Rod stinkin' Barajas
by David Rocksteady 6/18/09
Rod Barajas stuck it to the Phillies once again, hitting the game winning home run against the Phillies in the ninth inning to complete the sweep by the Toronto Blue Jays.
It is hard to find many guys in major league baseball that irritate me more than Rod Barajas. He was a terrible hitter and a below average catcher with the Phillies (and pretty much his whole career) and had an bad attitude. But he has absolutely killed the Phillies, giving us even more reason to hate him.
Let's examine the numbers.
In 122 at-bats with the Phillies in 2007, Barajas had a .230 average, with 4 home runs and 10 RBI.
Since that time, in the five games he has played against the Phillies, he is 8-for-16 with 3 home runs and 10 RBI.
This guy has the same amount of RBI's in 5 games against the Phillies as he got in the ENTIRE SEASON when he played here.
Barajas created his negative legacy for me when he did not even attempt to block the plate on a play that tied the game in the ninth inning against the Marlins. Because Barajas was afraid to get hurt, Brett Myers, who was the closer at the time, needed to continue pitching and eventually was injured.
And what did he have to say about it? Following that game Barajas said, "I didn't want to get down low and have him get a good shot at me and maybe knock the ball out."
I remember the play. He wasn't protecting the ball. He was completely avoided contact.
And here is his worst comment: "It would have been disappointing if we lost, but the fact that we were able to pull it out, we can look back and laugh at some of these plays." LAUGH AT THESE PLAYS?! He completely blows the lead and a pitcher gets hurt because of it, and you say you will laugh at it?!
Amazing.
In comparison, Greg Dobbs made a bad decision that contributed to blowing the same lead and had this to say: "I'm sick to my stomach. I want to eat, but can't. I feel tremendously responsible for that inning because we should have had three outs."
Back to the present. When asked about the performance of Rod Barajas following the game, Phils skipper Charlie Manuel said, "I can't believe it to tell you the truth."
Either can the rest of us, Charlie.
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