The fallen star has a shot at redemption in Clevel

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and"WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections NewsAnalysis & EditorialsCleveland Indians prospects & minor leaguesGame RecapsTransactionsAnalysis & EditorialsHanley Ramirez’s last shotNew ,27commentsThe fallen star has a shot at redemption in Cleveland EDTShareTweetShareShareHanley Ramirez’s last shotJoe Camporeale-USA TODAY SportsWith all the youth and inexperience around the Indians this spring, Hanley Ramirez finds himself a bit of an odd man out. There’s a youth movement in Cleveland, and a 35-year-old bat-only player would be right to feel out of place among all these young athletes with something to prove. Ramirez has proven a lot in his career — he won a Rookie of the Year, a batting title, and came in as high as second place in MVP voting. He’s been great.That “been” is the key, though. The last two seasons, Ramirez has been... horrible, at least by his own lofty standards. Even by normal standards he’s been pretty bad. He posted a 91 wRC+, was worth negative 0.7 WAR, and got DFA’d by the eventual World Champs while on the last year of a $22 million deal. It’s a pretty ignominious ending to a career that, from the outset — and even midway through — looked something like meteoric. But the Indians are giving him a shot this spring. I, for one, just wish it would work out for Ramirez.It’s that hackneyed, stupid romanticism of baseball that we all feel dumb for still getting filled with, but hope does spring eternal every year, and for players as much as teams. In Ramirez, we have a former total phenom and superstar now finding himself on the edge of the game, with a foot all the way out of it. It’s a typical tale , and the kind we hate to hear. Age is just a bastard sometimes, and seeing it ravage such a former talent of that skill and ability is a bit sad. We know he’s never going to return to the heights of the turn of the decade, but something valuable would sure be nice. What would that look like though? I do want it to work out for Ramirez, but he’s going to have a problem finding a place on the team. The outfield, for all its lack of established talent, is kind of stuffed, and it’s not like he can do anything else besides DH and play first base. So his own future with the Indians hinges on the relative success of a handful of outfielders, Jake Bauers, and Carlos Santana. Those last two are sure to make the team, so he’s going to have to earn it by being more than a nice guy in the clubhouse. Which makes the spring so frustrating. As of this writing, he’s 3-for-15 with three runs batted in. I haven’t seen whether he’s hitting the ball mega-hard or working counts or in the best shape of his life or anything like that. And that’s what he needs to do to make the team.Aside from making the team, a sense of realism is helpful, even if it is a bummer. It’s not like Ramirez is going to post that .342/.410/.543 line he did when he placed second in MVP voting. Maybe in a platoon situation that’s almost approachable, like when Ryan Raburn popped a .901 OPS over 86 games for Cleveland facing almost purely lefties. Outside of that, though, is it really so much to ask for an .800 OPS, or even .750? He hit .286/.361/.505 with 30 dingers in 147 games as recently as 2016. Admittedly that’s a long time for an athlete, and he fell right off a cliff since then , but tapping into something close to that would put Ramirez above a good number of other offensive options for the Indians. Though even that isn’t that realistic. The realistic version of Hanley is a Jason Giambi circa 2013, when Big G was little more than a pinch hitter and overpaid bench coach. The Indians don’t need the second thing, but tapping into whatever little lightning is left in that bat is about the value that he can bring to the table unless he finds the fountain of youth or something incredible happens. Baseball does age you very quickly, and kicks you to the curb the minute you’ve lost that little bit of edge that once made you great. Ramirez was one of the best in the world for a while there. Talent like that always departs, but not all at once. Even if it’s been a sharp slide for him, there’s got to be something still there. Talent will always win out, but over a long season—and maybe in a playoff series against a former team—a little magic can go a long way too. ATLANTA — Encouraged by the progress of their young pitchers, the Philadelphia Phillies decided not to add a proven starter to their rotation for the stretch drive.Former Cy Young Award winner Jake Arrieta and 2018 Cy Young Award candidate Aaron Nola will start for the Phillies against the Atlanta Braves on Saturday and Sunday, but first struggling Nick Pivetta (7-13, 4.67 ERA) must take the mound Friday night.It is almost a must win for Philadelphia, which fell behind the Braves by 6 1/2 games with an 8-3 loss in the series opener Thursday night at SunTrust Park. Atlanta’s magic number for winning the National League East was reduced to four.Article continues below ...Veteran right-hander Julio Teheran (9-8, 3.97) will start for Atlanta (85-68) opposite Pivetta as the Braves try to put the Phillies (78-74) on the verge of elimination.Philadelphia used seven relievers after slumping starter Vince Velasquez pitched just three innings to start the series, and the bullpen cracked late, giving up the tie-breaking run in the seventh and four more runs in the eighth as the Phillies fell to 6-12 in September.Pivetta hasn’t won since Aug. 7 and has lost his last four decisions, pitching just 13 1/3 innings in his three September outings.On a more positive note, though, the 25-year-old Pivetta beat the Braves three times as a rookie in 2017 while posting a 2.12 ERA and was solid against them early this season, going 1-1 with a 3.43 ERA in four starts.The Phillies also continue to point to Pivetta’s swing-and-miss stuff. He fanned eight in five innings against Miami last Sunday , but was done in by a two-run homer from Pete O’Brien.“I think the only hard-hit ball that comes to mind for me was the home run to O’Brien,” manager Gabe Kapler said afterward. “Other than that, the curveball was working well, the fastball was working well, had a lot of life to it, obviously, getting tons of swings and misses on it. Looked like he was going to roll and just ran into a little bit of a buzz saw there.”Teheran had appeared back on track after an up-and-down season until he had a shaky outing in a loss to Washington last Saturday.The two-time All-Star allowed six walks and was pulled after four innings despite giving up just three hits and two runs while striking out seven.Walks have been Teheran’s downfall all season. Opponents are batting just .198 against him, but he has surrendered 79 walks in 163 1/3 innings.The 27-year-old from Colombia made his fourth consecutive start on Opening Day for the Braves this season, but his spot in a potential playoff rotation is far from a certainty.“I haven’t thought about that, but it is what it is,” Teheran said after the loss to the Nationals. “We still need to finish strong. I’ve got a couple outings to go. I’ve been feeling good my last couple outings. It’s getting there. You’re going to have difficult games. But I feel like I’ve been doing better now.”Teheran was 1-0 with a 4.91 ERA in three April starts against the Phillies and is 9-6 with a 3.55 ERA in 22 career games, including 21 starts, against them.Outfielder-first baseman Rhys Hoskins is 5-for-10 with three doubles against Teheran, while first baseman Justin Bour went 7-for-18 with a homer while with Miami before joining the Phillies.Braves center fielder Ender Inciarte has gone 8-for-17 against Pivetta, but first baseman Freddie Freeman is just 2-for-15.

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