Ramirez swats away any worries by critics

SURPRISE, Ariz. -- What's wrong with this picture?

Aramis Ramirez, in the seventh inning of a meaningless exhibition game, tags up from second base and hustles into third, making it safely ahead of the tag.

"Yeah, I was flying on the bases," Ramirez said as he entered the clubhouse afterward and shed a dusty uniform.

Actually, nothing's wrong with this picture, but the fact that Ramirez actually "hustled" into a base might surprise some of his harshest critics.

Not that Ramirez is worried about what they say.

"No, no," he said Wednesday. "There's always something to say. I've been around for a while. I know what I have to do and what I have to do to get ready and what I have to do to help my team out there. I don't care what people say about that."

Nor does he wonder why he gets singled out as a player who doesn't hustle.

"I don't know," he said. "I don't have any answer for that. I guess you've got to ask them that. I'm out there every day trying to do my job. I can't think about that stuff."

Here is something to think about: Ramirez is quickly becoming the offensive gold standard for Cubs third baseman, putting himself on a par with the legendary Ron Santo.

During his last four seasons with the Cubs, the 29-year-old Ramirez has hit 26, 38, 31 and 36 home runs for a total of 131. From 1964-67, Santo hit 124 as he was surpassing St. Louis' Ken Boyer as the top offensive third baseman in the National League.

Ramirez batted .310 with 26 homers and 101 RBI last season in 132 games as he battled tendinitis in his right wrist and patellar tendinitis in his left knee, an injury he suffered, interestingly enough, running out a ball to first base.

With a history of leg problems, Ramirez has been instructed from time to time by trainers and managers to take it easy on the basepaths.

That hasn't slowed Ramirez's production. In addition to his home runs and RBI totals, Ramirez put up an on-base percentage of .366 and a slugging percentage of .549 in 2007.

That gave him an OPS of .915, which ranked him 13th in the National League. Baseball Prospectus, the game's stats bible, projects similar numbers for Ramirez this year.

That's the production the Cubs and their fans had been thirsting for at third base since the days of Santo. As far as that "other stuff" goes, Ramirez's manager has seen no problem.

"I've only been here one year, and I can tell you this: This guy's played hard the one year I was here," Lou Piniella said. "I've got no complaints. In fact, I've been really, really pleased with the effort that I've gotten. It's my job to rest him occasionally, and we're going to do that. He plays. I haven't seen one iota of the other."

So far this spring, the only thing slowing Ramirez has been a sore shoulder, a minor injury that has limited him to 9 at-bats. He voiced no concern Wednesday about being ready to go.

"No, I feel pretty good," he said. "I feel pretty good at the plate. Like I say, we don't need 30 games. I think spring training is as much for the pitchers than anything else.

"We've got 20 games. It's not like Opening Day is in four or five days. I don't know if I'm ready to start the season tomorrow, but I'll be ready pretty soon."

Ramirez came over in a trade with the Pittsburgh Pirates in July 2003 and helped lead the Cubs into the National League championship series.

He was reminded that he's already third in seniority on the team, trailing only Kerry Wood and Carlos Zambrano. With a contract that runs at least through 2011, Ramirez appears to have found a home in Chicago.

"So far, so good, yeah," he said. "Hopefully I'll end my career here with a couple of rings."