Colby Lewis: upset about bunting against defensive shifts

[adambr2]

http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/11237346/colby-lewis-texas-rangers-problem-colby-rasmus-bunt

 

A new low on playing the "unwritten rule" card? Definitely, a new low.

 

Hopefully he realizes how ridiculous he sounds after the fact and admits it, but I'm not holding my breath. Probably has a lot to do with being on a 39-59 team and sporting a 6.37 ERA knowing he is probably just 1 bad start away from being DFA'ed.

[jerichoholicninja]

[sarcasm]I guess I missed when Colby Lewis got traded to St. Louis.[/sarcasm]

 

Lewis clearly doesn't have much faith in his own team if he thinks being down 2 runs in the 5th is a game over situation.

[trwi7]

The Rangers should trade him to the Yankees. Could you imagine Brian McCann catching him?

[pretendastronaut]

The hilarious part about that episode is that Lewis is upset about Rasmus playing the game the right way, but they were playing the shift against him. So it's okay for them to stack the deck against Rasmus, but if Rasmus exploits the hole that creates, he's not playing the game right.

[dacbrewers]

Bunting against the shift is going to happen more frequently. Teams that are using SABR info on hitters and constantly shift are going to eventually be hurt by it because there is a simple way to beat it. Bunt! I would be surprised if the shift is used frequently when the playoffs role around. I was watching a Dodger game a while back and Adrian Gonzalez laid down a bunt against the shift. If that's what it take to win games, I'm all for it.

[Funketown]

I remember having this discussion in the Fielder days. I suspect it's a lot more difficult than most fans think for a guy like that to lay down a good bunt up the 3B line. And even if the odds are 45%, is a 45% chance at a single better than just letting your big guy hack it? Probably not.

[monty57]

I remember having this discussion in the Fielder days. I suspect it's a lot more difficult than most fans think for a guy like that to lay down a good bunt up the 3B line. And even if the odds are 45%, is a 45% chance at a single better than just letting your big guy hack it? Probably not.

 

Well, the odds are probably 45% on that one pitch, so if you fail to get the bunt fair, you still have the rest of your AB to swing away. If the other team is going to do something to greatly take away your chances when you're playing "your game," then I think it makes a lot of sense to change your game until they stop. If you can greatly increase your OBP when you're up with the bases empty, then you are really helping your team win.

 

Obviously everything is situational, and a bunt single with two outs/bases empty helps less than a bunt single with no outs/bases empty, but it's still a single in a situation where (with the shift) you're probably going to get on base around 30% of the time and hit a HR maybe 5% of the time. Does anyone have the stats for players vs the shift? I'd guess teams only play the shift vs players who it will significantly hurt.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Colby Lewis just looks like a great big douche in all of this. Even Ranger fans are saying he sounds like a whining baby here.

 

If you're going to play the shift, then people are going to bunt against you.

[MadScientist]

I wonder if you can improve on the bunt results by some sort of slow swing to try and poke the ball down the line past the third baseman for a double.

[gregmag]

Wow, it's the Colby throwdown we've all been waiting for.

 

Rasmus: "I'm just trying to help my team and he didn't like it -- so sorry about it. I'm not here to try to please the other side, I'm here to help my team, and I had an opportunity where I could, and I took advantage of it." Maybe that's why the Cardinals let him go cheap.

 

Lewis is a whining idiot. This is probably all anyone will ever remember about him.

[dlk9s]

Rasmus would have been better off not saying much of anything and just doing this:

 

http://i.imgur.com/BG2b4.gif

[brewcrewdue80]

The hilarious part about that episode is that Lewis is upset about Rasmus playing the game the right way, but they were playing the shift against him. So it's okay for them to stack the deck against Rasmus, but if Rasmus exploits the hole that creates, he's not playing the game right.

 

 

Right!!

Bunting against the shift is going to happen more frequently. Teams that are using SABR info on hitters and constantly shift are going to eventually be hurt by it because there is a simple way to beat it. Bunt! I would be surprised if the shift is used frequently when the playoffs role around. I was watching a Dodger game a while back and Adrian Gonzalez laid down a bunt against the shift. If that's what it take to win games, I'm all for it.

 

Exactly, Lewis you want to be upset? I think all batters should bunt the opposite way if a shift is on and take the free base. Eventually, that shift that's being employed against batters will be stopped. It used to be more useful against Power Hitters but guys like Overbay/Rasmus not known for Power need to just exploit it. Get onbase frustrate the pitcher you're on base who say like Lewis, are now upset about that AB and groove a FB right down the Middle to the next batter. Also figure creating some second guessing on the Manager's part to employ the shift vs. just letting you pitch to the batter and get him out like your paid to do.

[Invader3K]

Love this first comment under that article: "Colby Lewis' ERA disrespects the game of baseball more than any bunt single ever could."

[superfly]

http://espn.go.com/dallas/mlb/story/_/id/11237346/colby-lewis-texas-rangers-problem-colby-rasmus-bunt

 

A new low on playing the "unwritten rule" card? Definitely, a new low.

 

Hopefully he realizes how ridiculous he sounds after the fact and admits it, but I'm not holding my breath. Probably has a lot to do with being on a 39-59 team and sporting a 6.37 ERA knowing he is probably just 1 bad start away from being DFA'ed.

 

Is this the same Colby Lewis that just gave up 13 hits & 11 earned runs in 2 innings?

[Dead Simmons]

Lewis later stated that Rasmus was only padding his stats because he did not try to steal 2nd to get in to scoring position with 2 outs. Ras needs a lot of padding to up that .220 BA.

[Thurston Fluff]

If he was just trying to pad his stats so what? Stats are what keeps players in the majors. They have a vested interest in making them as good as possible. Which is probably the real reason Lewis was upset. His WHIP got a little worse because of it.