As the Cardinals celebrated their improbable run to the National League Wild Card, I saw all the players dumping beer on each other and hugging.
Who wasn't there? Colby Rasmus.
Remember him? The guy who bitched and moaned his way out of St. Louis. The guy I crapped on last year for complaining about playing time to LaRussa. The guy who suddenly had a bunch of defenders chewing me out, talking as if he was an elite player (????)
The Cardinals sent him packing to Toronto, where he got hurt and was lousy when he played. (A .173 average, .201 on base, .517 OPS and 37 OPS+ stinks no matter how few games you play.)
The Cardinals were 55-48 on July 26th... his last day as a Cardinal. They went 35-24 without him.
Now of course they were in FIRST PLACE on July 26th, so I guess his defenders could say they fell out of first without him.
But I can't help but wonder if the Cardinals won partially because the guys in the clubhouse were the ones who were on the same page.
Maybe if Colby Rasmus didn't act like a 23 year old who thought he invented the game, he'd be going to the post season too.
Ah well. He will be good NEXT year... (not 2012. I mean the perpetual NEXT year for prospects who never make it.)
Colby Rasmus bitched and moaned his way out of one of the great organizations in baseball and playing for arguably the most passionate fans in baseball and a chance to make the post season almost every year.
And his defenders, the same ones who called him an elite player on my blog, kept talking about what a mistake it was for the Cardinals to deal this guy.
The thing you have to realize when you talk about Colby Rasmus is that you always need to talk about NEXT year.
He has played 3 seasons. One of the seasons he had a nice year.
But his POTENTIAL means that next year he will be great!
Not THIS year. Rasmus has stunk the first 2 weeks in Toronto. Freed from LaRussa's pressure, he has given the Blue Jays fans a .218 AVG, .246 On Base, .345 slugging, a .591 OPS and a 59 OPS+.
All stats than can be described as the technical term "Shitty."
But NEXT year he will be great!
I'm not talking about 2012. I am talking about NEXT year.
Because when it is 2012, that will be THIS year. And if he has another disappointing season then his defenders will talk about NEXT year... then 2013 will come around and his fans will say "He's still in his 20s... just wait until NEXT year."
I am guessing by 2013, Colby will be on a new team every year, each thinking that NEXT year is THIS year.
And I am guessing that the St. Louis Cardinals will be in a World Series soon, not regretting for a second that they let someone else think of NEXT year.
You got your wish, Colby Rasmus. You were removed from the baseball purgatory that is St. Louis... from the blockhead manager that is probably going to the Hall of Fame... and a situation where you could make the playoffs for the second time in your three year career.
It must be a relief. Now he can show the world what Tony LaRussa couldn't see. And what evidently his supporters already see. And the people who think the Blue Jays are stealing a star.
I am no LaRussa fan, but I have a hard time seeing how a guy with a decent season under his belt and lots of potential (you know, like Alex Ochoa) could be the focus of so much hand wringing.
I know he's young. So were every bust in baseball history.
He remains hitless as a Blue Jay. But it is his FUTURE that everyone craves.
The strange thing about the future... sometimes it doesn't unfold the way you want.
And maybe if Rasmus struggles in an empty Rogers Centre for non contending Blue Jays teams, he might pine for the days when he played in a great baseball city along side future Hall of Famers with one of the great managers of all time.
But maybe I am wrong. And if I am wrong, I will eat crow.
I need more than projections and potential. He needs to actually become a star.
Last September, I trashed Colby Rasmus on the blog for being kind of a punk. A guy who had a year and a half of playing time in the bigs and looked like a good player but hardly a world beater started bitching and moaning about his playing time.
He essentially was calling out Tony LaRussa, one of two people to manage a World Champion in both leagues and someone who if he went through the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind clinic and zapped out his last 15 years in baseball, he would STILL know more baseball than Colby Rasmus would ever contain in his head.
Even Albert Pujols, who never calls anyone out, called out Rasmus.
And in my post I basically said "Who the hell is Colby Rasmus to make a stink like this?"
I said he was a nice player who hasn't earned the right to start making a stink about playing time. A lot of players start off well enough and then flame out. Rasmus hadn't proven that he wasn't Angel Berroa, Bobby Crosby, Eric Hinske, Marty Cordova or Jerome Walton.
Oh my God, you'd think I had just called Hank Aaron overrated!
The e mailers and the commenters were out in full force. Somehow I had struck a nerve by implying that Colby Rasmus wasn't ALREADY a great player.
People were bringing up his OPS. People were bringing up his WAR.
One comment said that his accomplishments were unheard of for a 23 year old.
Well the 24 year old has seen his stats start to plummet. His average, on base, slugging and OPS have come down to "Nothing Special-Ville."
And while I still haven't figured out WAR yet, I am guessing 0.6 isn't elite.
Hmmmm. Where did all of his defenders go?
Where are the people calling him an elite player based upon the latest statistical fad?
Sounds like maybe Tony LaRussa, not exactly a dimwit, knew what he was doing last year. But seriously... I'm dying to hear from his defenders.
Remind me how he is, and I quote one of them, "ONE OF THE MOST 20 VALUABLE PLAYERS IN BASEBALL RIGHT NOW!"
(Is he even one of the 20 most valuable Cardinals?)
Look, new stats can be great and create a unique perspective on the game. But if WAR can make you think that Colby Freaking Rasmus is an elite player, then that's all I need to know about WAR.
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?
