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Hanley Ramirez still working on his shoulder

By craig

Hanley Ramirez is still rehabbing his shoulder.

Marlins shortstop Hanley Ramirez drew lots of curious stares Tuesday when he jumped into the batting cage and started swinging away from a left-handed hitter's stance.

Is Ramirez, who bats right-handed, planning to become a switch-hitter?

"No," he said with a laugh. "I'm just trying to get my shoulder loose."

Ramirez had arthroscopic surgery to repair his injured left shoulder Oct. 3, days after ending the season with a .332 batting average, 29 home runs and 212 hits, which ranked second in the National League.

The 2006 National League Rookie of the Year, Ramirez missed several games after dislocating the shoulder while swinging at a pitch during a July 22 game against Cincinnati.

The fact that he has to loosen up his shoulder during batting practice, isn't unexpected.  And it may even continue for much of the season.

So how is the situation being evaluated?

"We'll see with him doing batting practice the next three or four days, how he feels, but he's good to go," Gonzalez said. "He will let us know, and Sean will let us know how he wants to approach that. I'm sure some days will be better than others with the shoulder. But right now, he's full go."

It is possible that Hanley is the lone young Marlins player who will tell the truth about how he feels.  But I wouldn't count on it, someone needs to be watching him  -- closely.

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