Inside Baseball: Red Sox Would Be Best To Move On From Hanley Ramirez
BOSTON (CBS) -- With August turning into September and the Red Sox entering the final month of the regular season, Tony Massarotti joined Dan Roche for the weekly Inside Baseball segment.
The conversation started with a simple question: What do you do with Hanley Ramirez?
"In my opinion," Rochie said, "I don't care how you do it, you say goodbye to him. I don't care if you eat salary, I don't care what you have to do."
Mazz supported that idea, and he had the numbers to support it.
"When Hanley has played in left field, the Red Sox have a .426 winning percentage. When he hasn't, no matter who's been out there, whether it's been Alejandro De Aza, Jackie Bradley Jr., the winning percentage is .556," Mazz said. "When Hanley plays left field, they're a 69-win team. When Hanley hasn't been in left field, they're a 90-win team. And it's not just about the defense; it's about everything. It's about the caliber of play and the level of energy you're getting from guys like De Aza [who has now been traded] and Bradley as opposed to the lackluster effort you're getting from Hanley."
Mazz noted that the Sox rank third in the majors in runs scored, which speaks to the impact the younger players have made. Given those performances, Rochie asked Mazz what the odds are for Dave Dombrowski to roll into 2016 with Jackie Bradley, Mookie Betts and Rusney Castillo as his starting outfield.
"Instinctively, I'd say relatively low. Like, less than 50-50," Mazz said, though both he and Roche agreed that it would be great to see that trio get that chance.
Mazz and Rochie also discussed the incredible turnaround from Joe Kelly, the outlook at the catching position, and more. Watch the full segment above, and tune in to Inside Baseball, and tune in every Monday night on the WBZ-TV News at 10 on myTV38!
