NewsHanley hasn't missed beat in three-hole
Florida (80-69) at Cincinnati (68-81), 1:10 p.m. ET
By Josh Katzowitz / Special to MLB.com
09/19/09 10:30 PM ET
CINCINNATI -- It wasn't an experiment, Marlins manager Fredi Gonzalez said Saturday. The move of shortstop Hanley Ramirez from the leadoff spot in the batting order to the No. 3 position wasn't some sort of laboratory trial where, if things didn't work well, the team could move him back to the top of the lineup.It wasn't a temporary fix or a momentary decision that could be reset. The move, when it occurred at the beginning of Spring Training this season, was permanent.
So don't tell Gonzalez that the Ramirez experiment appears to be working well, because it was most definitely not an experiment.
"When we were coming out of Spring Training, for our team to be successful, I thought he would have to hit in the middle of the lineup," Gonzalez said. "I think so highly of [Ramirez]. Obviously, some people in front of him have been able to get on base, but he's been able to drive them in."
And drive them in and drive them in and drive them in some more.
On Thursday, Ramirez recorded his 100th RBI of the season, the first time in his career he has accomplished the feat (the most runs he had driven in before this season was 81 in 2007). And with 95 runs this year, he's likely to record his fourth straight season of scoring more than 100.
One-hundred runs scored and 100 RBIs. Combine those figures with a batting average of .355 with 23 home runs and 25 stolen bases entering Saturday night's game, and you're talking about a special player. One that didn't have a problem making the switch from the leadoff spot to No. 3.
"Mentally, young hitters can make a big deal out of it," Gonzalez said. "But he's handled it really well. Here's a guy who has the chance to win the battling title out of the three-hole. He's driven in 100 runs already. He's a very special guy. His defense gets overlooked, but he's made a lot of improvements in that area as well. We've just seen the tip of the iceberg with him."
Ramirez occasionally had hit in the No. 3 spot before this season. In 2007, Gonzalez penciled in Ramirez's name there a handful of times, and last season, Ramirez batted in that position on 16 occasions.
But this season was different. The Marlins needed him to produce -- not just score -- runs, so he became a permanent fixture at No. 3.
"When you lose [Mike] Jacobs and [Josh] Willingham in the middle of the lineup, we thought we'd have to do that," Gonzalez said. "When I say it's the tip of the iceberg, I mean: When it's all said and done, with the way he goes about his business, we'll talk about him like we do about [Albert] Pujols, [Alex Rodriguez], Manny Ramirez, Matt Holliday and all the other top right-handed hitters out there."
Pitching matchupFLA: LHP Sean West (7-5, 4.60 ERA)
The rookie grew up a lot in his previous outing, a splendid six-inning effort at St. Louis. Matched against Adam Wainwright, West set a career high for strikeouts with nine, while picking up the win. He scattered six hits with three walks. The 94 pitches were the third-most he's thrown at the big league level, topped only by a 104-pitch effort over eight innings in a win over the Giants on June 8. CIN: RHP Kip Wells (1-4, 5.23 ERA)
Wells pitched 6 2/3 innings and allowed four earned runs and five hits with two walks and one strikeout for a no-decision in the Reds' 5-4 win over the Astros on Tuesday. Wells was down, 3-0, in the first inning and 4-2 after a Kazuo Matsui homer in the third. But after that, he retired the next 13 batters in a row and 14 of his final 16. Tidbits
Honoring longtime Reds writer Hal McCoy -- who's set to retire this year after 37 seasons on the beat -- the Marlins beat reporters presented him with a specially made Louisville Slugger bat on Saturday. It was engraved, "Hal McCoy/Dayton Daily News/Hall of Fame 2002." Tickets
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• WAXY 790, WAQI 710 (Español) Up next
• Monday: Off-day
• Tuesday: Marlins (Josh Johnson, 15-4, 3.01) vs. Phillies (Cole Hamels, 10-9, 4.07), 4:10 p.m. ET
• Tuesday: Marlins (TBD) vs. Phillies (Jamie Moyer, 12-9, 5.05), TBD ET
Josh Katzowitz is a contributor to MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
