Right shoulder latest malady to plague Hanley
BOSTON -- Though Hanley Ramirez's right shoulder ailment -- the one that had him out of the lineup again on Monday night -- didn't become public knowledge until a few days ago, it has bothered him for several weeks.
And it perhaps explains why Ramirez has had such limited production since the All-Star break, a span in which he's hit .183 with no homers, seven RBIs and a .449 OPS.
"I made one throw here at home," said Ramirez. "I don't remember what month it was. And I hurt something, but I played through it. And then it happened again last homestead here. Since then, it wasn't feeling right and I was playing through it.
"But it got to the point where I took it to the manager and the trainer, and they understood and they didn't want me to go out there if I wasn't 100 percent. That's what we've been dealing with right now. I've just been waiting to get back to Boston to get it checked out with a doctor."
Ramirez was set to be examined prior to Monday night's game against the Yankees, at which point the Red Sox will have a better read on how to proceed.
When Ramirez was out of action from Aug. 8-16, the club said it was due to discomfort from when he fouled a ball off his foot. Truth be told, Ramirez said, his shoulder was the main thing that was bothering him at that time.
"But I didn't say anything until the last game in Detroit [in early August]. This is not me," Ramirez said. "I'm such a good hitter and I can't look like that on the field, but I didn't want to say anything because I wanted to play."
The production didn't improve when Ramirez came back from that hiatus. In fact, in an eight-game stretch, he hit .097 with no RBIs, after which the club held him out of the lineup for four straight games, including Monday.
Ramirez got off to a monster start at the plate this season, banging out 10 homers in April. But in his last game that month, he sprained his left shoulder while running into the wall. A few weeks after that, Ramirez was smoked by a line drive in the left hand.
"If you go back and think how this could happen, to get hit by a line-drive in that spot -- I'm a lower-hand hitter. My power comes from my left hand, not by top hand. It's unbelievable," said Ramirez.
Though Ramirez has been maligned by fans and media mainly for his defense this season, his lack of offense has probably hurt the Red Sox more. Ramirez can never remember a season in which so many different injuries piled up on him.
Until Monday, Ramirez never really spoke much about his injuries. Instead, he just played through them and took the criticism.
"They don't know those little things. My teammates know and the team," Ramirez said. "So that's the difference. You can control what you can control. They don't know what's going on in here, what's going on with my body. I respect that, because they pay to see you prove every day that you're there. They want us to do the best every day. I know I've tried my best every day when I've been out there, but some things don't go the right way."