Terry Francona doesn\'t believe Jose Ramirez\'s struggles were the reason why the Cleveland Indians were eliminated at the hands of the Houston Astros last week.
\"When you win, you\'re smart, and when you lose, you\'re dumb,\" he said. \"That\'s kind of the way it is. You have one chance to do it, so you do it to the best of your ability and you have the confidence to come answer the questions and move on. But also move on trying to learn from what you didn\'t do good enough.\"
The Astros outscored the Indians 21-6 in a three-game sweep. Francona got defensive when asked about Ramirez, who began slumping towards the end of the regular season.
\"He got himself into a predicament and he couldn\'t get himself out of it,\" Francona said. \"It\'s hard to figure out, because a guy can be that good, that dominant and then he just couldn\'t get ... he kept peeling off balls even when he got pitches to hit. He kind of peeled off and he knew it and he watched video and he just couldn\'t get the feeling of staying through the ball.\"
Ramirez hit .167 after August 19 and went hitless in 11 postseason at-bats.
\"What do you mean it killed us? \" Francona snapped at a reporter. \"We won the division by 15 games.\"
Via Associated Press