Cubs' Ramirez won't let discussion stray from baseball

MESA, Ariz. -- With Aramis Ramirez, there always seems to be issues.

And, in most cases, there are answers. Most cases.

Ramirez was the last Cubs position player to report for spring training, as he hit Fitch Park on Tuesday and was on the field later in the day.

The 29-year-old third baseman was more than happy to talk baseball, but he wanted no part of questions about stories saying he's heavily involved in cockfighting in his home country of the Dominican Republic.

"I'm not even going to let you finish that question," he said to a TV reporter. "That's personal. That's a different culture down there. I'm from Dominican, so let's talk about baseball."

It was the same thing when a follow-up question was tried.

"I said I don't want to talk about that," he said. "I've just got to say this: That's a different culture. I'm Dominican, and that's it."

The New York Times recently reported that Ramirez was featured in a Dominican magazine dedicated to cockfighting, an accepted activity in some countries but one that is viewed in others as cruel and inhumane.

After quickly shutting off that line of questioning, Ramirez seemed happy to talk about the Cubs.

"I just want to be healthy," he said, referring the recurring leg problems that have hampered him during his career. "If I'm healthy, everything else will take care of itself. The numbers will be there."

Ramirez's numbers are something special. Since coming to the Cubs from Pittsburgh on July 22, 2003, he has batted .301 with 146 home runs and 454 RBI. Last season, he hit 26 homers with 101 RBI to go with a .366 on-base percentage and a .549 slugging percentage.

The Cubs point out that Ramirez is the first Cub since the legendary Hack Wilson from 1927-30 with at least 30 doubles and 25 home runs in four consecutive seasons.

Still, Ramirez gets dogged for "not hustling" on the bases, despite the leg problems and despite being ordered by trainers and his manager to back off on some days.

"We've got a little specialized program for a few of these kids," Piniella said, citing Ramirez and left fielder Alfonso Soriano, who experienced leg problems last year. "I think four or five guys. Ramirez isn't going to steal 40 bases because he does a few more drills here in the spring."

Piniella said a fast start in the regular season would enable him to rest Ramirez, Soriano and first baseman Derrek Lee during the course of the season. More than one teammate came to Ramirez's defense over the whole "hustling" issue.

"People don't realize he plays hurt," shortstop Ryan Theriot said. "It's not like every time he gets a little nick he's out. I watched him battle through injuries the last two years and continue to play and never really say anything about it. When he was at 100 percent, it was scary. His 75 percent is better than everybody else.

"Man, I wish there were more times people would know (Ramirez was hurting) because he would never get that rap."

Ramirez was 0-for-12 in the three-and-out division series against Arizona.

"I had a great season; I just had three bad games," he said. "It happens. They (Diamondbacks) were hot and played good. That (his slump) wasn't the reason we lost. We just didn't play well."

Tuesday's media session with Ramirez did have its lighter moments. When asked if he could speak Japanese with Kosuke Fukudome, he said: "I hardly even speak Spanish, and a little bit of English. That's it."

Like every other Cub, Ramirez was asked about the team not winning a World Series in 100 years.

"I've only been here for four of them," he said. "Everybody knows because everybody talks about it. Hopefully we do it this year. It's been 100 years. It's a long time. That's a shame because we've got great fans and a great city, a great ballpark with a lot of tradition. Hopefully we'll do it this year. We've got a great team.

"I think we can match anybody in the National League. The Mets are pretty good. With this lineup, we can play with anybody. You go position by position and man by man, we can play with any team in the National League."