By Jim Callis
August 19, 2003

Since Mark Grudzielanek broke his right hand when he was hit by a pitch on Aug. 2, the Cubs have spackled their hole at second base with Ramon Martinez and Augie Ojeda. On Tuesday, they brought in another option by picking up Tony Womack from the Rockies for Double-A righthander Enmanuel Ramirez.

It's a curious move at best. Martinez is a better hitter and fielder than Womack, who doesn't stand out except as a runner. Even so, the three-time National League stolen-base champ has just 11 steals in 15 attempts over 82 games this year.

Womack, 34, was traded on July 18 by the Diamondbacks for minor league righthander Mike Watson. Womack is having his worst season as a big leaguer, hitting .225-2-20 in 82 games with awful on-base (.252) and slugging (.305) percentages. He sprained his right knee and missed three weeks earlier this year. In 1,001 big league games, he has batted .270-30-308. Womack is making $6 million this year, all of the minimum of which is paid by Arizona, and will be a free agent afterward.

Ramirez had his real name and birthdate discovered in the offseason. Formerly known as Pedro Olivero, he had 28 months added to his age. Signed out of the Dominican Republic in 1999, he's now 23. He has good size (6-foot-3), a low- to mid-90s fastball and an improving slider. He projects as a reliever and needs to firm up his breaking ball and command. Ramirez has had a good year between high Class A Daytona and West Tenn, going 5-1, 2.36 in 33 appearances. He has a 47-26 K-BB ratio in 46 innings, and opponents are batting .216 with no homers against him.