Passan: Hanley Ramirez 'Irking' Multiple Red Sox Veterans
BOSTON (CBS) - Hanley Ramirez came with a "buyer beware" label, and apparently some members of the Red Sox are getting annoyed with his act.
Jeff Passan of Yahoo! Sports wrote in his latest column that Ramirez's attitude "has irked some respected members of the Red Sox's clubhouse."
Passan came on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Zolak & Bertrand show on Monday to provide more details on Ramirez's antics, which are nothing new to anybody that's covered him.
"What's going on with Hanley Ramirez is the same thing that's gone on with Hanley Ramirez when he was in the minor leagues with the Red Sox, the same thing that's gone on with Hanley Ramirez in the major leagues while with the Marlins, and the same thing that happened last year with the Dodgers," Passan said.
"His effort bothers people, and his seeming lack of effort sometimes [bothers people]. Some days he looks like Manny Ramirez, and other days he looks like Sam Horn; just an out of shape, can't-hit-very-well Red Sox. It's the inconsistency that bothers people," Passan added.
Speaking to that inconsistency, his 2015 season is so far a perfect example of that.
Ramirez came out of the gates as hot as can be, batting .293 while slugging 10 home runs and 22 RBI in the month of April. In the month of May he hit .235 and drove in just 5 RBI. Ramirez is having a much better June, batting .308 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI.
Red Sox fans -- and apparently his teammates too -- hope Ramirez's production can be more reliable over the next three and a half seasons.
"Hanley Ramirez could be one of the best players in baseball year in and year out, I think, if the effort was there all the time and the attitude was right. But he's gotten out of shape and he hasn't grown up still. The fact that he's 30 years old now and is still at that point where he's having the same maturity problems when he was younger bothers a lot of people," Passan said.
The Red Sox, 31-40, are still last in the American League East, but just took two out of three from the AL All-Star Team Kansas City Royals. Things are still bad, but at least they are starting to show glimpses of what they could be if they could just put it altogether.
As bad as things are it's still not the Bobby Valentine season in 2012, so according to Passan the Red Sox won't be blowing up the roster anytime soon.
"Blowing this team up just doesn't make sense. The Red Sox have a massive advantage because they are a cash cow. The sellout streak is over, but they still make a lot of money. As long as you're making money you can paper over the mistakes," Passan said.
Adding, "You don't have to sell off guys like [Pablo] Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez unless they become such a problem in the clubhouse that things can't exist for them anymore. You know what takes cares of that though? Winning. And the Red Sox have a foundation in place to win ballgames."
Passan also talked about John Farrell's job security and much more.
Listen below:
