Waht to do with Aramis Ramirez? After a miserable first 2 months of the season people wanted him run out of town on a rail. What do the Cubs do now? He has an option for 2007 and with all the holes elsewhere on this squad, I think that they'll have to pay the piper and bring him back with a hefty extension, unless he wants to leave and play elsewhere.

The cbssportsline.com player rankings, which change daily have him now ranked as the #3 3rd baseman in all of baseball. The rankings are a total player-rating system based on various offensive and defensive statistics. Players increase their scores with every contribution they make to the game-batting, slugging, baserunning and defense. Batters are also penalized for games missed and he has played in 148 games this year, the most of any 3rd baseman. He still might hit .300 and has 35 hrs and 110 RBI with 12 games to go.

He might not be a rah rah guy, or a Mr. Hustle but he is a consistent producer and how do you replace those numbers?

You do not replace those numbers--- the need to do what the Mets did---sign him for the duration

How do you replace someone who hits .220 with no run production when the season matters?

How do you replace someone who desides to turn it up 2 months to late?

Baseball is a marathon not a sprint

Yeah the season was hopeless anyways but some production early would have been nice

Obviously the Cubs have to keep him, given their overall lack of talent.

I'm not so sure how I feel about "doing it when it matters." Should the Yankees get rid of A-Rod because early in the season he struggled while the Red Sox were ahead? The difference is that the Yanks had so many other good players they were able to catch up and get ahead without A-Rod playing well. Since the Yanks got ahead, he has been playing better, but since they were already ahead you can't say he played well when it mattered. I'm sure they aren't going to bench him for the playoffs because he wasn't "playing well when it mattered" earlier in the year.

Baseball has always had players who had good starts some years, bad starts other years and that's just the way it goes. In this case, Ramirez would have had to play like Babe Ruth, A-Rod and a few others all at once to carry the Cubs. They were bad with or without Ramirez playing well. Keep in mind Ramirez had no protection whatsoever in the lineup and if I was managing another team, he would have never seen a pitch to hit and probably didn't. I can't figure out why these teams lately who are fighting for a playoff spot (Reds, Braves, Dodgers and now the Phillies) are letting him beat them.
JMO