Pujols: If Rasmus doesn't want to be here, get rid of him!

Albert Pujols has come down squarely on the side of his manager in the growing battle between Tony LaRussa and second year center fielder Colby Rasmus.

The news broke today that Rasmus has asked to be traded each of the last two years, seemingly oversensitive about his dealings with LaRussa:

The Sporting News offered this information:

Asked if he likes it here, Rasmus' answer was telling. "I'd rather not answer that if I don't have to," he said.

Asked, do you want to be here next year?

"I'm not going to say either way. I'm going to come in and play hard every day."

When it was pointed out that his answer will likely be interpreted as a 'no, you don't want to be here,' Rasmus said, "I didn't say that, though."

Asked, so are you saying you don't know?

"I'd like to be here but there's no telling. I'd rather say nothing so you won't write nothing, if you don't mind. But you do what you want."

Asked, does your wanting to be here depend on who is the manager?

"No."

That kind of attitude does not sit well with Pujols:

       

  “If he doesn’t want to be here next year, we need to figure out a way to get him out of here and find somebody that wants to be here and play,” Pujols told Yahoo!. “That’s a reality.

“That’ll show you right there a young player that doesn’t respect what he’s got. He needs to find out the talent and ability that he has and pretty much keep his mouth shut and play the game. Let the organization make those decisions, not himself.”

It almost (but not quite) makes me long for the days of J. D. Drew.