{"id":1111,"date":"2010-09-28T09:26:33","date_gmt":"2010-09-28T14:26:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/?p=1111"},"modified":"2010-09-28T09:26:33","modified_gmt":"2010-09-28T14:26:33","slug":"alexei-ramirez-set-to-win-first-silver-slugger-award","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/thegoldensombrero.com\/wordpress\/archives\/1111","title":{"rendered":"Alexei Ramirez set to win first Silver Slugger Award"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>What started off as a slow season for the Chicago White Sox<\/strong> shortstop, Alexei Ramirez<\/strong>, now seems destined to end on a much more encouraging note.\u00a0 Last week, after writing an article on why the White Sox were still worth watching<\/a> despite being eliminated from the postseason, I realized that I had made a crucial and regrettable omission.<\/p>\n

Perhaps I\u2019ve seen a few too many Troy Tulowitzki<\/strong> highlights over the past month, or maybe I\u2019ve just come to expect Derek Jeter to annually churn out MVP-like seasons.\u00a0 But I had no idea that the production among this year\u2019s American League shortstops was so low.\u00a0 Needless to say, it was an unexpected surprise to learn that Alexei Ramirez is having the best offensive season among A.L. shortstops and seems likely to win his first Silver Slugger Award<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Ramirez, who is also not too shabby<\/a> with the glove, is arguably having the best season of any shortstop in the American League.\u00a0 And with Derek Jeter having what many consider to be a \u201cdown year,\u201d a door has opened for someone to dethrone the award\u2019s reigning recipient since 2006.<\/p>\n

With less than a week left in the regular season, Ramirez places in the top-five of nine, <\/em>different <\/em>offensive categories among American League shortstops:<\/p>\n