HanRam Hitting The Weights

Tim Kurkjian reports that Hanley Ramirez has put on 25 pounds of muscle in hopes to bat 3rd this season for the Marlins.

Judging by some pictures, I'd say he's telling the truth:


The new strong 225 lb Hanley on the left, and the old weak hitting 200 lb Hanley on the right

Like I said, his reasoning behind the muscle gain is to bat 3rd:

As good as Ramirez is, he wants to get better, and wants to get the Marlins to the playoffs. So he announced this spring that he wanted to hit third in the order, not leadoff, to drive in more runs.

"I want to drive in more runs, and help our team win,'' Ramirez said. "I've got to change my approach. Me, Uggla and [third baseman Jorge] Cantu, we've got to drive in more runs.''

It's all about creating runs, not necessarily driving them in. It's not a bad thing for Hanley to put on muscle as I don't doubt it will make Hanley a stronger hitter, but more RBI do not equal more wins. If Hanley, Uggla, and Cantu bat 3/4/5 needing to drive in more runs like Hanley says, who will bat in front of them? When Hanley bats first the Marlins best hitter gets the most plate appearances, if Hanley bats 3rd and say Cameron Maybin bats 1st, I don't think it will help the Marlins, even if Hanley sets a career high in RBI. In a perfect world Hanley could bat 3rd with a competent hitters ahead of him leading off and in the 2 hole, but so far it doesn't look like the Marlins roster merits that change.