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Sunday, June 23, 2002

It's bad enough Aramis Ramirez is killing the Pirates with his weak production at the plate. He took a .211 average into Friday night and had just four home runs and 22 RBIs. The team can't win getting so little from him. It was lucky to be just seven games under .500 going into the weekend series against the Texas Rangers.

But there's something else about Ramirez that's much more troubling. He also is killing the Pirates with his lack of effort. It has become apparent he plays hard only when it suits him. The rest of the time, well, his poor ankle hurts and he can't run.

It's a convenient excuse for failure.

Ramirez should be ashamed of himself for using it.

That isn't to say he doesn't have a bad ankle. There's no question he was hurt and the Pirates' season subsequently sabotaged when he foolishly charged the mound in a game at Milwaukee April 17. There's also no doubt the injury still is causing him problems.

But there's a difference between playing with some pain and playing with a serious injury. It's safe to say every Pirates player is playing with one ache or another by this point of the season, some rather severe. But they keep plugging. They show up and play hard every night. It's what professionals do.

Ramirez still hasn't figured that out.

Did you see him jog to first base on a double-play ball against the Anaheim Angels June 11? Did you see him take forever to get around the bases after his pinch-hit home run against the Cincinnati Reds June 14? Did you see him not even try to go from first to third base on Craig Wilson's two-out single to right-center field against the Oakland Athletics Wednesday night?

On the other hand, did you see him sprint down the line to beat out an infield single against the A's Wednesday night? Did you see him fairly dance across the infield to make a nice play to throw out the A's Terrence Long later in that same game?

I couldn't help but think as I watched Wednesday night:

This is a man with a debilitating ankle injury?

If he can run that hard one time, why can't he do it all the time?

Doesn't he know he's not just embarrassing himself, but his teammates and his manager?

It's pretty clear the other Pirates and Manager Lloyd McClendon are growing tired of Ramirez's act. Jason Kendall confronted him in the dugout after his home run trot in Cincinnati. Word out of the clubhouse is McClendon got in his face hard after he dogged it on the bases after Wilson's hit against the A's.

Kendall wouldn't talk about his incident. "It's over and done with." But McClendon, choosing his words carefully, said, "Rammie is still learning he's got to bring it every day on both sides of the ball. It's my job to get that out of him. He's a good kid with a good heart. We'll get it done."

I have no reason to question McClendon's judgment of Ramirez's character, although some in the Pirates' clubhouse believe Ramirez has gotten fat and lazy. Management rewarded him after he hit .300 with 34 home runs and 112 RBIs last season by giving him a three-year, $9.5-million contract extension this spring. It seemed like a smart move at the time because it bought out two years of salary arbitration for him. It doesn't seem nearly so smart now.

But I don't believe the big contract has made Ramirez soft. I think he's just embarrassed about his poor performance and about letting the team down. It's easy to blame the ankle. That's a lot easier than looking in the mirror.

In any case, Ramirez needs to grow up.

It's nice to know the Pirates no longer are considering putting him on the disabled list, as many in the media and on the talk shows have suggested. They thought about it a week ago but decided his problem is more in his head than in his ankle. Their solution is to keep playing him. Disabling him would be the easy way out for him. They're making him fight through his ankle problem. They're convinced it will make him a better player in the long run.

Really, what choice do the Pirates have? They're dying for runs and Ramirez is one of their few legitimate power threats.

Kendall and the other team leaders need to stay on Ramirez. They deserve his best effort every game. McClendon also has to be even tougher with the guy. This is one of the bigger challenges he has had to face in his 1 1/2 seasons on the job. He has to know everyone, inside the clubhouse and out, is watching how he handles it. But most of all, Ramirez has to help himself. He has to stop feeling sorry for himself.

Ramirez will turn 24 Tuesday. He's not a kid anymore. He needs to stop acting like one.

Ron Cook can be reached at rcook@post-gazette.com.