Hanley Ramirez—starting at third base, for now, a day after being acquired by the Los Angeles Dodgers from the Miami Marlins' newest fire sale—took a loss in his first game with the Dodgers, but on a personal level the game has to be considered a success for the once and, according to SI.com, probably future shortstop: Ramirez went 2-4 with a triple, the kind of night that's necessary to rehabilitate the reputation of a star who just got treated to a salary dump before he turned 30.
The St. Louis Cardinals, with help from 2002 alum Jamey Wright and their own shortstop, Rafael Furcal, beat the Dodgers anyway. But this is the kind of move that could resonate for the rest of the season, and the early returns, at least, show that Hanley Ramirez could still be the player who competed for MVP awards back when they were called the Florida Marlins.
For more updates on the Cardinals-Dodgers series, which carries postseason implications for both teams, stay tuned to our storystream, where we'll only be a little sad that the Cardinals weren't able to put a package together for Hanley Ramirez.