* * Official 2011 MLB Discussion Thread * *

[Kobie]

no, you

[dickay]

Yes there is. When you keep insisting that Jeffy was claiming that Bautista = Bonds, and you've been told repeatedly that's not what he said, that's being obstinate. Stop being a tool.

except for i was never persistant on that at all. maybe you need to read the thread again.

[etothep]

the ped developers will always be a step ahead of the ped testers

[Kobie]

EDIT: NVM, I am not getting dragged down to dickay's level of stupidity so he can beat me with experience

[dickay]

EDIT: NVM, I am not getting dragged down to dickay's level of stupidity so he can beat me with experience

and still trying to antagonize. we all appreciate the thread derailment.

[dickay]

i just read the smartest man in baseball moved Pujols to 3rd for a game. any chance Pujols get 5 starts at 3B? i'd love to have him eligible at 3rd for my fantasy team.

[Kobie]

ANYWAY, my dealings with that clown aside, I hope to hell Joey Bats is clean. And I've read stuff regarding how he changed up his swing and approach at the plate late in the 2009 season, which was right around when he turned from journeyman outfielder into superstar.

[HoustonGM]

ibut i'm not going to go out of my way to say he's as good as Bonds was.

Nobody has.

good find with the numbers of those i listed. those are just some off the top of my head from last year. is the claim that Bautista's month is really that rare? Do you know of other months over the past decade or so of close comparison? I find it hard to believe there weren't any. I mean, its a special month (and a half) but I don't think its something only he and bonds have done over the past decade or so. I could be wrong in that.

From a BTF thread:

Sammy Sosa, Aug 9-Sep 24 2001 .386/.477/.883 21 HR, 45 RBI

Frank Thomas May 10-Jun 21 1994 .430/.548/.898 17 HR 48 runs scored

Similar overall lines, but it's important to remember that Bautista has done this in a lower overall run environment (even considering his home park) than Sosa and Thomas did, so, in context, Bautista's line is greater. Yeah, it's not totally unheard of but that doesn't make it any less outstanding.

I guess my question would be, if you got this from what dickay posted do a part of you think something isn't on the up and up with Bautista?

Another question I ask, if he did fail a drug test, how shocked and surprised would everyone be?

To be honest a part of me wonders myself as I wondered last year. I remember seeing posts from some people that he passed some tests last season, that only made me wonder if there is something out there that is yet detectable by current tests. Yeah whole conspiracy theory type stuff, but with all in the past I just can't help having on my foil hat

He passed tests like every other MLB player that didn't get suspended.

Steroids do not change your batted ball profile, significantly improve your plate discipline, etc. They do not transform a hitter from league-average to the best in the game. Jose Bautista worked with Jays hitting coach Dwayne Murphy. He opened up his stance and reworked his swing. He completely revamped himself as a hitter.

Oh, and, also, steroids don't work overnight. Bautista retooled his swing prior to the final month of 2009 and hit .257/.339/.606 in September/October with 10 HR and has been awesome since.

[haveacigar]

It's obviously possible that Joey Bats is roiding, but even if he is, I'm not buying the existence of a magical baseball PED that turns a 15 HR guy into a 55 HR guy just on that alone.

[ragecage]

ANYWAY, my dealings with that clown aside, I hope to hell Joey Bats is clean. And I've read stuff regarding how he changed up his swing and approach at the plate late in the 2009 season, which was right around when he turned from journeyman outfielder into superstar.

Yeah I read that too. Also there has only been a just a handful of players who hit over 40 homers at the age of 29 who have never done it prior, for multiple seasons, out of 11 only 3 played outside of the steroid era. (Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell, and Frank Howard)

Doesn't prove anything about PED use but it just shows the rarity of a player coming along and doing what he has done.

[dickay]

Nobody has.

Quote Originally Posted by actionjackson View Post
What are you insinuating dickay? In terms of how locked in he is, and the last guy that I remember being this locked in...Yes, it's Bonds. What of it?

.

thats what led to this discussion.

[HoustonGM]

.

thats what led to this discussion.

"In terms of how locked in he is."

That is not saying that Jose Bautista's talent level is now equivalent to peak Bonds. It's saying that, in terms of how locked in Bautista is right now, the last guy actionjackson remembers seeing that locked in was Barry Bonds.



http://www.aolnews.com/2010/08/24/al...ome-run-binge/ - Article from last August analyzing Bautista's new swing.

[HoustonGM]

Yeah I read that too. Also there has only been a just a handful of players who hit over 40 homers at the age of 29 who have never done it prior, for multiple seasons, out of 11 only 3 played outside of the steroid era. (Mike Schmidt, Willie Stargell, and Frank Howard)

This is kind of confusing. What, exactly, are you saying?

[gRYFYN1]

I thought the zaniest stats for Bautista is this: in the last 365 Days he has hit 63 homeruns; only 2 have been to right field; and those two came in of all places Target Field.

[Kobie]

This is kind of confusing. What, exactly, are you saying?

There have been 11 players who had their first 40-plus homer season at the age of 29 or later, and only three played outside the Steroid Era.