There's bad blood in the Florida Marlins clubhouse, and it couldn't be between two worse people if the team wants to continue its dark horse run at a playoff spot. Hanley Ramirez and Dan Uggla got into a shouting match in front of reporters on Wednesday afternoon, forcing the Marlins to have a team meeting and close the clubhouse. At issue was the way Ramirez asked out of Tuesday night's game because of a hamstring injury. He was talking to reporters, telling them he felt "10 percent" healthy, but said he was planning to take the field against the Braves on Wednesday because of the way his teammates reacted to what happened the night before.
Uggla overheard what Ramirez was saying and that's when the fur started flying.
The final barbs centered on Uggla's assertion that Ramirez asked out of the game so that he'd be able to remain the National League's leading hitter.
"If you really wanted to win you would have never come out of the game," Uggla said. "Stand pat."There was more, helpfully transcribed by the Sun-Sentinel's Juan C. Rodriguez, but that's enough to get the general gist of the thing.
Ramirez: "Yeah, I'm 0 for 14. They think that's why. I'm still hitting .355. It's unbelievable. And arbitration, I've got arbitration next year so I have to sit on my numbers."
Uggla: "Yeah, you got your $70 million, so f------ win. What the f--- you have to come out of the game for?"
"I don't show nobody up on the field. You showed me up on the field! I never do that to nobody," Ramirez said, shouting now.
That's when [Marlins manager Fredi] Gonzalez intervened and asked the media to leave.
On the surface of things, it's hard to understand Uggla's stance. Ramirez has missed four games this season and has only missed 21 games over the last three seasons combined. That doesn't mean he's the sweetest guy on Earth or that he's going to get a "World's Greatest Teammate" mug in his Christmas stocking, but it doesn't really add up to someone who is eager to look for a way out of the lineup when he's feeling the slightest twinge.
Furthermore, if Uggla is sincere about his desire to win games, it behooves him and the rest of the Marlins to play without Ramirez for the final four innings of a game following a rain delay if it means getting him back in the lineup the next day. Ramirez, who wound up being scratched from the lineup, is the sole offensive reason why the Marlins aren't already mathematically eliminated and risking a further injury at this point in the season hurts the team a lot more than it hurts Ramirez.
Now there may be more than meets the eye to Ramirez's relationship with the rest of the Marlins, but, again, the superficial take is that Uggla picked the wrong battle to fight. And even if he's speaking for other members of the clubhouse, it's not hard to guess whose side the Marlins will take if push comes to shove.
Terrible Teammates
Hanley Ramirez, left, and Dan Uggla got into a shouting match in front of reporters on Wednesday afternoon, forcing the Marlins to have a team meeting and close the clubhouse. Click through to see teammate feuds in sports history.
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