Sunday, February 15, 2009

Get Your Facts Straight, Pal

Oh, those Yankee fans are at it again.

It's another of those "Letters to the Editor" that I love to comment on every once in a while. From today's New York Post "Sound Off":

"Now that Alex Rodriguez's name has been leaked as one of the 104 who tested positive for banned substances in 2003, we want the other 103 on that list. Let's see if David Ortiz is one of them. His numbers have fallen off the earth since testing began."

I won't mention this fan's name to protect his identity. But don't you love these Yankee fans who have to drag the names of Red Sox players into this when one of their Steroid All-Stars gets nailed? I'm sure this guy thinks the Yankees and Slappy are victims of some kind of conspiracy, led by the Red Sox.

Why don't you just come right out and say that, buddy?

And it would be nice if you had bothered to look up David Ortiz' career numbers before you wrote something as stupid as that. Testing began in 2004 (after the infamous 2003 secret survey was done). Here are Big Papi's numbers since 2004:

Year Games AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI AVG
2004 150 582 94 175 47 3 41 139 .301
2005 159 601 119 180 40 1 47 148 .300
2006 151 558 115 160 29 2 54 137 .287
2007 149 549 116 182 52 1 35 117 .332
2008 109 416 74 110 30 1 23 89 .264

So you want to show me where his numbers have "fallen off the face of the earth" since 2004? He missed over 50 games last season due to his wrist injury, but still managed 23 HRs and 89 RBI despite that. (And it averages out to about 35 HRs and 134 RBI for a full season.) He had one of the greatest seasons in Red Sox history in 2006, breaking the club HR record. And that was two years after steroid testing officially began.

Listen, could Ortiz be on that list of 104? Sure, he could. I'm not going to say there is no way he can't be on it. Right now, any active player in 2003, including your hero Derek Jeter, could be a part of that failed steroid list. There is no way to know 100% for sure, until that list is finally made public. (The unfortunate fact is is that everyone in baseball is a suspect.) Somewhere down the line the names will come out. Can there be other Red Sox (as well as Yankees) on it? Of course there can be.

I love these Yankee fans who insist on taking potshots at the Red Sox and their fans when bad news hits their team. It can be a never-ending source of high comedy.

4 comments:

Steel36 said...

I would say that David Ortiz's issues are a combination of age, his swing and probably weight. He is 33 and very large. A little less weight may help his knees.

The wrist injuries were the worst of it. Ortiz's swing is centered on bat speed that is generated from the wrists. They are the fulcrum of a lever.

The wrists were not right last year. Big Papi could not transfer the power from the weight shift in his swing without the wrists. The canoe had no paddle.

David Ortiz, Ryan Howard, Prince Fielder, Adam Dunn and others probably did not use steroids. They are old school mashers. Born big, always been big. Big boned guys are the classic build of power hitters over the years.

Let's hope that Ortiz's wrists are better-The Sox need the help.

BklynSoxFan said...

Papi says his wrist is fine, that he's taken care of it over the winter. Don't know if he's lost weight but his knees could sure be a lot of better if he dropped a few. I agree with your point about those "mashers." And it was a shame a few years ago when Ryan Howard was blasting those HRs that I did hear some talk of him being on roids. That's the terrible thing about the Steroid Era. It taints everyone.

Steel36 said...

True, Ryan Howard always seemed look like Godzilla at the plate. Swing hard in case you make contact. Steroids cast a taint on everyone.

Anyway, it is fun to hear delusional Yankee fans. The team went out and bought Bolivia. CC and Tex should do well. However, the team is old and loaded with a few stinker contracts in Damon and Hideki Matsui. They are done after this season.

The young pitchers have struggled but they can succeed. More talent is on the way. This year may be a down one in The Bronx.

the side benefit of buying Bolivia in this Great Recession is that it's okay to hate The Yankees again!! Hank should be a highlight of the back pages again.

Tho to be honest, I do respect Brian Cashman. He has succeeded in a factionalized space of extreme paranoia. Few people could thrive like Brian Cashman in the Yankee insane ward.

Michael Leggett said...

The Yankee Fan "Intellecshuals", are now on WFAN, never noted for Brilliant Conversations, bringing up one Mr Michael Piazza, in order to excuse Alex(is){Or Is his name, Alice} Roidriguez:

In David Ortiz' Case, he's Big-Boned and his Wife is from "America's Dairyland", Wisconsin, hence he eats an "America's Dairyland Diet".