BOSTON – Colby Rasmus is notoriously hard on himself when things aren’t going well at the plate, and they certainly weren’t until the past four games, in which he’s gone 5-for-14 with three RBIs, five runs scored and four walks.
Prior to that, the Toronto Blue Jays centre-fielder batted .151/.235/.301 over 24 games between June 23 and July 25, with three homers and seven RBIs. Did he handle his frustration better during that stretch than he would have in the past?
“At times,” he said after Tuesday’s 4-2 win over the Boston Red Sox. “Sometimes the game still gets me, it’s part of it because everybody wants to play good, nobody wants to come in here, put all this time in, sit in this little tiny clubhouse and go out there and play bad. I’m still working on that at times and some times are easier than others. I’m just enjoying the games right now and enjoying helping my team win.”
Rasmus definitely did that with a homer in the second and a single in the fourth, scoring eventually on Anthony Gose’s pivotal two-run double. The performance allowed him in his way to enjoy a bit of success.
“I guess you can say that with the approach I’m trying to have and the workload I’m putting on myself makes it easier to do that,” he said.
Key of late has been a tweak in Rasmus’s approach that is leading him to look to centre or even left field when the pitcher is giving him that. His homer was to dead centre while his single went against the shift.
“I’m just trying to play the baseball game as it comes to me and not think too much about certain things,” said Rasmus. “I’m trying to stay with my approach and as crazy as that sounds, I think more along with the game but my thoughts don’t get too spread out where I’m not concentrating on what I’m trying to do. For me, being able to relax and play a baseball game I feel good and my thoughts are coming through pretty clear and I’m able to act on that.”
Added manager John Gibbons: “You can’t get frustrated with that because you can do everything right and have nothing to show for it. Some guys get frustrated with that and it affects everything. But he’s staying with a good approach and now they’re starting to fall in. We’ve always said he’s a streaky guy and now hopefully he’s getting on one of those nice little rolls.”
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