Killeverything's (New)NeverEndingBaseballThread

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Cust Verbally Slams Team After Being DFA

By Bryan Mcwilliam
April 6th, 2010 at 7:49 am


Jack Cust did not take well to being designated for assignment last Sunday, verbally blasting the Oakland Athletics for the move in an interview with Susan Slusser of the San Francisco Chronicle.

Cust, the main source of power (84HR from 2007-2009) on a team lacking in the home run department lost his designated hitter’s job to the ailing Eric Chavez (121 games played since the beginning of the 2007 season) upon having a bad Spring Training where he hit .216 with 1HR & 3RBI in 51 at-bats. After losing the job Cust was designated for assignment by the A’s.

Cust had the following to say about the move:

“I think it’s messed up.”

“They’re going to go on 50 at-bats after three years of what I’ve done here? It’s ridiculous. A lot of other guys have had bad springs. This is a joke.”

“The fact is, this team has no power and they’ve just released a guy who (averaged 28 homers) the last three years. That’s amazing.”

“I’ve busted my butt for them for three years, and I played sporadically this spring and they leave it until the day before the regular season to do this, like they didn’t know what was going on before? And with Coco (Crisp) on the DL (broken pinkie) – I’m not good enough to be one of the 25 guys?”

Asked if Cust would accept a minor league assignment with the team he replied:

“I’ve got to do what’s best for my family, but I’m not going to let (the A’s) just walk all over me.

If Cust were to accept the assignment he would be guaranteed his salary of $2.65 million this season, but the move seems to have left a bad taste in Cust’s mouth after putting up large power numbers for the A’s as well as a high strikeout rate (546 since 2007).

Cust has moved around the Majors for the better part of six seasons having stints with the Arizona Diamondbacks, Colorado Rockies, Baltimore Orioles & San Diego Padres before landing in Oakland, where he finally got a shot to prove himself.

Were the comments by Cust uncalled for? Or is he correct?

Eric Chavez has a history of back problems and even with the fact that he will not be playing in the field can his body really hold up for an entire season?

Or was this a way for general manager Billy Beane and the A’s to rid themselves of Cust and his high strikeout rate?

If the A’s wanted to rid themselves of Cust they should have done so in the off-season when he was eligible for free agency, but they elected to re-sign him to his current $2.65 million contract which makes the current designation of Cust seem like a high priced minor league addition.

Cust may be wrong in saying that the A’s knew ahead of time that they were going to designate him, otherwise I doubt they would have paid him the $2.65 million attempting to sign him to a minor league deal instead.

However, the way Beane went about this may have lost Cust’s confidence in the franchise for good, which could mean his departure forever from the Oakland A’s.

We shall see if Cust accepts a minor league assignment, or if he is released or traded.

For Cust’s sake I hope he is traded to another MLB team in need of power so they he can still receive his $2.65 million compensation for the season and than he can elect for free agency at the end of the season and hopefully find a deal.

Read more: http://athletics.gearupforsports.com/bl ... z0kL5sO8jz

[JakeYonkel]

Yeah, I thought this was kinda bush of the A's. Then again it's not like they're saving money by doing it, so I don't know. They don't exactly have viable alternatives. Eric Chavez? LOL. If he's still playing in May I'll be surprised.

Cust is Adam Dunn-lite without the $10M contract, or one of the "3 possible outcome" type of guys. Walks, Ks, HRs. That's pretty much it. And there's value in that. He's got a very high OBP, but he's basically worthless in the field, which negates some of his value.

Since Beane purportedly values OBP so much (or at least he did) this makes it even more of a head-scratcher.

Not like the A's are going to compete this year anyway, so whatever.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Guys like Dave Kingman and Greg Luzinski made a career out of doing that.

A few years ago, probably in 2001, I went to see the Yanks and the Orioles play at Camden Yards. Game went to extras, Yanks put one on the board in the top of the tenth. Baltimore gets two quick outs in the bottom half, then a guy comes up and doubles. Next batter hits a sharp liner to first, 1b misplays it, runner is safe. The guy on 2nd runs through the stop sign and tries to score. It looks like he has a good chance, until he FALLS DOWN halfway down the line and gets tagged out easily. Game over. The name of that runner? Jack Cust.

