Steve Dilbeck of the LAT says Hanley Ramirez won't be long in the shortstop position, despite what the Dodgers say, because it's fundamentally a bad idea:
There is a reason the Marlins moved him from short to third last season beyond their acquiring Jose Reyes -- Ramirez just isn't a very good shortstop.
For a major-league shortstop he has a below average arm and glove. His one strength is supposed to be that his speed and quickness provide him superior range, though it seldom manifested itself last season.
The Dodgers ended last season with Ramirez at short and Luis Cruz at third, and that is their tentative plan as they head into spring. Cruz proved reasonably adept at third, much as he had earlier at short.
Now if the Dodgers are really planning to open camp with those two -- pitchers and catchers report Feb. 13 -- on the left side of the infield, and crossing their little fingers that Cruz was not just some belated three-month wonder, they would be better served reversing their positions.All signs are, it's true. That's what they're saying. And that is what they did last season even during the stretch drive, so I suppose we should believe them.
Yet it still seems a bad idea. Apparently the Dodgers think it's their best option from a selection of mediocre choices. Either that or they're just not up to ruffling his feathers, and you wouldn’t want to believe that, right?
There's Ramirez, and then Cruz...and then that Dee Gordon guy, remember? Yeesh, this is going to be an ugly bakeoff.
3 comments:
With Hanley otherwise occupied, Dee's going to have a lot of time in Spring Training to fight for the shortstop job. If he can show ANY improvement in his OBP, then I'd roll with him at short, Hanley at third, and Cruz off the bench.
Oh, but I forgot about Dee being a human error machine. Yeah, just switch Hanley and Cruz.
(gets baked)
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