Sunday, July 20
I get that baseball etiquette is strange and that there are unwritten rules with certain codes of professional conduct.
I get that stealing a base with a 10-0 lead late in the game isn't cool, nor is excessive showboating when hitting a home run.
What I don't get is Rangers pitcher Colby Lewis' rant from yesterday's 4-1 Texas loss to Toronto.
Lewis was mad that Rasmus laid down a bunt single. It was in the fifth inning. There were two outs and Texas was playing a shift defense against Rasmus. The Blue Jays were leading 2-0 at the time.
This is what Lewis was quoted as saying, "I told (Rasmus) I didn't appreciate it. You're up by two runs with two outs and you lay down a bunt. I don't think that's the way the game should be played. ... I felt like you have a situation where there is two outs, you're up two runs, you have gotten a hit earlier in the game off me, we are playing the shift, and he laid down a bunt basically simply for average."
Yeah Rasmus is trying to protect his pristine .223 average, which happens to be in the bottom 15 of all American League batters, 102 points behind the leaders.
Lewis was upset, too, that Rasmus didn't try to steal second base after his bunt hit. This is what Lewis said about that, "He [Rasmus] didn't steal within the first two pitches to put himself in scoring position. That tells me he is solely looking out for himself, and looking out for batting average. And I didn't appreciate it."
Lewis should be more concerned about his own statistics, which show a losing record, 6.37 ERA and 1.84 WHIP. He also should be worried about his own sanity since his comments are insane.
On the handicapping front, I went 0-2 on Saturday losing with my baseball and CFL play. I am now 6-2-1 on my last nine paid/free MLB plays and 6-3 on my last nine CFL plays going back to last season.
I'm looking to bounce back strong today with two plays, including my first MLB Triple Star in more than a week. I have cashed 8 of my last 9 Triple Stars and am 47-31-2 on my last 80 Triple Stars. The package can be found here: /pregamepros/pro-bettor/bettor.aspx?id=7746#capper.
As always, no bad luck!