Rasmus: Wait till next year

John Farrell says centre-fielder Colby Rasmus knows what they want him to work on at the plate, and in the batting cage.

Rasmus however, says he’s not interested in making in-season swing changes and would rather put his troublesome 2011 behind him and start all over next year.

During his pre-game scrum Thursday, the Toronto Blue Jays manager said hitting coach Dwayne Murphy and Rasmus were working on the 25-year-old’s timing at the plate and the abruptness of his leg kick in particular.

But when approached following batting practice, Rasmus denied working on any mechanical adjustments and went so far as to suggest now is not the time to be fine-tuning his swing.

“Not really working on anything right now,” he said. “I’m just going out there and hitting, trying not to think too much. That’s why I got in trouble there in the beginning.”

The trouble?

“Trying to fix too much stuff in the middle of the season, which is not a good idea,” said Rasmus. “So I’m just going out there and playing and riding it out and then work on it in the off-season.”

If Rasmus is serious about his off-season plans, it would be a dramatic departure from last winter when he says he didn’t pick up a bat until probably a week or two before spring training.

That approach likely won’t sit well with Farrell, who over the past few days has stressed the importance of off-season conditioning and preparation for his players.

Farrell said he expects position players to begin hitting off a tee just after the New Year to start building up endurance and hand and arm strength.

As for Rasmus, few could blame him for wanting to put 2011 behind him.

Following a breakout 2010 with St. Louis in which he hit .276/.361/.498 with 23 home runs, a conflict with manager Tony LaRussa and the weight of expectation that came with being the starting centre fielder and former first round draft pick in a baseball-mad town, began to take its toll in the field.

When he was traded to Toronto on July 27, Rasmus’ numbers had slumped to .246/.332/.420 and despite the change of scenery, he says he’s not surprised he hasn’t turned things around offensively.

“I feel like I’ve played the outfield pretty good, but I wasn’t hitting good before I got here so I didn’t put too many expectations on myself to do good,” he explained. “Last year, I didn’t have a great year. People thought it was a good year, but I didn’t think it was that good of a year.”

In St. Louis, LaRussa and his coaching staff accused Rasmus’ father, Tony, of interfering in their work with Colby.

Back in July, Farrell said it would be “prudent on our part” to engage Tony Rasmus for input on the specifics of Colby’s swing and the terminology he best relates to.

On Thursday, Farrell admitted he hasn’t contacted the elder Rasmus—yet.

“In my frequent conversations with Colby, I didn’t feel like that was necessary,” he said. “Through our conversations I think there would have been some things, if that call was needed—would emerge in those conversations. That hasn’t been the case and that’s not to say that’s not going to take place.”

Rasmus, who's hitting .196/.216/.357 with three home runs in 29 games with Toronto, also admitted switching leagues hasn’t been a smooth transition.

“I guess if I said it was easy, I’d be wrong, because I haven’t done good,” he said. “It’s definitely different. It’s a whole different ball game over here. The game’s a lot slower. In St. Louis it was a packed house every night, it’s a little different here.”

Including the clubhouse dynamic.

“The team’s a little more laid back, the coaches are a little more laid back over here than St. Louis where they were worried about every little thing and detail, so it kinda got a little too much for me at some times,” said Rasmus.

And it appears, still to this day.

“I still got a lot of stuff going through my head from being over in St. Louis,” he explained. “I’m just waiting for next season to come. I’m ready for this off-season to clear my head, come back next year, start with this team and then I’ll do good.”