A follow-up to this post can be found right HERE.
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The drama continues between the Cardinals’ coaching staff and young outfielder Colby Rasmus.
It was only six months ago that the now 24-year-old Rasmus requested a trade away from St. Louis because of a tarnished relationship with Cardinals manager Tony La Russa. And it was only three months ago that Albert Pujols said the organization should “figure out a way to get him out of here.”
Colby didn’t feel that he was being treated like an everyday player and didn’t agree with La Russa’s philosophies on hitting. Rasmus views himself as a power hitter -- a 30-homer guy who just happens to steal bases. La Russa, meanwhile, has preached that Rasmus try to become a more gap-to-gap type of batter and to use his legs to produce runs.
La Russa is apparently driving home that philosophy this winter with the help of an offseason program designed by Cardinals hitting coach Mark McGwire. It calls for Rasmus to slim down, to stay off the weights, and to work on his quick-twitch leg muscles.
Brian Walton of The Cardinal Nation Blog gathered a couple of revealing comments on the program Thursday from Tony Rasmus, father of Colby and highly successful high school baseball coach in Alabama:
While it’s odd to discourage any young hitter from trying to drive the ball deep, Rasmus has struggled with high strikeout numbers and has posted some rather alarming flyball rates in his first two major league seasons. In 2010, he had the 11th-highest flyball percentage in the game, lofting batted balls 48.6% of the time. McGwire and La Russa are probably thinking that a more contact-minded approach at the plate will help Rasmus become a better all-around hitter.
Of course, there’s the other side. The side suggesting that a flyball rate might not always be a bad thing. Jose Bautista and Adam Dunn ranked in the Top 10 for flyball rates this past year and still had highly productive offensive seasons. Pujols had a 44.5% flyball rate. Jayson Werth clocked in at 45.4%. Paul Konerko’s was 45.0%.
Those guys are bonafide sluggers, but they can also be defined simply as great hitters. Rasmus isn’t quite to that level, but he’s moving in that direction. Or, he was, until La Russa and Mac decided this winter -- or probably this past summer -- to make a change in the young man. More from Tony Rasmus:
Gardner is a nice player. He swiped 47 bases in 56 chances this year for the Yankees and made himself into an undeniable full-timer. The Yanks barely looked at free agent outfielder Carl Crawford this winter because they’ve become so comfortable with Gardner’s contributions.
Rasmus, though, can be far better. He can drive the ball out of the park with the best of baseball’s young outfielders and that’s an ability that should not be diminished. The home run, after all, is the best outcome for a hitter in any plate appearance. Yes, any plate appearance. More from Tony Rasmus:
“Colby most likely won’t hit 10 jacks.” It’s not too difficult to read through the lines on that remark and to recognize that the elder Rasmus does not agree with the the Cards’ new approach. Especially when he names a guy like Schumaker, one of the least productive regulars in baseball.
Tony Rasmus coached his son from birth until the draft, and probably even after draft. He’s one of those all-in amateur baseball coaches who tight-ropes along the line of passion and over-involvement. And the biggest prize of his coaching career -- his son -- is playing for the National League’s most successful franchise, and under a Hall of Fame manager with a reputation for high-strung hardheadedness. That’s two hardheaded baseball men with two very different philosophies on what is best for young Colby.
La Russa might have the resume, but who knows Colby’s swing better than his father, a lifetime observer of his son’s flaws and fine points?
There might not be a great answer to that. What is for certain is that the situation is sticky, maybe even awkward. What if the elder Rasmus was the one behind that June trade request? And what if that same request is made next summer, when the younger Rasmus is at single-digit “jacks” around the trade deadline?
It’s usually best to simply let the good ones play.
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UPDATE: Joe Strauss of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch has suggested that Tony Rasmus’ comments were part of a “hoax” or meant as tongue-in-cheek. In fact, Strauss told me that I should take this story down.
I can’t do that. Strauss has confirmed that it was indeed Rasmus’ father who made those remarks. Whether they were sincere and Colby is working on a new approach, or whether they were made in an entirely facetious manner, it’s all very toxic.
Either the Cardinals are really trying to change his son’s batting style or Tony Rasmus is publicly mocking La Russa and McGwire. I might argue that the latter is worse, given that Colby requested a trade just last summer and his father has butted heads with Cardinals coaches in the past.
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UPDATE: Strauss says that Tony Rasmus’ comments were made in a completely tongue-in-cheek manner and that Rasmus isn’t actually being asked to become a slap hitter. Still, this feels a bit strange. As Strauss notes, the comments read like a “joke with teeth.”
