Tag Archives: Alexei Ramirez

June 2, 2016

Wake Up Call Works

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The Padres offense exploded for 14 runs Wednesday night after the owner publicly chastised the club. Down 3-0 to the Marinersin the bottom of the first, the Padres offense roared back with six runs, and by the end of the sixth inning had scored all 14 runs. Light-hitting shortstop Alexei Ramirez hit two of the team’s four home runs, and three other players collected at least three hits as San Diego goes on to win the game 14-6. Now the Padres need to be able to continue this for a few games.

January 15, 2016

Ramirez to the Padres

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The Padres decided Alexei Ramirez as the right person to plug their hole at shortstop, at least for the next year:

Ramirez is coming off his worst year in the majors, but still represents a massive upgrade for San Diego. The 34-year-old hit just .249/.285/.357, with 10 home runs, over 622 plate appearances. Ramirez, who has always graded out as a special defender at short, saw some of his skills erode in that area as well last year.

The fact that Ramirez is considered an upgrade says a lot about both the state of the shortstop position and the Padres’ massive need to fill that hole. The depth chart on the team’s website, which is not official, currently lists Alexi Amarista as the team’s starter at short. Even if Ramirez struggles with the bat, he should be an upgrade over Amarista.

On top of that, the bar for offensive usefulness at the shortstop position is incredibly low right now. Shortstops combined to hit .256/.307/.375 last year, according to FanGraphs. Ramirez was slightly worse in every category, but was also coming off a terrible season. If he can make minor improvements, he should hit like an average shortstop, and has the potential to be above average if 2015 was a statistical blip.

According to FanGraphs, Ramirez was the only WAR negative regular among shortstops in 2015. The Padres also considered Ian Desmond, but I suspect he would have cost them more money and years, and at seasonal age 30 in 2016, they would be paying for a decline. The Padres simply pushed off this decision a year with the cheapest option available.

April 13, 2014

Ramirez Stays Hot

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Alexei Ramirez remains hot with a 2 for 4 day at the plate, his walk-off, two-run homer putting the White Sox over the Indians 4-3. He picked at least one hit in each of the thirteen games he played this season, 19 safeties in all. With four walks and seven extra base hits his slash line stands at .420/.463/.680. To his credit, Robin Ventura is still batting Ramirez in the lower third of the order, where his career numbers suggest he should be playing. A couple of more weeks of this, however, and the White Sox may start batting him fifth.

May 15, 2012

Mr. Bases Loaded

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Alexei Ramirez just doubled with the bases loaded and two out in the bottom of the ninth to drive in two runs and cut Detroit’s lead over Chicago to 10-8. Ramirez is now 22 for 56 in his career with the bases loaded with five doubles, five home runs and 56 RBI. If he hit that way all the time, he’d be an MVP.

Dayan Viciedo hits a ball to the wall in rightfield, but it’s caught and the Tigers win.

April 25, 2012

Wild Ending

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The White Sox and Athletics combined for five runs in the 14th inning after scoring a total of four through the first thirteen. Alexei Ramirez hit a two-out double in the top of the inning to drive in two runs and break the tie. In the bottom of the inning, however, Hector Santiago got knocked around, allowing a two-run homer to Yoenis Cespedes, and a game winning single to Kila Ka’aihue. The A’s take the game 5-4. Cespedes now has 18 RBI in 19 games.

Paul Konerko hit his 400th home run to tie the game in the ninth.

July 1, 2011 May 22, 2011

Another Power Shorstop

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Alexei Ramirez joined his Cleveland counterpart in a big power day, going four for five with two doubles and a home run as the White Sox downed the Dodgers 8-3. Like Asdrubal Cabrera, Ramirez also drove in five runs. Ramirez and Juan Pierre did a good job of setting the table as they combined for seven hits.

Alexi is a on a little bit of a tear, with nine hits and five doubles in his last four games.

May 15, 2011

Road Ramirez

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It was a rare good day on the road for Alexei Ramirez as his three hits, including a home run, helped the White Sox to a 4-3 win over the Oakland Athletics. He came into the day with a .232/.291/.316 slash line away from Chicago, .296/.377/.481 at home. The good news is that the White Sox played eight fewer games at home, so his overall numbers should improve as he gets those extra games at his home stadium.

April 16, 2011 January 31, 2011 May 21, 2010

Short Shutout Mark

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Why was Mark Buehrle pulled after eight shutout innings against the Florida Marlins? He had only thrown 91 pitches. Serigo Santos came in and struck out two in a scoreless ninth, but it seemed a perfect time for a complete game. Did Mark get hurt?

The White Sox win 8-0 as Alexei Ramirez drives in five with a double and a home run. He’s not hitting well this year, but with multi-hit games in four of his last six contests, this might be the start of a good stretch for him.