Exceptional stuff from our friend Craig Robinson over at Flip Flop Flyballin‘. Be sure to check out Craig’s outstanding infographics in the archives of Getting Blanked, and to follow him on Twitter at @flipflopflying. He’s good people.
No you’re mailing in a post! Also: consider this your Photoshop Friday post (remember when that was a thing?).
Hat tip to commenter dr.fever for pointing this gem out.
For me, a particularly striking thing about the first Prime Time Sports week from Dunedin was how flippant some of the panelists seemed to be about the place that Colby Rasmus holds on this Jays team, and how unlikely it is that they think he’ll last the year here in Toronto.
I mean, I understand the romance of the tools Anthony Gose possesses, and that Rasmus has masked his own over two seasons of grim production, but all the confident talk that Rasmus is on his way out– and there was… maybe not a lot of it, but enough to be noticeable– seemed a bit odd. According to Tom Maloney of the Globe and Mail, however, and the sources he anonymously cites, “in exchange for ‘withholding attribution’,” it’s Rasmus whose presence on this club, and perhaps even in the Majors, that doesn’t fit, which maybe makes questions about how long he’ll last here perfectly natural.
I like Maloney and what he’s done on his return to the baseball beat this spring so far, but I can’t help but raise an eyebrow at this angle, or at the wide swath of moonshine, drawls, cotton and corn that he slathers across the place Rasmus calls home.
No one in the Toronto Blue Jays administration is demanding superstar production from him, yet he carries the weight of surreal expectation as though a sack of corn is strapped permanently to his back. Staring into his locker, he portrays a person in need of sweet relief, a man besieged by the doomsayer notion that his best can never be good enough. Not for his father, not for the media, not for the people back home, not for the scouts, not for his teammates and coaches, and most grievously, not for himself.
Rasmus understands he must appreciate the privilege of what he has and where he is. Yet, like many professional athletes, he yearns for the place he came from, too, those days playing sandlot baseball in shorts and no shirt in a region of the country characterized by moonshine and unending acres of cotton and corn, in an atmosphere far removed from Twitterville.
Like… seriously?
According to a team release, the Jays have avoided arbitration with Colby Rasmus, signing him to a one-year deal worth $4.675-million, or just a hair above what Matt Swartz projected for him over at MLBTR back in October.
The deal is what it is. It’s what Rasmus was going to earn in arbitration no matter what, so quibbling over the figure is pointless. What’s perhaps interesting, though, is the fact that the last two arbitration-eligible players the Jays have signed longer-term extensions with, Brandon Morrow and Casey Janssen, had already exchanged numbers with the club and were headed towards arbitration hearings when their deals took place.
What I’d say this portends, then, is that an extension for Rasmus isn’t in the cards this winter– which should come as a surprise to no one, save maybe those who lapsed into a coma at the All-Star break and are just now coming to.
They may not always do it on the record, but Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun sure is a wizard when it comes to getting people to talk– especially scouts and executives with juicy, interesting things to say about the Toronto Blue Jays.
I don’t know if it’s just because he’s got so many connections he can simply print a source’s title– even including the league he works in!– and still no one will be able work backwards to figure out who’s dishing him the goods, but it’s a pretty remarkable trick he pulls, and at a big conference like the Winter Meetings, he lands some invaluable stuff.
I’ve already pulled some from his latest to us in the Escobar piece below, but there’s much more in there, and two things, in particular that stand out…
Intrigue-ish today from Yankee Stadium, as Tony La Russa showed up to give Colby Rasmus his World Series ring, but unfortunately young Cleatus, though in the building, didn’t actually speak to him.
John Lott of the National Post followed the “situation” on Twitter, which seems to be a whole lot of nothing– yet I suppose it’s always a story of some kind or another when La Russa and Rasmus are involved, tiresome as that is, and over it as we may be.
Tony La Russa dropped by Yankee Satadium to give Colby Rasmus his World Series ring. They did not meet.
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) July 18, 2012
@Score_Tomlinson Colour me impressed by him, sure. Hitting #2 ahead of the hottest hitter in baseball doesn’t hurt, but full credit to him.
— Greg Brady (@bradyfan590) June 23, 2012
As we all revel in the wave of hotness that is a reborn Colby Rasmus, it is important we take stock. As one might expect, those who spoke poorly of the Blue Jays centerfielder are currently looking for new and exciting ways to cover their tracks. The soft-spoken Southerner makes an easy target and many people took aim during the winter and early-season swoon.
As the backhanded compliments eek out, it is important we consider the source and quickly do our best discredit them further. Their passive aggressive attempts at retaining credibility will not stand without rigorous oversight.
Colby Rasmus and dad Tony on Father’s Day at the Rogers Centre. twitpic.com/9xl3wl
— John Lott (@LottOnBaseball) June 17, 2012
With yesterday being Fathers Day, the Blue Jays as an organization did a very nice thing. They flew the fathers of nearly every active member of the squad (and coaches!) into town to take in the game from a luxury box. John Lott has some nice photos on his twitterfeed, if you are so interested.
This is not news to anyone who caught yesterday’s sweep clincher over the Phillies on TV. The broadcast converted all the time usually reserved for shots of Brett Lawrie into shots of the father’s luxury box. Fathers reacting, fathers cheering, fathers subtley pounding free drinks. It was…a time.
I should qualify that statement: some of the fathers reacted and cheered. Others stood by, upholding the stoic distance that drove their sons to fanatical lengths required to become a professional baseball player.
