Projo Sports Blog

A little more than a week ago, Manny Ramirez was a big-time force as his Los Angeles Dodgers swept the Philadelphia Phillies in four games at Dodger Stadium. From Friday through Monday, Ramirez was a big-time disappointment as the Phillies returned the favor by sweeping the Dodgers in four straight at Citizens Bank Park. Last night, the Dodgers had 13 hits but could not score a single run as the Phils took home a 5-0 victory. In the history of baseball, only two teams (the 1913 New York Giants and the 1928 Cleveland Indians) have had more hits in a nine-inning game while failing to score a run. Both those teams had 14 hits.

Ramirez was one of the main culprits. Batting against Brett Myers with the bases loaded and two outs in the seventh inning, Ramirez hit the ball hard, but it was tracked down in right field by the Phillies' Jayson Werth. Ramirez came to the plate five times -- each time with runners on base, and four times with a runner on third -- and he went 0 for 4 with a walk, a strikeout and a grounded into double play. The strikeout came in the ninth inning, with runners on first and third with one out.

After the game, referring to Phillies' starter Myers, Ramirez said: "He's one of the best pitchers in the league. That guy is nasty." For the record, Myers is 7-10 with a 4.49 ERA this season.

For the series in Philadelphia, Ramirez was 2 for 14 with no extra-base hits. He has gone seven games without driving in a run as the Dodgers have lost six of seven. Ramirez's overall numbers in Los Angeles remain impressive -- .361 batting average, .465 OBP and .614 slugging percentage, to go with six home runs, tied for the most Manny has hit in any month. (Jason Bay is .333, .385 and .529 with four homers as a Red Sox.)

But as for the widely stated suggestion that Ramirez was charging up the Dodger lineup as the team headed for the National League West title chase (if you can call it that) -- folks might want to reconsider. The Dodgers are now 11-12 in the post-Manny era, while the Red Sox, despite all their injuries, enter Yankee Stadium tonight with a 14-7 record in the post-Manny era.

 Tags  Boston Red Sox Los Angeles Dodgers Manny Ramirez

2 Comments

Jomarie said:

The LA Times is reporting that the Dodgers are slumping and Manny has not had a key hit. They are reporting that this is due to Manny cutting his hair. Are they serious?

Link | August 26, 2008 3:28 PM
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Dave said:

Why is this even being reported here? The guys gone... let it go.

Link | August 27, 2008 1:33 PM
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