Fredi's Right; Hanley's Wrong. But Can Marlins Manager Afford to Make an Enemy?

• Who in hades contemplated creating a mosque at ground zero was indeed a great idea? I am no great fan of either Glen Beck or Sarah Palin but yet compared to Obama and the supremely stupid administration, the above are prodigies, get real The states, there is certainly a little bit of strange stuff going down. Barbara.

• I am 100% percent behind Freddy! Ramirez needs to apologize to the team. Baseball is team sport it require 9 good players in order to win and a good manager. The Marlins have always played good baseball with and without Ramirez! So Hanley "MAN UP" and stop crying. You get paid well to play a game that I play for free and that I love.I like you Hanley but please don't become a cancer to the team good advised from a True Marlin Fan.

• Just found out that the Marlins beat the D Backs 8-0 today......WITHOUT Hanley Ramirez. Freddi 1 Hanley 0. Hanley will apologize within 48 hours.

• Just found out that the Marlins beat the D Backs 8-0 today......WITHOUT Hanley Ramirez. Freddi 1 Hanley 0. Hanley will apologize within 48 hours.

• Just found out that the Marlins beat the D Backs 8-0 today......WITHOUT Hanley Ramirez. Freddi 1 Hanley 0. Hanley will apologize within 48 hours.

• Just found out that the Marlins beat the D Backs 8-0 today......WITHOUT Hanley Ramirez. Freddi 1 Hanley 0. Hanley will apologize within 48 hours.

• Fredi has to bench him. If he doesn't, he loses control of the whole team. They'll know all they need to do to override any decision is bring it to the media.

• Fredi has to bench him. If he doesn't, he loses control of the whole team. They'll know all they need to do to override any decision is bring it to the media.

• Of course I trust you. You played baseball at a high level.

• Andy: What you still don't comprehend is no manager can allow that type of behavior on a ballfield. Hanley was pulled from the game in the best interests of the team, to show that no single player is more important than the team. In response, Hanley acted like an ass and escalated the situation by making stupid comments to the press. Freddi would have started him tonight for sure if Hanley would have cowboyed up and took it on the chin. There is a direct correlation between control of your ballclub and winning games. Once a manager loses control of a single ballplayer, the entire clubhouse is affected. Trust me. As we speak, there are ballplayers like Uggla and others ripping Hanley a new ass. He'll apologize within 48 hours. You read it here first.

• Oh get off your high horse there Virgil. Maybe when you played baseball at a "high level" (which you have now implied that you did in two seperate posts...good for you) you hustled every play. That's great. I'm just saying that the only really important issue is the Marlins winning games. I don't care about Fredi's feelings, I don't care about Wes Helms is sad...it all comes down to winning. I guess your and my disagreement is that you think that somehow Hanley's little freak-out is going to cost them more games than getting rid of Hanley would. Yes, there are other quality shortstops, but none can hit like Hanley. Of course I wish he hustled like Pete Rose, but the Marlins are better with him playing. You said "Fuck Hanley". Your anger and disgust with how he plays has nothing to with the Marlins' win total.

• Andy: Once again, you are obviously someone who has never played the game of baseball at a high level, and have never been part of an organized team at that level. Talent alone does not win chanpionships. There is a slippery slope here that you are not comprehending. If Freddi backs down, what is Hanley capable of doing next? Then you have your shortstop dictating to the manager? Are you high on something? In baseball, there has to be order, and you have to show your teammates, fans and manager respect on the ballfield. THAT MEANS YOU HUSTLE FOR EVERYTHING AT ALL TIMES! You present a false choice, that either we succumb to Hanley acting like a baby or lose him. Hey Dude: We won two World Series without Hanley Ramirez. There are plenty of other quality shortstops in the majors. We won a World Series with a light hitting but better defensive player called Alex Gonzalez. Second best player in the National League? Says who? You are obviously not counting defense and baserunning.

• Omigod, Fish Head, are you crazy? Hanley should not go anywhere. You want a team filled with a bunch of people with no talent but that hustle everywhere? Maybe that's a good goal in little league or something, but I want the Marlins to win games. Telling Hanley to find another team is ridiculous...why don't you find another team? Maybe the Pirates are showing some hustle this year.

• andy - you, sir, are a true idiot

• Virgil Starkwell, you're a jackass. Hanley may be in the wrong, but he is still the 2nd best player in the national league. He is an amazing ball player and we are lucky to have him. People who don't understand baseball love to criticize players for the smallest perceived mistakes. Do you really think Fredi is more important to this team than Hanley? Hahahahaha

• Hanley needs to apologize to the team, or find another team. Fredi's right; Hanley's wrong. Virgil, you are correct. There is no "I" in "team."

• P.S. Funk: If you are going to spam this site, I hope you can take criticism because that article you wrote is the biggest piece of Yak piss that I have read in a while. First, your entire premise is logically flawed because it assumes that a player who dives for a ball is doing so to pose for the cameras. What a load of horseshit. You obviously have not played the game of baseball at any significant level, because if you had, you'd understand that an overwhelming majority of the ballplayers who dive for balls are doing so out of pure effort and athleticism. (You tube Jim Edmonds) To compare the players of the past athletically to the modern day ballplayers is ridiculous on it's face. The modern ballplayer is infinitely bigger, stronger and faster than their predecessors from the 1940's. Hey Champ: HERE IS A MEMO TO YOU: They didn't dive for balls as often back then because they couldn't. Now try to detach yourself from your fantasy image of the ballplayers from 70 years ago, which you have probably created from a dozen or so black and white films. How lame.

• Fuck Hanley. How dare he show up his manager after waltzing after that ball that he kicked into the outfield? Freddi has no choice but to bench his sorry ass. Talent alone does not win baseball games, and certainly not championships. Team chemistry is infinitely more important than the talent level of a single player. If Freddi backs down now, it will cause further damage in the clubhouse. What will have to play out is that some veteran players will have to confront Hanley in the clubhouse and convince him to do the right thing publicly, which is to apologize to the fans and his manager for not hustling. What Hanley does not comprehend is that his talent level is irrelevant in this scenario. You hustle on the field at all times, and when you fuck up, you take it like a man, not declare that you are too talented to be benched. As talented as he is, Ramirez can often be inconsistent defensively. I have seen him run the bases poorly at times and approach key at bats poorly, swinging at everything that is thrown to him. Ramirez is typical of alot of young players in the game. Enormous physical talent and a 10 cent head.

• I support Ramirez 100%. The other side of this coin is when players make phoney and unnecessary dives and flops for flyballs just to the shows WEB GEMS or PREMIER PLAYS OF THE DAY. Do they have to apologize to their teammates for the disgraceful way that they are playing the game. C'mon. You may want to read what I think is a very good article about this. I wrote it. It's at: http://funks2.wordpress.com/2010/05/14/joe-dimaggio-never-fell-down/

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