As Marlins’ manager search continues, Ramirez says he wished fired Gonzalez well

Ramirez on Gonzalez: ‘Everybody will miss him’

MIAMI — As the Florida Marlins’ search for a manager continued Sunday, Hanley Ramirez wanted to clear the air about his relationship with the team’s former skipper.

Yes, he and Fredi Gonzalez clashed at times, something that was no secret.

But the All-Star shortstop insists he wasn’t thrilled to see Gonzalez fired last week.

“Everybody will miss him,” Ramirez said Sunday at his locker before the Marlins played the San Diego Padres. “But at the same time, you’ve got to forget and move forward. A lot of people put it on me. I don’t know why. It had nothing to do with me. Things that should have happened, happened. That’s it.”

Ramirez was benched in May by Gonzalez after the shortstop’s lazy chase of a misplayed popup allowed the Arizona Diamondbacks to score two runs. Ramirez defended the play the next day, and said Gonzalez “doesn’t understand” because “he never played in the major leagues.”

Only after a series of clubhouse apologies was Ramirez allowed back into the lineup, and when Gonzalez was dismissed Wednesday, there was speculation that the shortstop could have played a role in the move. Ramirez strongly denied Sunday that was the case.

“Our relationship was good after that,” Ramirez said. “Everything was good.”

Ramirez said he and Gonzalez exchanged pleasant words after the firing was announced, denying reports that he celebrated Gonzalez’s departure.

“He told me to just keep playing hard and keep doing your thing,” Ramirez said. “We’re going to see him soon. He’s a good manager.”

It’s still a delicate time for the fourth-place Marlins, who were playing Sunday for the fifth time under interim manager Edwin Rodriguez, who will accompany the team to San Juan for a three-game series there starting Monday against the New York Mets and expects to keep filling out the lineup cards for those games.

“My priority is being the manager and finding a way to help this team get in the race,” Rodriguez said. “That’s number one.”

The Marlins acknowledged interest last week in Bobby Valentine, though those talks have slowed. Florida officials also interviewed Arizona third-base coach Bo Porter on Friday.

SI.com reported Sunday that Valentine was no longer a candidate for the job. In his role as an analyst on ESPN, Valentine said the sides remain “right in the middle of the process.”

“We’re taking it day by day,” Marlins president of baseball operations Larry Beinfest said Sunday.

Valentine has talked with the Marlins at least twice, though it remains unknown when the next meeting will occur. He’s not expected to be in San Juan during the series against the Mets, his most recent major-league club.

“I’m not hopeful one way or another,” Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria said when asked about a hiring timeframe. “We have to do what we have to do and it’s a process. Right now Edwin is the manager. We’ll see what happens.”

It was a rare pregame clubhouse appearance for Loria. Around the same time Ramirez was speaking, Loria emerged in the same corner as his shortstop and expressed his frustration with what he believes is unnecessarily negative media reports about the club, its expectations and the managerial search.

“It’s fair to do whatever you think is constructive,” Loria said, showing a level of emotion he typically doesn’t display when talking with reporters. “But it’s not fair to do destructive criticism. I can take anything.”