October 15th, 2013 at 6:00 am 
by Ron Cervenka While it has been generally accepted by all that Cardinals right-hander Joe Kelly did not intentionally hit Dodgers shortstop Hanley Ramirez in the ribs with his 95 MPH fastball in the first inning of Game-1 of the National League Championship Series last Friday night, it’s probably safe to say that the Cardinals weren’t too terribly upset by it – after all, Ramirez is the best hitter on the team and, hey, it’s all part of the game, right? But unfortunately for the Dodgers, Kelly not only took Ramirez out of the game, it was beginning to look as though he may have taken him out of the entire series.
When word reached the Cardinals clubhouse prior to Game-3 of the series at Dodger Stadium on Monday afternoon that Kelly’s errant pitch had fractured one of Ramirez’s ribs, the Cardinals probably assumed that Ramirez was lost for the series. Imagine the shock on their faces when they saw Ramirez’s name in the number three hole of the Dodgers lineup – broken rib and all.
Hanley Ramirez was not only in the Dodgers starting lineup on Monday night, he was also in the Cardinals’ heads. (Photo credit – Jon SooHoo)
The guy who was undoubtedly most affected by this news was Cardinals starting pitcher Adam Wainwright, the very best that the Cardinals have and their staff ace. And though you will never get Wainwright to admit it, Ramirez’s presence in the lineup had to have gotten into his head and into the heads of his teammates – especially after Ramirez went 2 for 4 on the night and drove in a huge insurance run in the bottom of the 8th inning.
But wait, there’s more!
Not only was Ramirez back in the Dodgers starting lineup on Monday evening, so too was Dodgers center fielder Andre Ethier. And though Ethier went hitless in his 4 at bats in Game-3, he has had tremendous success against Wainwright in the past, which also had to be in Wainwright’s head.
And then there’s Yasiel Puig.
Although Puig entered Monday night’s game 0 for 10 in the NLCS with six strikeouts, which promptly became seven when he was called out on a third strike that was clearly below his knees, he ended the night going 2 for 3 with a triple that missed going out by mere inches. It also drove in the Dodgers second run of the night in the eventual 3-0 win over the Cards.
Not only must the Cardinals contend with Ramirez and Ethier back in the Dodgers lineup (and in their heads), the also have to contend with the sleeping giant (Puig) that they seemed to have awakened.
The point to all of this is that even though the Cardinals entered play on Monday night up two games to none in the NLCS, the Dodgers beat their best starter, which has to affect their confidence – and that is a very big thing.
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As you know I have little tolerance for some of the unwritten rules to the game as they add nothing to the game itself. However,I must admit when they are broken (only in the minds of the opponents of course) they are much more beneficial to a team than if the team adhered to them every second of the game. Breaking them then becomes a good thing. Huh!
I would like to have been a mouse in the corner or fly on the wall (John Jay doesn’t like flies at all) when the Cardinals saw the lineup with Hanley and Andre in it, then found out Hanley had on a football flak jacket to protect his ribs. Another huh!
But back to the written rules. It seems the Cardinals got a bit irritated with Adrian and Yasiel celebrating their significant hits. Well, more than a little although Beltran spoke like a pro regarding Yasiel’s celebration. Grow up Cardinals – pitchers celebrate all the time with fist pumps, jumps, stomping off the mound, arm flails, etc. Throwing the dang ball is a lot easier than hitting it.
Now the boys in red, and they are boys if that upset them, have other stuff in their heads. That is, those guys showed us up and we have to get them but it’s the playoffs. How come baseball players are expected to act like mummies, remain expressionless and mute? Don’t know but celebrate all the more if it ticks off the Cardinals. Let them play the game in their heads.
Great point. The unwritten rules are being tested because baseball is a world sport with different types of play from different points of the world. The “legitimate” way of playing is coming up against the international success of the sport. You toss all of these great international players together and you are going to get some interesting confrontations but you are also going to get what you had last night. Dominican Hanley Ramirez playing with a flack jacket to protect his broken rib to play for LA and its fans, stoic Korean Ryu pitching the game of his life to potentially change the momentum of this series, and my fabulous Cuban Puig who was so happy he finally connected with the ball that he did stood dumbfounded until unleashing his classic bat flip followed by his race around the bases. I wish someone would time him running from first to third because it could have been one of the fastest sprints ever to arrive standing up at third. Toss in Brian Wilson from Mars and you have a perfect example of an international stew of different styles that came together to produce a great win.
BTW. Loved Wainwright’s “Mickey Mouse” comment about Gonzalez when he arrived at second. Best evidence yet that the Dodgers are getting under their skin. Momentum has definitely changed.
Adrian always does that explosion thing with his hands every time he gets a hit. He was more demonstrative this time, but it wasn’t directed at the Cardinals. I felt it was directed at his teammates. That double broke a 22 inning scoreless streak so there was a lot of emotion behind it and Adrian was trying to urge his teammates to keep it going and do more. Wainwright should grow up. If he doesn’t like opposing player celebrating then get them out.
The Cardinals know they have one of the worst team batting averages in NLCS history right now, and so, with the pressure mounting, they turn to criticize the success of their opponents. It’s what one does when they realize their winning 2-1 record doesn’t indicate exactly how poorly they have played so far.
What’s even more obvious however, is the choke job the Cardinals are displaying on defense right now. It’s almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy for them… and they’re looking to the not-so-distant past with the painful realization that history has a tenancy to repeat itself when pressing for winning results. They know the Dodgers have superior pitching and can feel the momentum swing that just sucked the air out of their lungs.
This is not the time to let up. Keep the pressure on them and the Dodgers can send it back to St. Louis, up 3-2.
It’s tough having both Ramirez and Ethier not up to 100% but if they, as you say Ron, are “in their heads” that probably makes up the difference. Whatever, the two most important things are first we won the game and second we beat beat Wainwright and won’t have to worry about him for a few games.