The Official Site of Hanley Ramirez

Thu, Aug 21st 2008, 22:59

Sore thumb has Hanley sitting

Still experiencing soreness in his right thumb, Marlins All-Star shortstop Hanley Ramirez was out of the starting lineup on Thursday afternoon.

Ramirez, who is batting .297 with 27 home runs and 56 RBIs, remains day-to-day, but he doesn’t know if he will be ready to start for at least a couple of days.

“It hurts,” Ramirez said. “I want to play, but I knew right away, I couldn’t play today.”

Ramirez was struck just below his right thumb, on the fleshy part of his palm, while stealing second base in the third inning on Wednesday night in a 6-5 loss to the Giants.

Sliding in safely head-first, Ramirez’s hand was hit by catcher Benji Molina’s throw.

“When I dove, [the ball] went straight at my hand,” said Ramirez, one of the most dynamic offensive players in the game.

Initially, he stayed in the game, although he had his hand checked out by assistant trainer Mike Kozak.

Ramirez was replaced in the fourth inning by Alfredo Amezaga, who started at shortstop for Florida on Thursday.

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