Reaction Roundup: baseball scribes roundly praise Toronto Blue Jays GM Alex Anthopoulos for Colby Rasmus deal
Alex Anthopoulos has done it again. Or, at least, that appears to be the overwhelming consensus among baseball media after the Toronto Blue Jays’ general manager flipped Jason Frasor, Mark Rzepcynski and change for centre fielder Colby Rasmus and a trio of pitchers in a three-team trade with the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago White Sox. News of the trade leaked on Twitter early yesterday morning, and by the early afternoon #AnthopoulosIsAGoldenGod was trending (not actually, but based on everyone’s reactions it might as well have been). And for good reason: Anthopoulos somehow managed to turn a group of good-but-not-great relievers (and Corey Patterson) into a 24-year-old with legitimate all-star potential and hilarious at-bat music. Like everybody else, we love the trade and continue to be wowed by the moves the wunderkind GM is making. A look at what the assembled sports media had to say, after the jump.
• The Score’s Dustin Parkes is excited. Really excited. The headline of his column—“Rasmus in July: it’s happening, it’s really happening”—sums up his feelings nicely. Over on the Drunk Jays Fans blog, Parke’s lackey, Andrew Stoeten, gave Anthopoulos due credit for not being afraid of Rasmus’s bad reputation.
• Meanwhile, Rasmus’s dad, Tony, took issue with the perception that his son has a bad attitude and proceeded to rip Cards manager Tony La Russa in an interview with the Toronto Sun’s Bob Elliot. Apparently Tony Rasmus is something of an overbearing stage dad. Hmmm, we wonder where anyone got that idea?
• Speaking of Rasmus’s reputation, Bruce Arthur noted in the National Post that if you’re a fan of the trade, it means you must believe in Anthopoulos’s ability to judge a player’s character. More to the point, though, Arthur went onto to argue that in order to win in the competitive AL East Anthopoulos has to beat “the best minds and pocketbooks in the game.” Which is exactly what happened in this case: the Jays grabbed one of the most coveted players on the market without breaking the bank or trading away any major prospects in the process.
• South of the border, Ken Rosenthal defended Cardinals GM John Mozeliak for adding depth to the club’s pitching staff and bringing in Rzepcynski (who he likes, a lot). But Rosenthal seems to be a man on an island in that regard: St. Louis’ Riverfront Times ran a story blaring the headline “Worst Trade Ever!” and the guys on ESPN’s Baseball Today podcast also questioned the deal from the Cardinals’ perspective.
• But the take of the day comes from ESPN’s Buster Onley, who tweeted that the Blue Jays now resemble the Oakland Raiders of the ’70s—a reference to the team’s penchant for taking on talented head cases (read: Yunel Escobar). We feel obliged to note that the Raiders won their division six times in the ’70s, as well as Super Bowl XI.
• Rasmus’ dad blasts Tony La Russa [The Toronto Sun] • Jays believe Rasmus is worth the risk [National Post] • Rasmus in July: It’s happening, it’s really happening [The Score] • Alex don’t give a damn about his bad reputation [Drunk Jays Fans] • Worst Trade Ever! Cardinals send Colby Rasmus to Toronto for spare parts [Riverfront Times]
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