Hanley’s hot stuff now
Anger serves to empower DH
The Red Sox harbor hopes of playing deep into October.
To realize those dreams, they’re going to need a lot more of what Hanley Ramirez showed last night.
I’m not just talking about him hitting a lot more mammoth home runs like the two-run bomb he hit off Cubs starter Kyle Hendricks in last night’s 6-2, serieswinning victory.
More symbolic but no less critical was the golf swing he applied to his own batting helmet after a sixthinning strikeout.
Ramirez’ batting helmet is perpetually falling off after his swing-and-misses, but his display of temper was highly unusual.
I’m not advocating for nightly displays of pique, because that would be idiotic and wind up costing Ramirez heftier fines than the one he will be paying for this case of equipment abuse. But Ramirez’ fire, besides his pop, is something the Sox are going to sorely need as they enter the remaining five months of the season.
The Sox play with enthusiasm and hustle all the time, so that’s not an issue.
And neither is the faux feud angle that likely will permeate this upcoming Orioles series.
No, Ramirez’ helmet whack was a good sign.
It was a flash of not only temper, but also leadership from someone who wants to put the team on his back.
Right now, that’s who the Red Sox are looking for.
Maybe Ramirez getting hot in a couple of ways is the sign that he is ready.
There’s no doubt that Ramirez is settling into a groove right now.
The designated hitter took John Lackey deep Saturday and on the first pitch he saw from Hendricks last night in the first inning, he took it way deep and high over the Green Monster.
You can tell when Ramirez is feeling confident from the way he stands in the batter’s box. He looks more intimidating. It’s hard not to notice. Every pitcher knows it and has to figure out a plan of attack.
Hendricks did that in Ramirez’ next at-bat in the fourth.
After a first pitch way inside for a ball, Kendrick wanted no part of the inner half of the strike zone. He attacked the outer half and painted the next pitch on the outer black for a called strike and then a ball outside. Ramirez then fouled off a change-up before Kendrick went back to his slider and placed it almost exactly where the first called strike went.
Ramirez stared at it, and it was truly a borderline pitch but home plate umpire Bruce Dreckman ruled that it was strike three.
Ramirez is not prone to arguing with umpires, and usually walks away swiftly. But he had some words with Dreckman before exiting the premises noticeably steamed.
And when he returned to the plate in the sixth and struck out swinging violently, that’s when he attacked his helmet.
Who knows exactly what the frustration was about, because Ramirez sent word that he wanted to work out for a long time after the game and thus the media had to leave the clubhouse because it was getting late.
As a DH, Ramirez certainly values each plate appearance to a high degree, so the memory of the first strikeout was all but certain to have played a starring role as the match that lit his fuse.
Because Ramirez is locked in right now.
And the team needs that, because the rest of them are not hitting home runs. Ramirez is starting to. And when he can’t, he gets mad.
Mad Ramirez when Ramirez is going good is a good thing for the Red Sox.
“More than anything he feels confident and so when he sees pitches up in the strike zone there’s no hesitation, there’s no thought to what his swing is doing,” manager John Farrell. “He gets a pitch up from Hendricks and jumps all over it. So much like the first pitch from Lackey yesterday, first pitch again today. He’s seeing the ball well.”
Ramirez is seeing the ball well, and he’s seeing his helmet well, too.
For the Sox, both are encouraging signs. They need both from him. They need his power stroke and his intensity for themselves as well.
The Red Sox don’t need to lose their cool. They do need to get hot. Ramirez set an example of both last night.