FanPost

Hanley's Attitude


Much controversy has come about since last nights game when Hanley Ramirez was benched after he jogged after a live ball he booted into the outfield corner while runners circled the bases.

If you are living under a rock and did not see what happened, here's a recap: Hanley fouled a ball off his ankle at his first at-bat. He looked as if he was in some pain but remained in the game. He then grounded into a double play to end the inning as he slowly ran to first base.

The next inning with runners on first and second, a bloop shot was sent in left field between Hanley and Cogs. Hanley ran hard as the ball was in the air, trying to catch it. He didn't, and when it hit the ground Hanley inadvertently kicked it into the left-field corner. Hanley then jogged all the way to the corner as the Diamondbacks rounded the bases. All three runners would end up scoring eventually.

Fredi ended up doing the right thing and took Hanley out of the game. When asked if Hanley will start tomorrow he responded "We'll see". You can see the play here:


http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20100517&content_id=10121486&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla

This isn't the first time something like this has happened. Last September, Hanley and Uggs got into it after Ramirez went into a 0 for 14 slump and didn't want to play because of a hamstring injury that was bothering him most of the season. This all happened after the Marlins were fading in playoff contention.

In the locker room Ramirez stated “You don’t get the same respect from teammates when you’re not playing. I got people upset when I got out of the game last night. I try to do the best I can. Whatever.”

Uggla overheard at his locker and said: “I was one of them.” The two exchanged words. And Uggla said: “Yeah, you got your $70 million” and went on to use an expletive while asking him why he had to come out of the game"

Just a month before that Hanley and Wes Helms got into a physical altercation. If you know Uncle Wes, you know he treats his teammates like a strict dad treats his disobedient kids. More than likely this fight was due to Hanley not living up to his potential and doing something disappointing.

And before all of that, in June of last year instead of addressing the matter personally, Hanley called out Josh Johnson and Fredi in the media after he believed he was intentionally hit by a pitch. Hanley believed that the Marlins should have retaliated and stated "You know, incredible. There’s going to come a point where I’m not going to feel protected. I’m going to be scared to hit a home run because I know I’m going to get hit."

Wes Helms has tried mentoring Hanley. He has told the all-star that it is time to be a leader. That he has all the tools, but if he is going to be the face of the franchise, he has to do more than come to work everyday. Just in March, Helms said ``I have told Hanley 100 times, `You have to lead this team.' '' Now, ``he looks like a guy that wants to. I'm proud of him.'' It seemed like he was taking a step towards embracing that role, but this is definitely a set-back. I imagine Uncle Wes will have a few words to say to Hanley about this little incident.

Hanley has been known to be stand-offish and prefers to stretch away from the other players. Is this a sign of him thinking he is better than the team or is it just how he prefers to warm-up? Just two months ago this article was published praising Hanley's growing maturity.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2010/03/06/1516530/florida-marlins-ramirez-focuses.html

The question now becomes when, if ever, will this 26 year old star grow up? Many are starting to believe it wont be til the final year of his six-year, $70 million contract.

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