Tiger Geist

Have to say I love Buster Olney.  At least he’s not afraid to bring up hot topics that he hears from scouts.

In today’s article/post/blog, he discusses the whispers around the Yankee ball club, now that Alex Rodriguez is hitting .210.  Magglio doesn’t have those rumors around him, but both players have had the same scout evaluation in 2009:  They look slow and old.

Here’s my theory on both player’s dismal 2009 (so far):  THEY’RE BOTH OLD.  Well done, scouts, you’ve figured it out!  Seriously though, Magglio’s 35, A-Rod is almost 34.  On top of that, both of them missed significant time this spring – A-Rod with his hip injury/surgery, Magglio with the WBC.  This point is where I feel their age caught up to them.

So here’s the intersection –> as the players age, they have to refine their game.  Maybe this is the year that they realized they needed more time to get ready, and they just didn’t have the time.  Maybe they never got their legs.  Maybe they needed to adjust their swing a little to jump when they guess fastball.  Maybe they’re such natural athletes (or at least, natural hitters) that they refused to believe they needed extra work.  Maybe they realize they need to drop five pounds. Maybe they need a haircut.

As Magglio hit a solid two-run home run this afternoon, I’m not sure if its an indication of things to come for 2009 or not.  I do think that, with the proper preparation heading into 2010, he’ll have a better year next year.  I’d say the same for A-Rod.  Probably not good enough to justify either of their contracts, but they probably will be better.  Carlos Guillen might be in the same boat, however, he has had so many injuries over the last few years that you have to question if he ever has enough time to get himself ready for a season.

As a side note, Rasheed Wallace is actually about 8 months younger then Magglio, and Pistons fans just watched him age poorly over the last few years.

For today’s game, it looks like Galarraga was improved.  I think that’s basically what you can expect out of Armando – 6 innings, 4 or 5 runs scored against; your basic back of the rotation type of guy.

Last, TigerGeist will be dark for a few days, as I drag myself to Cabo for a short stay.  Hopefully I’ll have some time sunday night to watch the archived games on mlb.tv against Houston.  Unless I have some time to post tonight…. hasta la vista.