Farewell Mr. Ramirez

I knew this day would come. I actually thought it would happen in 2006. It finally happened, Aramis Ramirez is no longer a Chicago Cub.  He has signed a 3-year deal with the MilwaukeeBrewers for a reported $35 mil. He was by far the best third baseman the Cubs have had since Ron Santo last played in 1973.  Ramirez arrived as a mid season acquisition from the Pittsburg Pirates for the 2003 playoff push with Kenny Lofton for Bobby Hill and Jose Hernandez. He solidified the middle of the lineup ever since.  He was only an All Star twice in his tenure as a Cubs but that should not of been the case. In 2004 he batted .318, with 36 Home Runs and 103 RBI’s and was 10th in the MVP voting yet was snubbed from the All Star Game.  He was a great Cubs player and he will be missed.  So here is a look back at my top ten favorite A-Ram Moments since 2003.

10.  Sept 18th 2006:  The 2006 season for the Cubs was as pretty awful as one season could get. It would be the last of the Dusty Baker tenure as manager and it was the last time Mark Prior ever pitched in the Major Leagues. The one bright spot of the season was watching Aramis Ramirez. He was in a contract year and looked like he was playing for the big pay day. Here on a September evening in Philadelphia he went bananas. 4-5, 2 Home runs and 7 RBI’s in a Cubs 11-6 win.

9. He Re-signs with the Cubs for a “discount”.  After that abysmal 2006 season the Cubs reloaded. They signed Alfonso Soriano to a huge deal and brought in proven winning Manager Lou Piniella. They also re-signed Ramirez to a 6-year $73 mil contract that had options for the last 2 years.  People said that he could have got “Soriano” money from other teams, but he decided to stay a Cub to try to bring a championship to the North Side.  Did not happen but it was nice of him to try.

8. April 23^rd 2008: The first of 3 from 2008.  Down 4-5 in the top of the 9^th inning, Ramirez hit a 2 run go ahead jack off then Rockies Closer Manny Corpas to cap off a 3 RBI day. Kerry Wood ended up blowing the save for the Cubs in the bottom of the 9^th and then who else but Ryan Theriot hit the game winning single in the 10^th.

7. August 28^th 2008: In the 2^nd of the 2008 games. In the Bottom of the 8^th inning down by 2 to the eventual World Series Champions Phillies, Aramis hit a Grand Slam to give the Cubs the lead. They would hold on to win 6-4.

6. May 17^th 2010: Tied at 2-2 in the Bottom of the 11^th Ramirez blasted his 5^th walk off of his career. 2010 was a very tough year for Aramis and the Cubs. Aramis started out to a terrible start and this was his only home run in the Month of May.  The season was still young at this point at least.

5. October 5^th 2003, Game 5 NLDS: The Cubs had not won a playoff series since 1908 before 2003. Game 5 of 2003 NLDS against the Atlanta Braves could be history. The Cubs gave the ball to Kerry Wood to get the job done. Ramirez hit a 2 run homer in the 6^th inning to give the Cubs a 4 run lead and they would cash it in for a 5-1 win over the Braves and send them to the NLCS for the first time since 1989.

4. April 18^th 2009: Season is very young. The Cubs are favored to win the division and are playing an early series against bitter rivals St. Louis Cardinals.  The game is tied at 5 in the bottom of the 11^th. Aramis is up sporting an 0-5. He says he has never gone 0-6. He hit a walk off 2 run homer off Dennys Reyes to send the Wrigley faithful home happy.

3. June 20^th 2008: the first game of the Cubs/White Sox rivalry. It is a tie game and Aramis hit a walk off home-run (his 2^nd of the game). The Cubs sweep the series and Ramirez goes 6-13 with 4 HR’s, 8 RBI’s and 4 Runs scored.

2. June 29^th 2007: The Cubs and the Milwaukee Brewers battled for the NL Central all year and this game is what most look to as the turning point for the Cubs season. Down 5-3 in the bottom of the 9^th they rallied. Soriano and Fontenot both get on. Derrek Lee hit a Sac Fly to score Soriano and with 2 outs Aramis came to the plate as the winning run. He hit the first pitch he saw into the bleachers and the Cube won the game. Everyone started to believe that this team had a chance after this.

1. October 11^th 2003, Game 4 NLCS: The cubs have a 2-1 lead in the NLCS. Ramirez hits a grand slam in the first inning and hits another solo shot in the 7^th to help the cubs to an 8-3 victory and a commanding 3-1 lead in the series. We all know how it ended up but with no fault to the post season Ramirez had.

So long Aramis. You were my favorite Cubs player for the past 8 years. I will not be burning your jersey or setting a couch on fire while I yell things at it.

I understand why you are not a Cub anymore. You wanted a multi year deal and the Cubs only wanted to give you one. I just hope you don’t completely demolish the Cubs when you play them 20+ times next year.