It must have been reminiscent of a time earlier this season when Rasmus said he was “trying to do too much.”
“Gripping the bat too tight, just not playing loose, not being relaxed,” he said. “That’s one thing I want to try to work on, (to) just go out there and play the game, not worry about any of talk or anything going on. Just go out there and be relaxed, see the baseball, hit the baseball, run it down in the outfield, and do the best I can.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/bluejays/article/1031982--rasmus-goes-hitless-but-jays-beat-orioles-8-5
Toronto Sun - Mike Rutsey
“I’m definitely excited by it and I’m glad to be here,” Rasmus said of being dealt from the St. Louis Cardinals where he may have had as many run-ins with manager Tony La Russa as he had hits. “I’m looking at it as a fresh start, coming here, trying to have fun with the guys and play baseball.”
http://www.torontosun.com/2011/07/28/rough-start-for-rasmus
Toronto Star - Rasmus' dad says son never hit it off with TLR
Paul Hunter
“But do I have a daily interaction with him about his play on the field?
“Not at all. I’ve probably spoken to him three or four times about baseball since February. That’s not involving myself in his baseball. I’ve got a job here. I teach chemistry and physics and I’m the head baseball coach at a high school around here. That’s my job.”
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/article/1031916--rasmus-dad-says-son-never-hit-it-off-with-larussa
Griffin: New Jay Rasmus not the first to run afoul of La Russa
The list of good players with whom the Cards’ future hall-of-fame manager, Tony La Russa, has had feuds that inevitably ended badly — usually with unnecessary trades — is a lengthy one. Just in St. Louis, there’s J.D. Drew and Jim Edmonds. There’s Scott Rolen and Anthony Reyes.
http://www.thestar.com/sports/baseball/mlb/bluejays/article/1031935--griffin-new-jay-rasmus-not-the-first-to-run-afoul-of-la-russa
