It's taken almost an entire two months to speak on the record, but Hanley Ramirez has finally made a comment about a potential position switch. In the wake of the Marlins signing Jose Reyes, there was much speculation that Ramirez didn't want to move from shortstop and was going to demand a trade, and his silence on the matter didn't help calm the hysteria. But it appears we can put the matter to rest:
↵↵↵"I've spoken with [manager Ozzie] Guillen and what we want is to win with the Marlins," Ramirez told the AP on Friday during batting practice at Quisqueya Stadium. "When January comes, we're going to see what happens with the position change and everything else. If it's third base, fine. Wherever they put me to win, I'll do it." (Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel)
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Ramirez followed this up by saying that there's no problem between him and Reyes, and that he expects "good things" from this coming season. And well he should: the Marlins are looking like they're going to be one of the most exciting teams to follow this upcoming season. They have added enough talent to their team that they're on the verge of competing for a playoff spot, and they have a wide collection of exciting, fun players: Logan Morrison, Mike Stanton, Josh Johnson, Anibal Sanchez, and (of course) Hanley & Reyes.
↵So everyone out there on Hanley Alert, you can officially calm down. It took him some time, but it looks like Ramirez has come to his senses and realized how much fun it could be to be on a winning team for once, regardless of what position he's playing.
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