Ramirez stumbling on offense: For the first time this season, White Sox shortstop Alexei Ramirez was not in the starting lineup during Sunday's series finale against Kansas City. And it may have come at the right time for the slumping 30-year-old. Ramirez has collected just five hits over his past eight games and is carrying a lowly .184 batting average during the month of May. Overall, he is hitting just .199 and his average has not topped .300 this season. (Updated 05/14/2012)
Injury Report
No information available at this time (Updated 5/23/12).
Fantasy Analysis
Ramirez has normally been a fine starter at the beginning of a new season, but 2012 has been unkind to the infielder thus far. In the past three seasons, Ramirez has posted a .277 batting average before the All-Star break while recording 28 homers and 115 RBI in that span. The month of May has usually been his best month (.294 average), so if he's unable to turn it around, Fantasy owners should start looking for other options. (Updated 05/14/2012).
05/20/2012 19:47 Hit Parade for Week 8
Some catchers have been bitten by the injury bug in recent days, leaving some owners scrambling. Our Scott White shares some recommendations and helps set your lineups for Week 8 in his Hit Parade.
05/19/2012 22:25 Danks, White Sox get past Cubs
John Danks pitched shutout ball into the seventh for his first win in nearly a month and Dayan Viciedo, A.J. Pierzynski and Adam Dunn homered as the Chicago White Sox beat the Cubs 7-4 on Saturday night.
05/18/2012 15:12 Paul Konerko leaves game after being hit in face by pitch
White Sox first baseman Paul Konerko left Friday's game at Wrigley Field after being hit in the face by a pitch from Jeff Samardzija in the third inning.
05/17/2012 19:35 ChiSox's Sale delivers to help foil Angels
Chris Sale pitched effectively into the sixth inning, giving Chicago's rotation a much-needed solid outing, and the White Sox capitalized on some shoddy defense by the Los Angeles Angels for a 6-1 victory Thursday.
05/15/2012 18:15 Tigers win with 8-run sixth inning
Miguel Cabrera, Ryan Raburn and Austin Jackson homered during an eight-run rally in the sixth inning Tuesday and the Detroit Tigers beat the Chicago White Sox 10-8.
Alexei Ramirez hit .290 with 21 homers as a rookie in 2008 and has been trying to live up to those numbers ever since. The closest he came was in 2010, when he hit .282 with 18 homers -- and even that wasn't enough to satisfy most Fantasy owners considering his mediocre .744 OPS and miserable .313 on-base percentage that same year. At age 30, Ramirez's upside has presumably expired, and the hype on him has mercifully died down. He's anything but useless in Fantasy, having averaged 17.3 homers and 11.8 steals during his four big-league seasons, but by now, most Fantasy owners realize that he's more of a keep-your-head-above-water shortstop than a legitimate difference-maker at the position. With Asdrubal Cabrera, Emilio Bonifacio, J.J. Hardy and Erick Aybar all breaking through as relevant Fantasy options last year, Ramirez has slipped enough in the rankings that he'll likely be one of the last starting-caliber shortstops selected in mixed leagues. In leagues that use middle infield spots, he'll still go off the board in the middle rounds -- not every shortstop can hit for power, after all -- but you wouldn't want to reach for him. These days, he's more Yunel Escobar than Starlin Castro. (Updated 1/11/12)
Actual 
AccuScore Projections) Note: Points are rounded down.
