 4/6 in Kansas City July 8, Ramirez hasn't seen his batting average drop below .300.

 

For the visual learners in the audience, this graph of Ramirez' batting average shows how truly staggering his climb to over .300 has been. A month and a half ago, the Sox probably would have taken a climb to over the Mendoza Line at this point in the season.

 

Yes, Alexei Ramirez has developed into one of the White Sox' most consistent hitters, alongside Carlos Quentin and Jermaine Dye.

 

Say what you will about Ramirez' on-base percentage—which sat at just .329 coming into Wednesday's game against the Texas Rangers—but here's the simple fact: Ramirez has to be aggressive at the plate to have success.

 

If Ramirez was more patient at the plate, his batting average likely would drop into the mid-.200s. Yes, he'd take more walks, but at what cost?

 

Ramirez is firmly a "swing at the first good pitch he sees" type hitter. He needs to stay that aggressive to stay in the major leagues.

 

It's easy to forget that Ramirez is a rookie. Playing ball in Cuba is roughly equivalent to playing in Single-A.

 

The fact that Ramirez is playing like he has is a true testament to his ability.

 

And the scary part?

 

We likely haven't seen all Ramirez has to offer.

 

Evan Longoria might as well have the AL Rookie of the Year locked up right now, and Jacoby Ellsbury and Joba Chamberlain will garner a lot of votes thanks to the exposure they get. David Murphy will get a few looks, as he's on pace to drive in around 100 runs with Texas.

 

Even if Ramirez keeps hitting like he has, there's a chance he doesn't finish in the top three in Rookie of the Year voting.

 

So, like the rest of the White Sox, the "Cuban Missile" will continue to fly under the radar.

[SoxFan562004]

Cool to see.

[Rowand44]

What he just did in the 7th inning of today's game, just wow.

[Princess Dye]

You dont mess with what's working, but man if it isnt weird having a guy like this batting so low in the order.'

 

Best batting avg league wide since, what, early May? he isnt getting enough ABs

Edited July 23, 2008 by Princess Dye

[Reddy]

holy god just watched that replay and DAMN. that's the sickest play i've seen all year. i love this lexi kid.

[Cubano]

That is my boy from the Pinar del Rio Green Sox. He is getting closer to that batting average leader. The only way he gets rookie of the year is if he wins the batting average title. Longoria is looking good now.

[earthshiner]

he is the type of player that believes he can do anything. I am starting to believe that he can.

[joejoedairy]

Even if Ramirez keeps hitting like he has, there's a chance he doesn't finish in the top three in Rookie of the Year voting.

 

So, like the rest of the White Sox, the "Cuban Missile" will continue to fly under the radar.

 

^my favorite part

 

that play was unreal. there really is no ceiling for this guy

Edited July 24, 2008 by joejoedairy

[southsider2k5]

I will be the first to break out a gigantic mea culpa on Lexi... I didn't expect anything from this guy this year except a trip to AAA. I really thought it would take him a while to adjust, and we would get our money's worth out of him in the 3rd and 4th years of the contract.

[SpringfieldFan]

I think Cuban baseball is underrated in America, and having one of their young stars is a real coup (no pun intended). That flip of his - man I have never seen a play where the commentators in every highlight show say they have never seen one like it. I swear he's slicker than Kobe Bryant playing nerf basketball.

 

SFF

Edited July 24, 2008 by SpringfieldFan

[elrockinMT]

ESPN BBTN thinks the Ramirez play could be the play of the year. I thought Tad Iguchi's play was the play of that year and now this one for '08. Fantastic!

[WCSox]

You dont mess with what's working, but man if it isnt weird having a guy like this batting so low in the order.'

 

He probably won't hit in the 1 or 2 spot if he continues to hack away at the first pitch. Dude has 8 walks in 251 ABs. That said, I don't have a problem with speed and power at the bottom of the lineup.

 

I think Cuban baseball is underrated in America, and having one of their young stars is a real coup (no pun intended).

 

Agreed. The author comparing the Cuban league to A-ball is an insult.

 

ESPN BBTN thinks the Ramirez play could be the play of the year. I thought Tad Iguchi's play was the play of that year and now this one for '08. Fantastic!

 

Tad's upside-down throw was one of the most jaw-dropping plays I've ever seen. Alexei's was awesome by itself, but Paulie bare-handing the catch makes it even more bad-ass.

 

[YASNY]

He probably won't hit in the 1 or 2 spot if he continues to hack away at the first pitch. Dude has 8 walks in 251 ABs. That said, I don't have a problem with speed and power at the bottom of the lineup.

