The Official Site of Hanley Ramirez

Mon, Feb 2nd 2009, 12:10

Hanley has faith in Marlins' direction

The Marlins were one of the pleasant surprises in the National League in 2008. Despite a projected last-place finish, Florida won 84 games, and it was in the race for the NL East crown until September.

During the offseason, the team parted ways with several important figures, including Mike Jacobs, Matt Treanor, Kevin Gregg, Josh Willingham and Scott Olsen. Nonetheless, Florida’s franchise player, Hanley Ramirez, is not concerned. On the contrary, the Dominican shortstop has complete faith in the team’s direction.

“They know what they’re doing,” Ramirez told LasMayores.com, MLB.com’s Spanish Web site, during the Dominican Winter League Championship Serie between the Licey Tigers and the Cibao Gigantes in Santo Domingo’s Estadio Quisqueya. “It’s a franchise that has won two World Series. It’s a good front office, and the team they’ve built will be strong.”

According to Ramirez, pitching should be one of the highlights in 2009 for the Marlins, despite the trade that sent Olsen to the Washington Nationals.

“We’ve added a couple of good pitchers, so we’ll be strong in that aspect,” said Ramirez, referring to the arrival of his fellow countryman, Leo Nunez (4-1 record with a 2.98 ERA in 45 appearances with Kansas City in 2008), and veteran reliever Scott Proctor, who signed as a free agent after pitching last season with the Dodgers.

The rotation is comprised of promising youngsters Ricky Nolasco, Josh Johnson, Chris Volstad, Anibal Sanchez and Andrew Miller.

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