Said Martin, who has hit third in the batting order the last three games: "I'm sure I'm going to be getting more fastballs."
Although it seemed as if Ramirez saw his share of choice pitches during a weekend in which he went eight for 13, Manager Joe Torre said the slugger exhibited tremendous patience.
"He's fouling off a lot of the pitcher's pitches," Torre said. "That's the sign of a good hitter. Until you get that one that you can center cut, you basically fight your way in an at-bat, and that's what he's doing."
With 22 homers in 103 games this season, Ramirez gives the Dodgers the kind of power threat they haven't had since Adrian Beltre hit 48 homers in 2004.
"I don't think it's the home run; it's the threat of hitting the home run," Torre said. "It's going to put the opposing pitcher on notice that you're going to have to work hard to get through this."
Torre doesn't appear to be too worried about Ramirez cutting his hair, saying "I'm not really concerned at this point."
That should come as a big relief to Dodgers merchandising officials, who, in addition to the dreadlocks are readying blue skullcaps and helmets with dreadlocks descending from the bottom for the next homestand.
From his hair to the salsa music he's played on an iPod in the clubhouse, Ramirez has infused a unique sense of style into his teammates.
"He's kind of brought a new life to our team, it seems like," Martin said.
"Everybody on the bench is looser and having more fun. . . . It's fun coming to the ballpark just knowing that your team's better."
--
ben.bolch@latimes.com
--
Begin text of infobox
Ramirez factor
How Manny Ramirez fared in his three games with the Dodgers:
*--* DATE VS. AB R H HR RBI BB SO AVG Aug. 1 Arizona 4 0 2 0 0 0 0 500 Aug. 2 Arizona 4 2 2 1 2 0 1 500 Aug. 3 Arizona 5 2 4 1 3 0 1 615 TOTALS -- 13 4 8 2 5 0 2 615 *--*
----
Winning presence
The Dodgers are 2-1 with Manny Ramirez starting in the outfield. How have they fared with their other outfielders? A look:
*--* PLAYER GS Team Rec. Pct. Andruw Jones 54 31-23 574 Matt Kemp 97 50-47 515 Andre Ethier 88 43-45 489 Juan Pierre 75 36-39 480 Delwyn Young 19 6-13 316 *--*
Source: Los Angeles Times
