What's Alexei's 'real' experience as a shortstop?

[scenario]

I was talking mostly about middle infielders so I'll forget the 3B. There was a grand total of something like 2 INN played at 2B and SS by Mattingly, Marquez, McDowell, Crowe and Gehrig and not a one of them recorded an assist. So never in the history of the game has a left handed thrower recorded an assist from a middle infield position? That's awesome.

 

Discrimination.

 

That's OK. Left-handed people grow up to be presidents.

 

 

[scenario]

Scott Gregor: The White Sox project new shortstop Alexei Ramirez as a Gold Glove caliber defender, but all in all they are going to be weaker. Whoever replaces Ramirez at second base - Chris Getz, Jayson Nix or Brent Lillibridge - is going to pale in comparison with the glove.

 

Living proof that you don't need to know what you're talking about to be a sportswriter.

 

[Y2HH]

Living proof that you don't need to know what you're talking about to be a sportswriter.

 

I've been getting the feeling that these days, you don't need to know much about anything to be considered an "expert" in just about any media driven field...you just need to know someone to get you a job, or somehow get the job without knowing anyone, but that's much harder to do.

[caulfield12]

I have never been that impressed with Gregor as an insightful writer, I even prefer Cowley to him....and Rogers is like Peter Gammons in comparison.

 

I think it's funny what he said about Anderson...I guess some people (and I don't know if it's the case here) tend to think that black athletes are more athletic/faster, and they are surprised by the likes of a Mickey Mantle or Josh Hamilton, etc.

 

Maybe we all do it...my assumption (the eye sees what it wants to see) that Ramirez has more range than Beckham, for example.

 

I would say that Wise and Owens might have more of an initial burst in the first 10-20 meters, but Anderson is a long-strider and might catch up with them in a longer race, like the 200 or 400 M. I wouldn't even say that Owens looks "sprinter" fast these days, although they were acting during the broadcast like the slightest slip-up by the 2B would result in him being safe.

 

That's another thing that kills me about Owens. Why pull the ball to the place on the infield where you're most likely to make an out? If he could use his weak/dilapidated/weathered gate from Boo Radley's house in To Kill A Mockingbird swing and just guide the ball on the ground towards the left side, he'd have a much better chance of getting some infield base hits.

 

 

 

 

 

[caulfield12]

Living proof that you don't need to know what you're talking about to be a sportswriter.

 

I really think what has happened is that Cubano, being overwhelmed by the pro-Beckham forces within the message board world, has started a campaign of sending checks to Chicago writers to get positive mentions of Cuban players in the articles.

 

Just kidding!!!! You know I've got your back...

 

Ramirez had a breakout season for Pinar del Rio in 2007, hitting .335 while leading the league with 20 home runs and 195 extra-base hits. At the same time, however, his place on the national team had become less secure due to pressure from several young prospects, most notably Héctor Olivera. Some analysts viewed his power numbers as a fluke, while defensively he had been stationed at second base, his least comfortable position, after a series of injuries to teammates. Questions have also been raised about his true size: Ramirez is variously listed between 6’1” and 6’3”, and 170-185 lbs. To the naked eye, he seems to belong toward the lower end of that range.

 

It was at this moment that he decided to leave his country and pursue his career in the United States. As Peter Bjarkman wrote at www.baseballdecuba.com, for the reasons stated above, “he may have left Cuba at the precise moment that his resume was at its fullest.” For his part, Ramirez expressed confidence in his power stroke, telling reporters that he “want[ed] to be a slugger” and had talked about it with Dominicans Alfonso Soriano and Juan Encarnación during the WBC.

 

 

Alexei Ramirez left Cuba one week ago and now is a potential major leaguer.

 

Regarding the first issue, I was quick to point out on the heels of the 2006 World Baseball Classic that Alexei Ramírez was one of my half dozen choices (along with Ariel Pestano, Frederich Cepeda, Pedro Lazo, Eduardo Paret and Osmani Urrutia) as likely immediate impact major leaguers. An outfielder for Pinar del Río during most of his first seven Cuban League seasons, Ramírez was only recently relocated to second base in the national team starting lineup for this past summer's Pan American Games in Río de Janiero. The switch came in part as a result of the suspension last March of national team third baseman Michel Enríquez (Isla de la Juventud) and the consequent shifting of Yulieski Gourriel from second to third. But it also came as a result of the log jam of talented young outfielders now flooding the Cuban League, most especially Granma's Alfredo Despáigne (20) and Yoennis Céspedes (22) and Santiago's Alexei Bell (22), the trio that awaits to inherit national team starting roles when Cepeda, Urrutia, Yoandry Urgelles and Giorvis Duvergel display the slightest signs of decline.

