Photos: 2008 Phillies
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The best-laid plans of mice and men oft go awry.
A half-century later, a similar epigraph might be attached to the book on Dodgers slugger Manny Ramirez.
Exhibit A can be found in the seventh inning of Los Angeles' 7-2 win over the Cubs in Game 1 of their Division Series, when Cubs reliever Sean Marshall squared off against Ramirez to open the inning.
The Dodgers were leading at the time, 4-2. In his previous three at-bats, Ramirez had grounded into a doubleplay, singled and walked. Marshall started the at-bat with two inside fastballs that Ramirez fouled off, followed by another fastball that he also sent out of play.
Ahead 0-2 in the count with a base open, Marshall seemed to realize he was in a pretty good position and decided to throw a low curveball inches off the dirt.
Like Burns, we know what happened next.
"I don't know too many guys who are going to hit that ball as far as he did," Phillies pitching coach Rich Dubee said.
Over the course of the regular season, when the Phillies faced Ramirez in 10 games, Dubee studied plenty of at-bats such as the one against Marshall, which resulted in a solo home run that Ramirez golfed into centerfield. His conclusion? While pitching to major league hitters is, by nature, an inexact science, it is even more imperfect when the hitter is the caliber of Ramirez.
The Phillies fared better than most major league teams this season. In 10 games, they held him to a .212 batting average, lower than 21 of the 23 teams who have faced him this season (Ramirez hit .200 off Tampa Bay in 12 games and .071 off Kansas City in four games). They have had more success at Citizens Bank Park, where Ramirez hit .136 (3-for-22) with no home runs and no RBI.
Particularly during their four-game sweep of the Dodgers in Philadelphia in late August, Phillies pitchers did an excellent job of attacking him inside. During a 8-1 win in the first game of the series, righthander Kyle Kendrick threw Ramirez 24 pitches. An unofficial tally showed that 19 of those pitches were inside.
But the task is much more difficult than the Phillies made it seem during those four games, when Ramirez went 2-for-14. After all, every pitching staff has a game plan. And with thousands of hours of video at their disposal, it isn't hard to figure out what that plan is.
"You can't do the same thing to him," Dubee said. "He makes adjustments. You've got to change your patterns and you've got to make a bunch of quality pitches to him."
Lefthander J.C. Romero doesn't expect to see too much action against the righthanded Ramirez this series. But he did spend 3 months as his teammate with the Boston Red Sox in 2007, so he does have some idea about pitching to him.
"I won't face him, but everybody in the league knows what he brings," Romero said. "He's no secret. I'm sure we will pitch him tough and try to keep him off balance."
In mid-August, the Dodgers swept the Phillies in Los Angeles. Ramirez wasn't the only reason for their success. But he did finish the series 4-for-11 with a home run and five RBI. The Phillies walked him six times, four intentionally.
By the end of the series, Ramirez had reached base in 61.1 percent of his plate appearances.
What was the difference the second time around?
"I think we made good pitches to him," said Jamie Moyer, who will face the Dodgers in Game 3. "But he's a guy who can adjust."
Lifetime, Ramirez is 18-for-53 with 10 home runs and 20 RBI against Moyer. And while the veteran lefty has not faced him since 2006, when Moyer was with the Mariners and Ramirez was with the Red Sox, he is well aware of how dangerous Ramirez continues to be.
"As has been said by everyone in the media and it's true, he's been a catalyst for that offense," Moyer said. "I think he's helped everyone around him. He's exuded confidence in himself, but I think that confidence has spread through their lineup."
Which brings us to another question.
Why pitch to him?
"I don't believe you can paint yourself into a corner by saying, 'You can't let this guy beat you,' " said Tim McCarver, the former Phillies catcher and current Fox analyst. "That is a myth. There are some clear times [later in games] when you don't pitch to him, but starters can't do that. Starters for the first six innings have to figure ways to get this guy out."
Said Dubee: "Situations might arise where you don't have any choice. Are we going to try to let him beat us? No. But him leading off an inning, are we going to walk him every time and possibly start a rally? I don't think so, either."
That said, the Phillies are aware of the danger Ramirez brings to the Dodgers' lineup. In LA's sweep of the Cubs last week, he hit .500 with two home runs and three RBI.
"We can't let one guy beat us. That's Manny," said Romero. "He's the key guy.
"He played for Boston. He played for great teams. He played for Cleveland. The guy is a stud, period."
Now, stopping him is the Phillies' problem. *
For more Phillies coverage and opinion, read David Murphy's blog, High Cheese, at http://go.philly.com/highcheese
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