Without a turnaround, Ramirez risks losing playing time

As the regular season heads into the final turn – there are exactly five weeks to go on Sunday – it’s worth asking the question: whither Hanley Ramirez?

Ramirez was conspicuous by his absence from the Red Sox lineup Friday as the Red Sox began a series with the Baltimore Orioles. With Mitch Moreland at first – as he typically is against lefty starters  - John Farrell chose to go with Chris Young as the DH, with Ramirez sitting.

In an example of reverse splits, Young has hit righthanders (.267, six homers) than he has lefties (.205, one homer), but the fact that Young is playing over Ramirez, period, is eye-opening.

Then again, Ramirez has done little to warrant playing time of late. In the final two games of the recent series in Cleveland, he was 0-for-8 with six strikeouts and five baserunners stranded.  And while he occasionally flashes power – he homered Monday on a long shot to left – Ramirez has been largely ineffectual in the second half.

Since the All-Star break, Ramirez sports a slash line of .214/.299/.397, and lately, he’s been partial to taking almost cartoonish swings, enough so that his helmet is often sent flying.

“The puzzling thing for me,’’ said Farrell, “(is the inability to take)  BP into the game…All of a sudden, there’s the impetus or maybe the urge to try to do more. Then you’re not as fluid and you don’t repeat the swing consistently.’’

Lately, there’s also been the maddening habit of Ramirez attempting to pull everything when he would be better suited driving the ball from gap to gap.

“Hanley might fight the thought that, when he’s at his best, he’s driving the ball to right-center field,’’ said Farrell. “That’s when he’s got his best plate coverage, that’s when his swing at his optimum.  But I think there’s a ramp up of effort that has caused him to miss pitches around the plate.’’

There’s also the suggestion that Ramirez is starting his swing earlier, to help compensate for his chronic shoulders, which have limited him somewhat this season.

But whatever the cause, it’s undeniable that Ramirez should have far more than 49 RBI with September a week away. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting a lowly .195.

For now, Ramirez can continue to claim some playing time at first base against lefties while still getting occasional at-bats at DH. But when Dustin Pedroia returns to the active roster – perhaps in time for the next homestand – Ramirez could find himself squeezed out further.

The Sox need to find a way to get Eduardo Nunez into the lineup nearly every day, and even if Pedroia’s defensive exposure must be limited to protect his left knee, he could DH while Nunez continues to fill in at second.

Where that leaves Ramirez for the final month or so is an open question. But until he begins to break out of his second-half funk, he remains a virtual spare part in the lineup rather than a vital piece.