 

Ramírez enjoyed a breakout season this year for Pinar del Río, not only batting .335 and smacking a surprising league-leading 20 homers, plus topping the circuit in total bases with 195, but also finishing in the top ten in runs (ninth), hits (fifth), RBI (second), game-winning hits (eighth), and slugging percentage (second at .574). Ramirez runs like a long-legged deer, has a solid outfield arm, displays good if not exceptional range at second and shortstop, and boasts surprising power in his frail-appearing 6-3, 172-pound frame. Built along the physical lines of a young Ernie Banks or Hank Aaron, Ramírez has great wrists and an exceptionally quick bat, as well as excellent plate discipline; nonetheless he is a line drive hitter and not primarily a home run slugger and his 20 round trippers this past winter were perhaps something of an aberration. With the likes of Alex Mayeta and José Julio now in the league, Ramírez was not a likely prospect to defend his home run crown in the coming National Series. He may therefore have left Cuba at the precise moment when his resume was at its fullest. Agent Jaime Torres (José Contreras's agent) has already been signed on by Ramirez who has announced his intentions to shoot for the big league contract which will undoubtedly be forthcoming. Torres claims that his new client "will make a big league roster right out of spring training" and this may well be the case, given the Pinar del Río star's speed and versatility, as well as his rather potent bat.

 

For those numerous nay-sayers gleeful about any Cuban losses or failures, it will be most disappointing to learn that the departure of Alexei Ramirez will have negligible impact on Cuban League baseball as a whole and on the vaunted Cuban national team in particular. Santiago second base prospect Héctor Olivera played brilliantly on the Cuba B team during the recent Rotterdam World Port Tournament and impressed this writer and the MLB scouts on hand with his exceptional defensive range and offensive bat speed. Olivera could move right in at second for the November Taipei tournament without a beat being missed. A second scenario might have Michel Enriquez returning the national team lineup in the not-too-distant future (now that his suspension has been lifted) and Yulieski Gourriel thus moving back to second. If Alexei Ramirez is notably missed it will be by his home team in Pinar del Río during the upcoming National Series campaign, but not likely by the constantly renewing national team juggernaut. It is not an unreasonable speculation that one reason for Ramirez departing the Cuban national squad at this point in time may well have been the pressures of Héctor Olivera breathing down his neck; Alexei may well have sensed that his days were numbered in the Cuba A starting lineup and his big league prospects would never again be higher. The Cuba B team sent to Rotterdam in August possessed enough talent to rival Cuba A (Pan Am Games gold medalists) as almost assuredly the second best squad on the international scene. As this author and others have noted in recent years, the seemingly endless supply of Cuban talent has been cycling through an exceptional peak in recent seasons, and the departures of disaffected players like Contreras, Kendry Morales, Maels Rodríguez and now Alexei Ramírez seem only to provide the necessary openings for young studs like Alfredo Despáigne, Yadel Martí, Yoennis Céspedes and Héctor Olivera who wait rather impatiently in the wings.

 

 

Bjarkman reallly makes me laugh. He argues with calling every baseball player who leaves Cuba a "defector," and basically says don't let the door hit you on the way out. He's basically just an apologist for the current regime, Cubano is right to take his words with a grain of salt. Where he got the idea the Ramirez had "excellent plate discipline" is beyond me. Maybe that's in comparison to the rest of the other players on the island!!!

 

His speculation about why Ramirez left is even more ludicrous/ridiculous. It's not a secret...his wife is Dominican, they have two kids together, and he wanted to be with her, first and foremost. It wasn't a siuation like El Duque or Contreras. Having had a foreign wife, I understand that the easiest thing to do is to go where she is, rather than bringing her to your own country. Peter Bjarkman, baseballdecuba.com (should be beisboldecuba!!!!)

 

Edited March 11, 2009 by caulfield12