There's a big story going around about Colby Rasmus not happy with his playing time.
Colby Rasmus wants out of St. Louis.
The press wants to know Colby Rasmus' thoughts.
"Hey Albert Pujols, what's YOUR take on Colby Rasmus?"
I even had a reader write me and say, I am quoting you dear reader... "You MUST have an opinion of Colby Rasmus!"
Um yeah. He's an OK outfielder with 2 years experience. He had a nice first month and a half this year but his stats are nothing special.
And I guess he wants to play every day. OK, hit more. This isn't Matt Holliday or Yadier Molina making a stink. It's a player who is OK and will probably end up a 4th outfielder.
STOP THE PRESSES! We've got to make sure HE'S happy!
Are we going to devote MLB Tonight time to Felix Pie next?
Hit more? Amongst CF his .843 OPS is second in the league behind only Carlos Gonzalez and he is tied for sixth with 19 homers, even though he has 100 or more less at bats than ANYONE in front of him.
ReplyDeleteHis 2.4 WAR is only a little better than Felix Pie's .1.
Edge goes to Pie, He Has a funnier last name.
ReplyDeleteI guess that is all I need to know about WAR that they can convince people that Colby Rasmus is somehow an elite player.
ReplyDeleteEither way, wake me when Colby Rasmus actually accomplishes something
He has soundly outperformed the Red Sox whole outfield this season.
ReplyDeleteCan you say J.D. Drew??
ReplyDeleteLots of talent to go along with lots of injuries and attitude
Google brought me here. You are missing the boat. Do you realize that what Colby has done as a 23 year old CF is unheard of. Only a handful of 23 year old CFs have put up comparable numbers in the past 30 years: Sizemore, Andruw Jones, Griffey (way better), Ellis Burks. Rasmus is the second best offensive player on the Cards and if the Cards foolishly gave him away, the rest of MLB would be ecstatic
ReplyDeleteFine... when he puts up those kind of numbers then he can mouth off about how his Hall of Fame manager isn't using him right.
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of great prospects who turn into Alex Achoas
There are a lot of "Next great stars" who turn into Alex Gordon.
Earn the right to make demands.
He's a nice player.
Colby reminds me of the story of what Marlon Brando said to Val Kilmer on the set of "Island of Dr. Moreau."
Brando saw what a diva Kilmer was being and said "You are good enough to be this big an asshole."
Colby isn't good enough to be this big an asshole... and Pujols, who IS good enough, called him out
He HAS put up those kinds of numbers. He is doing it RIGHT NOW, while you are watching. .865 OPS as a 23 year old CF. Never did Ochoa or Gordon put up anywhere close to the numbers that Rasmus is doing in the majors now. The only example of someone doing what Rasmus is doing right now who didn't continue to grow into a superstar is Ben Grieve - and he's notable because it's such an anomaly.
ReplyDeleteOh, and by the way, he's also an elite fielding CF.
Factor in his age, salary, offensive and defensive prowess, and he's one of the most 20 valuable players in baseball right now. Certainly more than "ok" as you claim, and a hell of a lot better than "4th outfielder"
Additionally, he's a human. Like every other human, if he doesn't like his situation, he's got every right to ask for a change. If LaRussa doesn't like him, or doesn't play him enough, he's got every right to tell management he wants a change. It's not like he went to the press with this.
Two years in the bigs and a guy gets to mouth off about his playing time.
ReplyDeleteHe could be a big star eventually.
He could be Angel Berroa, Jody Gerut, Eric Hinske, Bobby Crosby, Marty Cordova, Jerome Walton, Ross Gload, Josh Willingham... etc etc etc. Guys who started off great and kinda tailed off.
Colby Rasmus is a nice player.
He has 2 more big league seasons than Barbara Bush. How's about accomplish something and show you are a consistent big leaguer before you act like the world owes you something.
That's what punks do.
So far he has shown me he is a pretty good player who has less maturity than my 5 year old boys.
Sorry.
My point stands. He's the Val Kilmer in this situation.
"he's one of the most 20 valuable players in baseball right now"
ReplyDeleteYou've inspired an upcoming blog post about how we can twist numbers
WE ARE LIVING IN THE COLBY RASMUS ERA!!!!
or you could just ignore progression in statistical analysis and arbitrarily value players on "heart", "moxie", "attitude", and RBIs.
ReplyDeleteHave fun being in 1988
Did I say RBI?
ReplyDeleteNice strawman.
Yes, I know the popular thing to do today is say "Baseball is played in a vacuum and analyzing the stats is the only worth a players has."
That's how the Red Sox ended up with Edgar Renteria in 2005 even though everyone in the planet Earth knew he was a bad fit for Boston.
That's how the Yankees reacquire Javier Vazquez even though anyone with half a brain saw that he was miserable as a Yankee.
I know we're all supposed to say "They are robots and there is no such thing as clutch players" all the while the people who actually PLAY the game think other wise.
I agree with you... Colby Rasmus is a talented player.
Guess what? Tony LaRussa has forgotten more baseball than Coby Rasmus has ever known.
And when it comes down a Hall of Fame manager and a player who has had two nice seasons... call me crazy and call me old fashion but I am going on the side of the Hall of fame manager.
When the super star player like Pujols (who I am actually going to make a statement that you will probably disagree with... but I actually think Pujols is a better player than Colby Rasmus and has accomplished more than Rasmus... it's just my opinion and I am sure you will show me how I am wrong about that) calls him out... and he calls out NOBODY... I am going to side with Pujols who, while I am sure you think is less valuable than Juan Uribe, I think is a good player.
And guess what? Maybe, just maybe, LaRussa wants to push a guy who, while you think he is an elite player (and clearly he is Hall of Fame bound with 2 nice seasons) to actually reach the level of an elite player.
A guy who can't fit in with the Cardinals, an organization that has incredible stability and solid management, tells me something.
Even a guy like Colby Rasmus, a player whose greatness can not be measured based on his almost 2 big league seasons where he has been good.
I stand by my Marlon Brando/Val Kilmer analogy.
you want to make waves, Colby Rasmus... how's about showing you are a consistent All Star player.
Right now?
He's a second year player who has shown he can have some pretty good stats and whine.
Red flag to me.
But I forgot... you only judge players based on calculators.
Question, just so I understand our philosophies.
Kirk Gibson in 1988 won the NL MVP.
Should he have?