For Cubs' Ramirez, proof in the approach

Aramis Ramirez is not the Cubs' MVP.

That honor would have to go to Ryan Dempster, the team's best pitcher, player, teammate and spokesman.

The best hitter's been Geovany Soto, but the most improved player is Ramirez, who has looked more like a baseball player - not just a home run hitter - than at any time in his career.

In the past, hitting longballs was never an issue, but going back to his days in Pittsburgh, any objective observer could clearly see a player who cared more about himself and his stats than anything else.

That hardly separated him from many in the game, and some on his team, but at $15 million annually, he needed to do more.

Ramirez had a chat with manager Lou Piniella early this year about being a leader and playing team baseball, and that seems to have had an impact.

What the Cubs needed was for Ramirez to pay attention on defense, run the bases hard, and have a plan on offense beyond trying to pad his own stats.

The season's not over, and the playoffs will tell a story as well, but thus far Ramirez has been more interested in wins than he has in the past, and for as much as we've criticized him for it, he deserves praise here now for his efforts toward change.

He's not perfect, and there are still games in which you wonder why he tries to hit an 8-run homer when a sac fly will do, but there have been more games than not that Ramirez has been heavily involved in trying to help his club win.

And to the best of our recollection, it has been about a year since he stood at home plate, thinking home run, while the ball landed at the base of the wall, turning a double into an embarrassing single.

That's a huge improvement and worth noting as the Cubs rocket toward the postseason as the overwhelming favorite to emerge from the National League.

Yes, Dempster's year has been a shock and the biggest cog in the Cubs' monstrous machine, but Ramirez's change of style has been a pleasant surprise.

No crisis here

Staying with a Ramirez theme, the story of the year on the South Side might be the "Cuban Missile,'' Alexei Ramirez, who was so bad in Cleveland the first week of the season, trying to play center field and batting against Cy Young caliber pitchers, that you wondered if he was long for the major leagues.

A complete unknown arriving in camp, and still pretty much a mystery as the season started, Ramirez has been brilliant at second and already is the team's best shortstop.

At the plate, Ramirez has exceeded all imaginable expectations by leading the club in hitting, collecting an RBI every 6.2 ABs, and posting an impressive OPS good for fourth on the team behind sluggers Carlos Quentin, Jermaine Dye and Jim Thome.

Not a bad start for a raw, 26-year-old who is still getting his baseball education.

Phelps fever

Not everyone enjoyed the Olympics, and since this isn't China you have the right to object, but clearly the Beijing Games were a monster hit with millions here in the U.S.

NBC revealed that it attracted more than 211 million viewers through the first 16 days, eclipsing Atlanta ('96) as the most-watched event in U.S. broadcast history.

The 16-day prime-time average was 28 million and Saturday night drew 43 million.

Those numbers make it pretty hard to deny that a good portion of U.S. sports fans enjoy the international competition.

The good cause

A few spots are available for Ryne Sandberg's Lakeshore Drive Golf Nine and Dine, slated for Sept. 26 at the Marovitz Golf Course.

The outing benefits Ryno Kid Care (rynokidcare.org), an organization dedicated to helping seriously ill children and their families.

For more info on the golf event, contact Ellen Frisbie at (312)-255-9860 or efrisbie@qacore.com.

Congrats

To Kane County Cougars fan Kristin Lake, from Plainfield, who recently won the Daily Herald-sponsored Grand Slam Inning to the tune of $10,000. In addition, $10,000 was donated to Ozzie's Outreach, the Cougars' charitable initiative.

Young at heart

Comedian Alex Kaseberg: "I don't want to say Chinese gymnast He Kexin is younger than the 16-year-old minimum, but her pre-Olympic bio clip was a sonogram.''

Eddings II

Asks deadspin.com, "Is this the episode where Doug Eddings reveals that he is A.J. Pierzynski's father?''

Best headline

Sportspickle. com: "Joe Horn pulls out cell phone to call around for a job.''

And finally -

Miami Herald's Greg Cote: "In China, 4-9, 73-pound female gymnast He Kexin is so popular with fans they have come out with her likeness in a bobblehead doll. Wait. Sorry. That actually is her."

brozner@dailyherald.com