Ramirez all smiles in return to Wrigley
Former Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez was all smiles Monday as he made his way onto Wrigley Field.
Now a member of the Milwaukee Brewers, Ramirez made his first appearance at Wrigley since he and the Cubs parted way last fall, when he declined his part of a mutual option.
Ramirez hugged former teammates Carlos Marmol and Darwin Barney before having a short conversation with Cubs hitting coach Rudy Jaramillo.
The crowd greeted Ramirez with a mixed reception or cheers and boos. He hit a sacrifice fly in the first inning to put the Brewers ahead 1-0.
Ramirez hadn’t been in the tiny visitors clubhouse at Wrigley Field since his days with the Pittsburgh Pirates. Former Cubs general manager Jim Hendry made one of his best deals in the summer of 2003, obtaining Ramirez and center fielder Kenny Lofton from the Pirates.
The Cubs won division titles with Ramirez at third base in ’03, 2007 and 2008. But they never could get to the World Series.
“I don’t know,” he said when asked why. “We had some good teams, especially in ‘08. We won 97 ballgames. That was a pretty good team. For some reason, we couldn’t get it done in the playoffs. We didn’t do anything: offensively, defensively. We didn’t pitch. Everything went wrong.”
Ramirez made it clear late last season that he was not going to come back to the Cubs. He said there were no hard feelings between him and the new management.
“They just basically told my agent they were going to go young,” he said. “I didn’t fit into that plan. They’ve got their own priorities. Their priorities are to go out and get young and build a farm system. You can see that. They didn’t spend any money. They didn’t go out and sign any free agents because they want to start from the bottom, I guess.”
While with the Cub, Ramirez had a hitting line of .294/.356/.531 with 239 of his 315 career home runs. That might earn a player some cheers from his former fans, but Ramirez seemed unconcerned.
“It’s not that I don’t care,” he said. “It’s just that I can’t control it. I guess you got to ask that question to the fans. If they don’t appreciate the way I played or what I did, that’s up to them. But I think I did pretty good in my time here.”
Ready to roll:
Left-hander Paul Maholm makes his season debut Tuesday night.
“It’s going to be nerve-racking to begin, just wanting to get out there and get off to a good start,” he said. “I think the first few days, getting to watch games, is very definitely a plus.
“I know it’s going to be cold. I’ve got to get in on their hands and not let them dive over (the plate). That’s the joy of pitching in Wrigley. You never know what kind of weather you’re going to get when you show up to the ballpark. ”