1 of 1- artie_fufkin
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I wonder what Jeff Passan thinks now
Colby Rasmus is hitting .067.
I know it's only three games, but he hit ninth in the order twice and eighth in the other game.
He probably senses LaRussa hovering over him in retirement.
- tkihshbt
- Scott Rolen
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Re: I wonder what Jeff Passan thinks now
Boy, was I ever wrong about a player. I hate engaging in pop psychology, but it really doesn't appear that Rasmus is right in the head.
- forsberg_us
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Re: I wonder what Jeff Passan thinks now
"but it really doesn't appear that Rasmus is right in the head."
Agreed. The question is can anyone/anything ever get him right.
I'll be the first to admit, I hated the trade, not because I felt they should have kept Rasmus, but because I thought the return was too geared toward winning last season rather than long term and I didn't think they could win last season. They proved me wrong, and I'm glad we aren't still dealing with all of the drama that seems to surround this guy.
- alz
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Re: I wonder what Jeff Passan thinks now
tkihshbt wrote:
Boy, was I ever wrong about a player. I hate engaging in pop psychology, but it really doesn't appear that Rasmus is right in the head.
Postseason and then Pujols kind of sidetracked me from Rasmus. I'd forgotten all about him. We got something of value for him (Scrabble). I'm still not positive we should have let E. Jackson run off, but with Duncan leaving the team... Jackson probably wouldn't have had the success I had hoped he would have had.
Even though I don't care much about Rasmus at this point, if he plays Anaheim, I hope he goes 6 for 6 with 10 RBI's. Is that wrong? Me and my daughter are celebrating every Angels failure that comes down the newsfeed. Speaking of news... RIP Mike Wallace. 93 years.
- artie_fufkin
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Re: I wonder what Jeff Passan thinks now
Boy, was I ever wrong about a player. I hate engaging in pop psychology, but it really doesn't appear that Rasmus is right in the head.
TK, the kid's got all the talent in the world. You weren't wrong.
It's got to be so hard to be a major league baseball player. You've got to be supremely gifted in the first place, and then you've got to be confident in your ability. And then you've got to stay healthy.
I've been waxing nostalgically about my baseball career to (read: boring the pants off) Fors via email this morning, but there's one story that's appropos in this situation. I played with a guy in an old fart league who was a replacement player during the '95 exhibiton season. This guy would have been a top-of-the-rotation starter for the Red Sox if the strike hadn't been settled, but as soon as the real players came back, he was gone on the next bus.
This guy threw in the low 90s and had a curve that broke about three feet, but except for getting drafted and playing Low A ball, and his time as a scab, he never got a whiff of professional baseball. We were watching him throw yet another shutout one night in our league and someone in the dugout said, to no one in particular, "How friggin' good do you have to be to play in the majors?"
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Thread Starter- forsberg_us
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Re: I wonder what Jeff Passan thinks now
I think Toronto has a lot of work on its hands to undo the damage caused by:
- A domineering father who basically raised Colby with one purpose--to be a major league baseball player. Of all the Tony Rasmus stories out there, the one that spoke volumes to me was the story about Tony basically cutting off communications after he found out Colby had knocked up his girlfriend. Maybe it was a morals issue, but it always struck me that the dad was just pissed that Colby allowed himself to get "sidetracked" on his way to major league stardom.
- An organization that oversold its fans on how talented Rasmus was. While I agree that Rasmus seemed to be very talented, I think the organization created unrealistic expectations.
- A difficult first couple of years in the majors. Feel free to ascribe blame whereever you want. My guess there's enough to pass around. But a 22 year old kid should be happy to be in the majors. Rasmus never seemed happy. Whether that falls on Rasmus, his dad, TLR, his teammates, the coaches, the media or a combination of all of the above, I think the way the first 3 years of his career evolved have caused damage. Whether it's permanent or not remains to be seen.
I don't wish Rasmus ill. He'd be better served never giving another interview. He needs to figure out a way to put 2009-11 behind him and try to have fun. He's still being paid a lot of money to play a game. Sadly, I don't get this sense this kid will ever find real happiness, and it wouldn't shock me if 20 years from now both he and his dad still blame Larussa and the Cardinals for not bringing him north after the spring of 2008 for Rasmus' failed career.
Last edited by forsberg_us (4/09/2012 11:25 am)
- tkihshbt
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Re: I wonder what Jeff Passan thinks now
One thing I wonder: does Rasmus even LIKE playing baseball? It's one thing if you're Barry Bonds: you honestly don't enjoy it but enjoy the notoriety and money and you're so good you get bored, but it's another if you haven't proven a thing.
Just a guess, but knowing what we know about the Rasmus family, Colby truly hates baseball and would like to do anything else, but it's all he knows. I feel sorry for the guy from that standpoint.