Quiznos Toasty Topic: Florida Marlins & Hanley Ramirez Saga

Florida Marlins & Hanley Ramirez Saga

Every Wednesday Sports Grind Entertainment presents you with the Quiznos Toasty Topic. Today the toasty topic to be discussed is the Florida Marlins having a crisis on their hands with a showdown between Hanley Ramirez and manager Fredi Gonzalez.

On Monday night, Ramirez trouble started in the first inning Monday night after he grounded into a double play and did not run full speed down the line. Later in the second inning he kicked a ball and then lightly jogged after it, allowing two runs to score.

Ramirez was pulled from the game for not hustling in his managers eyes and then the shortstop defended his play and took shots at his manager and teammates. The manager has indicated that the shortstop needs to apologize to his teammates before getting back on the field.

“It’s his team. He can do whatever,” Ramirez said. “There’s nothing I can do about it. We got a lot of people dogging it after ground balls. They don’t apologize. That’s OK. He doesn’t understand that. He never played in the big leagues.”

Responded Gonzalez: “He’s right, but I know how to play the game. I played six years in the minor leagues and I know what it takes to play this game and I know the effort it takes to play this game.”

“It’s our team. I’m just the guy that makes the lineup,” Gonzalez said. “I can’t control everybody going 4 for 4, but you can control the effort.”

There have been occasions in which some speculated Ramirez didn’t always hustle. Last September in a game against the Atlanta Braves, two-time All-Star second baseman Dan Uggla and Ramirez got into a heated discussion after the star shortstop left a game early with a strained hamstring.

Veteran infielder Wes Helms hopes Ramirez apologizes to his teammates.

“I can’t overlook it,” Helms said. “I know people say that’s just the way he is, but you know what? That’s not the way it is. That’s not the way the game’s supposed to be played.”

“And that’s what we want from Hanley. We want him to be that guy that goes out there every day … and busts his butt and does anything he can for his this team. That right there will earn the respect of not only his teammates, but everybody in the league.”

Cameron Maybin, who hit a three-run homer Tuesday, also sided with Gonzalez.

“I think if it happened to anybody else in here, I think other teammates would feel the same way about it,” Maybin said. “As long as you are playing hard nobody can really say anything bad about you. We definitely support Fredi’s decision and we thought it was the right decision.”

Ramirez is hitting .293 with seven homers and 20 RBIs this year. He is the Marlins’ highest-paid player after signing a $70 million, six-year contract in 2008, and has become the face of a franchise that moves into a new ballpark in 2012.