 

 

Agreed. The author comparing the Cuban league to A-ball is an insult.

 

 

 

Tad's upside-down throw was one of the most jaw-dropping plays I've ever seen. Alexei's was awesome by itself, but Paulie bare-handing the catch makes it even more bad-ass.

 

Didn't Cuba finish as runnerup to Japan in the WBC? Regardless, I think that person has his baseball intelligence stuck up his ass.

[SoxFan1]

Didn't Cuba finish as runnerup to Japan in the WBC? Regardless, I think that person has his baseball intelligence stuck up his ass.

Whats the difference from the people on this site who think Cuban ball is AA?

[lostfan]

Until recently I'd always thought that opinion of Cuban baseball was a consensus. Cubano told me some things I otherwise didn't know, but even so, nobody outside of Cuba even knows enough about Cuban baseball to even compare them to anyone else.

[YASNY]

Whats the difference from the people on this site who think Cuban ball is AA?

 

If you take the Domicans, Venezualans, Japanese, Mexicans, Cubans from the Major Leagues. Where would you rate US Baseball?

[tonyho7476]

Alexei seems to do something every single game that impresses me. Great off-season move.

[SpringfieldFan]

I admittedly don't know much about Cuban ball myself, but I do know that through most of history they have made a complete joke of their international competition. It is almost like watching little league when there is one team with all the "big kids". Of course the argument is that those are Cuba's "pros", leaving us to wonder how they would fare against American major leaguers. Then of course, they had that two game exhibition against the Orioles ten years or so ago -- and split the series: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baltimore_Ori...oles_Visit_Cuba

 

SFF

Edited July 24, 2008 by SpringfieldFan

[lostfan]

If you take the Domicans, Venezualans, Japanese, Mexicans, Cubans from the Major Leagues. Where would you rate US Baseball?

That's a very good question, and I wouldn't know. One would like to say that it's America always, but even if that's true, it's not like there is a big gap between Americans and the other baseball-crazy countries. In international competition, that just hasn't shown itself yet.

[Balta1701]

That's a very good question, and I wouldn't know. One would like to say that it's America always, but even if that's true, it's not like there is a big gap between Americans and the other baseball-crazy countries. In international competition, that just hasn't shown itself yet.

On the other hand though...When in recent memory have actual, top level, in their prime, major league baseball players ever gone out and taken on the top level people from other countries in international competition? The only thing even close was the WBC, and that's at that crazy point in spring training when no one knows what you can get from anyone, and half of America's best people sat it out because they didn't want to get hurt playing real games in the spring. In the olympics and so on, it's been the Cuban league's A team, the Japanese league's A team, probably the A team from a couple other countries, against the best guys not on anyone's 40 man roster. If you took 4 weeks off of MLB later this month for the olympics and genuinely allowed every nation to grab its stars back for a rental...that'd be a much more interesting test.

[RockRaines]

Keith Law says Alexei is below averge defensively at every position he plays.

[BFirebird]

Keith Law says Alexei is below averge defensively at every position he plays.

Was that his initial scouting report or current? I would say that even though he makes the spectacular play look easy, sometimes he struggles with routine play. He would make probably quite a few errors but would make up for it at the plate or making the spectacular play. With more reps at 2B/SS, he will probably make less errors on the routine plays.

[witesoxfan]

Keith Law says Alexei is below averge defensively at every position he plays.

 

Keith Law also says Josh Fields can hit a fastball.

[Cubano]

If you take the Domicans, Venezualans, Japanese, Mexicans, Cubans from the Major Leagues. Where would you rate US Baseball?

 

 

Then, you'll have the big leagues with US players from AAA, AA and A ball.

 

One thing that I do not like about the majors is that contracts or name recognition often keep players in the minors that are better than the ones in the big show.

 

[Cubano]

Keith Law also says Josh Fields can hit a fastball.

 

 

I usually do not read baseball articles. I am quite disappointed about the lack of seriousness and the lack of research of many sport writers. IMO many of these writers are just lazy and do not want to do the proper research or do not have the time to do it.

 

 

For instance, Baseball Prospectus compared cuban ball to the NY-Penn State League. This is not even A+ guys. Many in the media read that article and now keep repeating the same song like the Examiner's article mentioning cuban ball is A ball.

 

 

If the mexican summer league is AAA according to MLB, how come cuban ball is A ball. I garantee you guys that all the good mexican players are in the states either in MLB, AAA, AA, A, Rookie balls. Despite this fact, MLB gives this mexican league AAA label.