Please Throw At Joe Kelly Tonight

Hanley Ramirez' fractured rib is unfortunately going to be the fulcrum for this series, the turning point for the Dodgers' storybook 2013 season. We could survive injuries to Matt Kemp and Andre Ethier and even Ted Lilly (just wanted to see if you were awake there!), but Ramirez' loss is just too great. And though I credit Ramirez for sacking up in NLCS Game 3, watching him wince in Game 4 made me hugry for vengeance:

Ramirez said team trainers were trying to remove him from Game 4 in the early innings but he insisted on remaining in the game.

"I was like, 'No, I gotta stay in, I gotta stay in,'" he said. "But I got to a point where I just had to go and come in [to the clubhouse] to get treatment." Clearly not himself at the plate, the slugging shortstop struck out three times.

There is nothing the team can do for the injury, Ramirez said, except manage the pain with steam, ice, ultrasound equipment and acupuncture. He said leaving the game was not an easy decision for him.

"We were back in the game with men on base, and it looked like we would tie it," Ramirez said. "But they took me out early so I could get treatment and try to come back tomorrow."

The Dodgers are a different team without Ramirez in their lineup, and losing him has been a devastating blow to their offense. Ramirez's 1.040 OPS led the NL this season and was good enough for the second-highest mark in baseball behind Miguel Cabrera (1.078). He pounded out six extra-base hits in the NL Division Series, which tied a Dodgers franchise record for a postseason series.

The 29-year-old battled a multitude of injuries this season and played in only 86 games. He hit .345 and still finished second on the Dodgers in home runs with 20.

Asked how frustrated he is that this injury might sideline him for the team's most important game of the season Wednesday, Ramirez shook his head and sighed.

"It took a lot of work to get where we are right now, and to just have this one thing [being hit by the pitch]," he said. "It makes me very angry.

"[Wednesday] I'm gonna come back and expect to see my name in the lineup, but it's gonna be hard," he said. "It's gonna be hard. I'm gonna try to play. I'm gonna go back to my house and get some rest and try to be ready to go."

Dammit.