May 5, 2010
Breaking News: Wilson Ramos Is Human
Rather than making history by beginning his career with three or more hits for a third straight game, Wilson Ramos went 0-for-3 with a strikeout and grounded into a double play last night. Now the bum's hitting a measly .583. Thanks to a Carlos Silva-esque 11-hit, 95-pitch complete game from Nick Blackburn and J.J. Hardy's ninth-inning heroics on both sides of the ball the Twins still improved to 18-9 and now lead the AL Central by 2.5 games over the Tigers.
In other good news, an MRI exam on Joe Mauer's injured heel revealed merely a deep tissue bruise, so the Twins are reportedly confident he'll avoid the disabled list and perhaps even be back in the lineup at some point later this week. Once he's ready to return it'll be interesting to see what the Twins do with Ramos, because while a historic start has many fans clamoring for him to stick around realistically two games should have no impact on the team's plan for him.
Even if Ramos stuck around to back up Mauer and perhaps start at designated hitter against left-handed pitching he'd probably only get a few starts per week. Burning through his service time in that type of role when playing every day at Triple-A would seemingly be better for his long-term development is questionable and amazing first two games aside Ramos is unlikely to be a huge upgrade as a part-time DH right now anyway. I'm very curious to see what they do.
If they’re thinking, send him down but bring him back up in time to be on the roster for the playoffs.
Comment by MC — May 5, 2010 @ 6:06 am
Batting Butera is almost as bad as putting our pitcher in the lineup. Keep Ramos up (& send Butera down) until Morales is healthy. Then, we can send Ramos down for a while and save some service time.
If Ramos is, in fact, as good as advertised, the Twins will need to either (a) commit to a plan to get him in the lineup within the next 2 years (i.e. Mauer part-time at DH/3B) or (b) trade him for a real 3B or other position of need. Changing Ramos’ position is not an option…only Mauer has the athleticism to make such a switch.
Comment by dcash14 — May 5, 2010 @ 8:58 am
Ramos just looks comfortable at the plate. He had a great atbat vs Zumaya, although he hit into a DP. He worked the count, layed off a nasty curve, and just looked good up there. Sucks that he can’t play 3B. Can’t Thome play 3B? Thought he did when he came up with the Indians…
Comment by Adam S. — May 5, 2010 @ 9:38 am
How many games does Ramos need to be up in order for it to count as a year of his service time? (Or, in other words, how is the service time counted … can the 6 years service time be spread over various parts of, say, 12 years?)
Comment by Scott — May 5, 2010 @ 9:41 am
Ramos will not be allowed to stay with the Twins after Mauer’s return. Butera plays once every two weeks, which is not enough work for Ramos.
Comment by Dave T — May 5, 2010 @ 9:42 am
They should really be considering trading Kubel…I like Kubel but we may be able to get a considerable amount for him. Delmon starting to play well and we have a plethora of OF help coming up…
Comment by Span Man! — May 5, 2010 @ 9:48 am
Eventually, one of Kubel, Cuddyer, or Delmon will need to go to make room for our OF depth. You’d think the Twins will pick beteen Kubel and Cuddyer either this offseason or next…they both have club options for 2011. Thome is a one-year rental, so having all four OF for at least another year, with one of them at DH, would seem prudent.
Comment by dcash14 — May 5, 2010 @ 10:11 am
Boy, was I wrong about Ramos hitting his first homer! He did fight hard against Zumaya, but I don’t think he’d faced many guys that throw 100mph fastballs in the minors.
Comment by jimbo92107 — May 5, 2010 @ 10:17 am
We probably don’t have to worry about our outfield depth for at least one more year. We already have room for a 4th OF, and Thome is gone after this year (most likely) so my guess is that we keep Kubel as the DH, and bring up one of our prospects next year (or this year depending on injury) and then in 2011 we decide if we stick with Cuddy for a few more years or not.
Comment by D-Luxxx — May 5, 2010 @ 10:33 am
Did anyone else love the “double” that ricocheted off the inside of Delmon Young’s glove last night?
Comment by Karl — May 5, 2010 @ 5:11 pm
Ramos DID look comfortable at the plate, but not quite as comfortable as he did before they started throwing him fastball high and tight, followed by curve balls low and away. Like a lot of rookies, he’s got to pass the initiation where the pros treat him like easy meat to basic in/out strategies. I have a feeling Wilson Ramos won’t fall for the easy tricks very long. Hopefully he’s aware of the early “book” on him and is getting ready to compensate with some pressure of his own.
Sometimes the answer is, just don’t swing, Mr. Ramos.
Comment by jimbo92107 — May 5, 2010 @ 5:15 pm
Wow! It’s nice to have a real shortstop.
Comment by Steve J — May 6, 2010 @ 9:59 am
I agree Steve, retaining hardy long term is a premium priority this offseason (I mean since hes what we ended up with for santana lol)
Comment by scott — May 6, 2010 @ 4:48 pm