[JakeYonkel]

Haha!

[Machado]

Guys like Dave Kingman and Greg Luzinski made a career out of doing that.

A few years ago, probably in 2001, I went to see the Yanks and the Orioles play at Camden Yards. Game went to extras, Yanks put one on the board in the top of the tenth. Baltimore gets two quick outs in the bottom half, then a guy comes up and doubles. Next batter hits a sharp liner to first, 1b misplays it, runner is safe. The guy on 2nd runs through the stop sign and tries to score. It looks like he has a good chance, until he FALLS DOWN halfway down the line and gets tagged out easily. Game over. The name of that runner? Jack Cust.

Great story!

The news surprises me. I wonder what some of the MLB Network/ESPN networks will have to say about this move.
This guy will eventually play in the majors this year. Unless he ends up signing with a Japanese team for more $$

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

I don't know, when a guy like Cust is DFA and Jermaine Dye can't get work, it might indicate that teams have the power they need. A lot of good young sluggers up this year.

[Machado]

If these were the 80's, I would hope that Goose would send
a fastball up & in at Gorman Thomas,

New York Yankees president Randy Levine fired an executive-level brush-back pitch at Milwaukee Brewers owner Mark Attanasio.

Levine's message: Stop whining.

Levine believes Attanasio should stop publicly lamenting the Brewers' troubles in signing first baseman Prince Fielder while pointing out how much the Yankees spend on salaries.

"I'm sorry that my friend Mark continues to whine about his running the Brewers," Levine told ESPNNewYork.com in a phone interview Tuesday morning. "We play by all the rules and there doesn't seem to be any complaints when teams such as the Brewers receive hundreds of millions of dollars that they get from us in revenue sharing the last few years. Take some of that money that you get from us and use that to sign your players.

"The question that should be asked is: Where has the hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue sharing gone?"

The Yankees' payroll is expected to be about $200 million this year; the Brewers' will be in the $80 million range.

Levine made his comments in reaction to an Attanasio quote in a USA Today story about the average salaries of this year's players. Attanasio -- as he has done before -- made sure to mention the discrepancy in how much the Yankees spend on players in comparison to other teams.

"We're struggling to sign [Fielder] and the Yankees infield is making more than our team," Attanasio told the paper.

The Yankees infield will make $85.225 million this year.

Fielder, who is represented by Scott Boras, is a free agent at the end of the 2011 season. Boras' clients usually wait until free agency before signing, but the two sides are reportedly in negotiations.

In the initial seven years of the luxury tax, the Yankees have paid teams nearly $175 million in revenue sharing, according to the BizofBaseball.com. That is 92 percent of the total revenue sharing that has been doled out.

[JakeYonkel]

Well, Dye kinda sucks though, and he's older. Apparently with lofty contract aspirations.

Cust was affordable (<$3M contract for '10) and only 30 years old.

But like I said, where's the power coming from for Oakland? I know it's not everything, but damn, they've got NOBODY that is gonna hit any home runs. Here's some free analysis for you guys, based on their opening day lineup:

CF Rajai Davis - 7 career HR in 330+ games
1B Daric Barton - 16 HR in 215 games
RF Ryan Sweeney - 12 HR in 280+ games
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff - career-high of 23 HR in 2008 (in Petco, so I'll give credit there)
C Kurt Suzuki - 15 HR in 147 games last year (not awful for a C)
DH Eric Chavez - not even relevant because he hasn't played more than 100 games in a season in 5 years
2B Mark Ellis - 80 career HR in 870 games
LF Travis Buck - 17 HR in about a season's worth of games over his career
SS Cliff Pennington - 4 career HR in about 100 games

So yeah, Oakland's gonna suck.

But I guess they figured they could go this way rather than the 'all-in' approach they tried last year in signing Garciaparra, Giambi, and Orlando Cabrera.

[killeverything]

I don't know, when a guy like Cust is DFA and Jermaine Dye can't get work, it might indicate that teams have the power they need. A lot of good young sluggers up this year.

It surprises me about Dye, still. Cust I'm not exactly surprised by Beane's move, although it was unexpected. I think he'll be picked up eventually. He's a AAAA super sub basically.

[JakeYonkel]

Attanasio should shut the fuck up.

