This isn't locked yet, so I'll take the opportunity to reply. I am not blaming it all on Ramos, not at all. Of course the pitcher can and should shake off pitches he doesn't like. But a young, inexperienced pitcher like Zimmermann is far less apt to do so than a veteran. And I'd agree his rehab games don't count, but they were so unbelievable in both AA and AAA, with an ERA of under 1 for several games, that does count for something. GCL game? I'd agree. AAA? It counts, if not fully, it still counts when you are as dominant as he was.
And my key point was Zimmermann was what we expected his second and third MLB starts. With Pudge. Good to great. Then he's as bad as it gets last Sunday and yesterday. With Ramos, a young catcher working with a young pitcher, neither that familiar with each other, and with Zimmermann likely not shaking off pitches as much as he should. The blame lies entirely with Zimmermann, I'm not arguing that. He threw the ball, he gave up the home runs, he didn't shake off the pitches. But I just want to stop the talk that Zimmermann is a failure, has lost it, whatever. You take away the two Ramos starts and he's as good as we hoped. That's more than a coincidence. So I believe Ramos is likely the reason Zimmermann was as bad as he was, although the fault remains squarely on Zimmermanns shoulders.
