Aramis Ramirez: mental mistakes?

[dlk9s]

I'm guessing some replies to this post will completely downplay the situation with "this stuff happens" type response.

 

This stuff happens.

[TooLiveBrew]

Roenicke said Ramirez actually came to him to talk about it...

 

http://m.jsonline.com/more/sports/blogs/brewers/148893855.htm

Ramirez has been nothing but a stand-up guy as far as I can tell thus far with the Brewers.

[rwa12]

If I'm going to consider his salary, I'm going to consider it in proportion to his peers. He makes $12M a year, which is by no means a CEO salary in baseball. He's payed like a veteran of his standing. Mental lapses happen, they play 162 games so that they even out. These guys aren't surgeons, if they make a mistake, lives aren't lost. Most people thought it was cute that Morgan didn't know how many outs there were last year.

 

The guy is what he is, he's a streak hitter, and a slow starter. The knock on ARod was always that he only hit when it didn't matter, but I would happily have taken a few years of him on the Brewers.

[monty57]

What people expect Aram to be released because he forgot the numbers of outs. Allmost every night on the highlights some player makes a mental error. Just because the guy makes a huge some of money doesn't mean he is immune from mental breakdowns from time to time. You don't think the CEO's of Fortune 500 companies never make mistakes? Professional athletes face more scrutiny than almost any other profession in the US, I just think it is just a little ridiculous that fans get on their case so much. People will make mistakes whether they are making $30,000 or $3,000,000 and the mistake for the $3 Million player isn't any worse in the grand scheme of things.

 

This just comes from conversations with (a lot of) Cub fans, but Ramirez seems to have a reputation for not always having his head in the game. Maybe this is just ranting by many fans who watch a lot of games, but maybe not. Either way, this is something that Melvin should have known when offering the contract, so it seems that Melvin feels Ramirez's offensive potential outweighs the negative aspects of his game. To my earlier example (the CEO's at Fortune 500 companies to which you allude), if I were on a Board of Directors, and I was looking for a CEO, and I knew that one had a habit of forgetting about appointments, I would weigh that in my decision. If I thought the other things he brought to the table outwieghed the embarrasment caused by missing appointments, then I may hire him. It would certainly matter in the salary offered.

 

Bottom line is that if this is an isolated incident, it's no big deal. If mental errors are common for Ramirez, then it could be a problem, as it could cost the Brewers games. His defense is also a negative, so basically he is paid a lot of money for his offensive production. Therefore, if mental errors are commonplace (I don't know if they are, but they could be), then Ramirez's offense will have to be worth far more than $12MM/year in order to offset the games lost due to his defense and "mental lapses." As I mentioned earlier, as long as he posts .900+ OPS seasons, a lot will be overlooked. If he doesn't hit, then any other mistakes will come under a big microscope because his contract basically makes him untradeable if he's not hitting. I haven't heard anyone in "Cub land" lamenting the loss of Ramirez, even though he hit very well last year. That could be "dumb Cub fans being dumb Cub fans," or there could be something more to it.

 

As far as it being ridiculous that fans get on athletes' case so much, if the fans didn't care, they wouldn't pay the athlete's salaries. Professional sports is a product, and the same fanaticism which makes people get on athletes' case is what keeps fans going to the games. Why do we care if 25 guys who dress funny score more than 25 other guys in the other dugout? We cheer when athletes do well and get upset when they don't. That's the heart of sports, and anyone on the "inside" get paid a lot of money off of it.

[RockCoCougars]

It's one play in a long season. I just hope that he keeps getting on base, another hit and he's over .200- I think.

[Bigblast]

Many perfectionists in this crowd.

 

Maybe we should start a thread congratulating Aramis for hustling out the big triple on Monday night. Or we could congratulate him on the ball he smoked into the gap preceding his mental error.

 

And bringing salary into the equation? It just sounds bitter.

 

 

Isn't it just logical to expect more from people who make millions of dollars? I'm not sure why that is considered being bitter or being a perfectionist? So, after paying $30 for my ticket and $10 for parking and another $10 for food and beverage, I'm suppose to applaud a multi millionaire for hustling?? I'll aplaud the triple for what it means to the Brewers chances of winning, not because the MLB player that hit it hustled. Isn't he supposed to do that?

 

If it was a rookie making the minimum who forgot the number of outs, would you not care as much because he's only making $250,000 or whatever? Probably not. It was a dumb mistake but it happens and salary shouldn't matter at all.

 

I can say I wouldnt be happy with it. However a rookie that maks that mistake, I could maybe give a break to because he is young and nervous maybee. But come on Ramirez has been in the league for years there is no excuse for a verteran not to know how many outs there are. Knowing how

many outs there are should be the bare minimum.

[3and2Fastball]

I really think some people are underestimating the value Aramis brings to this team in terms of production at 3B and the way he works the count a lot of times in his at-bats.

[Invader3K]

I really think some people are underestimating the value Aramis brings to this team in terms of production at 3B and the way he works the count a lot of times in his at-bats.

 

Yeah, I agree. He traditionally always starts his season slow. I won't be shocked at all when he finishes the season with around a .300 batting average again.

[thebruce44]

If a company is paying a CEO millions to not make mental mistakes that's one thing. Athletes are paid for their athleticism as much or more than their smarts, so I don't really see how you can compare the two.

 

Its hard to get mad at a player over a human error every now and again.

[SoCal Brew Crew Fan]

Just because someone makes a ton of dough doesn't mean he won't make mistakes, including mental ones. They really aren't correlated. If he was just dogging it and milking it for the paycheck that's a different story.

[JohnBriggs12]

I really think some people are underestimating the value Aramis brings to this team in terms of production at 3B and the way he works the count a lot of times in his at-bats.

 

Ramirez is a notorious first ball, fast ball hitter. He doesn't work the count as much as he's forced to by the opposing team's game plan. Last year Ramirez saw just 3.32 pitches per AB, which is about a half a pitch below the league average. It's up some this year so far. But as Bob Brenly said about once a game: "I don't know why any pitcher would throw Ramirez a fast ball on the first pitch". That wasn't so much a knock but that he often did damage on the first pitch.

[homer]

But as Bob Brenly said about once a game: "I don't know why any pitcher would throw Ramirez a fast ball on the first pitch". That wasn't so much a knock but that he often did damage on the first pitch.

 

 

Or why would Francisco Cordero throw him a hanging slider on a 3 - 2 count with two men on base and two outs in the bottom of the ninth????

 

(sorry, that game still bothers me)

[3and2Fastball]

Ramirez is a notorious first ball, fast ball hitter. He doesn't work the count as much as he's forced to by the opposing team's game plan. Last year Ramirez saw just 3.32 pitches per AB, which is about a half a pitch below the league average. It's up some this year so far. But as Bob Brenly said about once a game: "I don't know why any pitcher would throw Ramirez a fast ball on the first pitch". That wasn't so much a knock but that he often did damage on the first pitch.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I suppose I was making the mistake of relying on a small sample with my eyes as opposed to checking the stats.