Tampa did well to leapfrog Boston and New York in 2008 with a payroll that's probably equivalent to what Bill Gates has in spare change in his glove box.

Maybe he should consider that he's trying to sign a Boras client... they locked up Ryan Braun pretty easily, didn't they?

Try running a smart franchise and don't throw $42M at Jeff Suppan, $30M at Randy Wolf, $13M to David Riske, etc.

[WhiteHouseSubsAC]

Attanasio should shut the fuck up.

Tampa did well to leapfrog Boston and New York in 2008 with a payroll that's probably equivalent to what Bill Gates has in spare change in his glove box.

Maybe he should consider that he's trying to sign a Boras client... they locked up Ryan Braun pretty easily, didn't they?

Try running a smart franchise and don't throw $42M at Jeff Suppan, $30M at Randy Wolf, $13M to David Riske, etc.

Wasn't that Ryan Braun contract considered a huge steal for the Brewers? I remember reading that a few players who were up for extensions were pissed that he signed for so low.

[JakeYonkel]

I think the Longoria one was a bit more team-friendly. If you remember, the Rays didn't call him to start the season and waited two weeks to set his arbitration clock back - then after like 2 games they announced the extension. He signed a 6 year, $17.5M guaranteed deal, which covered 2008-2013, ie. his 6 years of service if I'm correct. Now Tampa took on a risk guaranteeing him that money, however they knew the kind of talent he had and he would easily made more than that through arbitration.

The kicker of course is that they also hold team-friendly options on him from 2014-2016, at $7.5M, $11M, and $11.5M, respectively, when you know he'd be making double that on the open market. So that kicks ass for Tampa. Thank Eric Hinske for that one.

Braun, on the other hand, signed a guaranteed 8 year deal that runs through 2015. I'm pretty sure it only buys out two years of free agency at $10M in 2014 and $12M in 2015 though. So still, that favors Milwaukee.

Braun also had a year of service time under his belt when he signed, as opposed to Longoria who had like 2 days.

[killeverything]

Well, Dye kinda sucks though, and he's older. Apparently with lofty contract aspirations.

Cust was affordable (<$3M contract for '10) and only 30 years old.

But like I said, where's the power coming from for Oakland? I know it's not everything, but damn, they've got NOBODY that is gonna hit any home runs. Here's some free analysis for you guys, based on their opening day lineup:

CF Rajai Davis - 7 career HR in 330+ games
1B Daric Barton - 16 HR in 215 games
RF Ryan Sweeney - 12 HR in 280+ games
3B Kevin Kouzmanoff - career-high of 23 HR in 2008 (in Petco, so I'll give credit there)
C Kurt Suzuki - 15 HR in 147 games last year (not awful for a C)
DH Eric Chavez - not even relevant because he hasn't played more than 100 games in a season in 5 years
2B Mark Ellis - 80 career HR in 870 games
LF Travis Buck - 17 HR in about a season's worth of games over his career
SS Cliff Pennington - 4 career HR in about 100 games

So yeah, Oakland's gonna suck.

But I guess they figured they could go this way rather than the 'all-in' approach they tried last year in signing Garciaparra, Giambi, and Orlando Cabrera.

I agree about the "where's the power" question.

What's funny is yesterday's opener against Seattle, it was Casey Kotchman of all people who had 4 RBIs for the game, must less the go-ahead at bat.

[SkyDog112046]

I know it's only a very small sample but David Ortiz looks like complete shit at the plate so far and with the way he started off last season he needs to be watched closely. 0-3 yesterday with a walk and 0-3 so far today with 2 ground outs and a strike out. The Red Sox can't afford a repeat of last April-May-June from the DH spot. Tito will coddle him as always but if he doesn't start having decent at-bats in the next couple of games it will be time to put Lowell in there sooner than later.

[killeverything]

I don't understand why Lowell was riding the bench tonite. I know that Ortiz is one of the most beloved Sox of all time, but come the fuck on. It's all about a win. If you sit your favorite player, but still come out with a "W", then who gives a fuck?

That said both these teams look like shit right now ( well except for Rivera ). Both teams are seeing relievers who should be warming the bench, because no starteers can go more than five. I know that neither will look like this for long, but Come on.

