At this point, you could almost call this mercy.
Chicago Cubs third baseman Aramis Ramirez has been dealing with a bruise of his left thumb, though he claims it is not affecting his performance. He had x-rays yesterday, and although they came back clean, he’s still going to sit for a few days.
X-rays of Aramis Ramirez’s left hand were negative Sunday, but the Cubs’ third baseman will sit for the next few days to give him time to heal and also a chance to work on his hitting.
Ramirez, who is scuffling at .160, did not play Sunday in the Cubs’ Interleague series finale against the Rangers, which they won, 5-4. He has a bruise and mild sprain of his left thumb. The problem is at the base of the thumb.
“We’re going to give him a little time off,” Cubs manager Lou Piniella said after Sunday’s win. “He’s struggled at home plate. We need to give him some time. Sometimes time heals wounds. You work and you work and sometimes it’s better to get away from it totally and just relax.”
However, Ramirez’s thumb is not bad enough to prompt the Cubs to put him on the disabled list.
“According to what the trainer has told me numerous times, it’s just a bone bruise,” Piniella said. cubs.com.
Ramirez has been out of the lineup several days already in the past week, and with today’s off-day, that’s a lot of time off. So far, it hasn’t helped.
As for Ramirez being out of the lineup, the Cubs will play Mike Fontenot and Jeff Baker in his absence, and will get more offensive production of the position than they’ve been getting from Ramirez. Which is sad.