Last year the Mighty Red Sox won the first nine games vs. the MFY. We all know how that one ended up........maybe they won't repeat now


*I'm torn. Right now I'm watchin' The Pacific, but want to watch Seattle/Oakland and Anahem/Minnesota.

[SkyDog112046]

Always look on the bright side, right. I need to thank David Ortiz. After watching him the last couple of games I was reminded that I need to oil the hinges on my gates. One rusty gate in Boston is enough.

[Machado]

I don't understand why Lowell was riding the bench tonite. I know that Ortiz is one of the most beloved Sox of all time, but come the fuck on. It's all about a win. If you sit your favorite player, but still come out with a "W", then who gives a fuck?

That said both these teams look like shit right now ( well except for Rivera ). Both teams are seeing relievers who should be warming the bench, because no starteers can go more than five. I know that neither will look like this for long, but Come on.

Last year the Mighty Red Sox won the first nine games vs. the MFY. We all know how that one ended up........maybe they won't repeat now


*I'm torn. Right now I'm watchin' The Pacific, but want to watch Seattle/Oakland and Anahem/Minnesota.

I saw the game on MLB Network. Smoltz was in the booth with Costas. Smoltz brought a lot of knowledge from a HOF pitcher's perspective.

The main reason both teams are going to the pen so early is because both line-ups "wear out" the opposing starter with every single at bat.
I saw a stat on ESPN last night.
Swisher saw 30 pitches last night. That is 1 player. Amazing!!!
After 2 games, the sox pen has pitched I think 8 1/3 innings. They can thank the Yankees for that.

Key at bat last night was the A-Rod double to left off lester. He made a nice adjustment in that at bat.

The error by the sox ss was also a game changer. Funny thing about that play, when the ball was hit, I could sense that a bad play was going to be made.

[JakeYonkel]

The error by the sox ss was also a game changer. Funny thing about that play, when the ball was hit, I could sense that a bad play was going to be made.

[Machado]

That didn't take long.
C'mon Jake, you have seen as many games as I have and there are certain plays were as a viewer, you can just see an error is about to happen after the ball is hit.

To be fair, marco did not have a play at 2nd. Gardner was almost at the bag.
Jeter made a very poor throw last night as well.
Sometimes the fielder gets lazy, drops his arm angle down and here comes
the error.

[JakeYonkel]

I haven't seen the play yet. I didn't get the Extra Innings package so I'm relegated to Rays games and whatever's on national TV.

I did laugh that so much was made of Scutaro finally solidying the SS position and what.. game #2 he blows one already? Yeah yeah, I know, but still. I'm not saying he sucks but he had like one good year and all of a sudden he's the savior.

[Machado]

I don't understand why Lowell was riding the bench tonite. I know that Ortiz is one of the most beloved Sox of all time, but come the fuck on. It's all about a win. If you sit your favorite player, but still come out with a "W", then who gives a fuck?

That said both these teams look like shit right now ( well except for Rivera ). Both teams are seeing relievers who should be warming the bench, because no starteers can go more than five. I know that neither will look like this for long, but Come on.

Last year the Mighty Red Sox won the first nine games vs. the MFY. We all know how that one ended up........maybe they won't repeat now


*I'm torn. Right now I'm watchin' The Pacific, but want to watch Seattle/Oakland and Anahem/Minnesota.

Hey Kill-Did you read his postgame comments:
BOSTON -- After going hitless Tuesday for a second straight game to start the season, Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz lashed out at reporters when reminded that his struggles last April and May would be a hot topic if he was slow at the start of this season as well.

"Good," he said, turning to face the reporters encircling him. "You guys wait till [expletive] happens, then you can talk [expletive]. Two [expletive] games, and already you [expletives] are going crazy.

"What's up with that, man? [Expletive]. [Expletive] 160 games left. That's a [expletive]. One of you [expletives] got to go ahead and hit for me."

Ortiz was handled with ease Sunday night by Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia, who retired Ortiz on two rollers and an infield fly.

Against right-hander A.J. Burnett Tuesday, Ortiz smoked a ball into the teeth of an overshifted Yankees defense, right at second baseman Robinson Cano, turning a likely hit sans shift into an easy out in Boston's 6-4 loss to New York.

He grounded out again to Cano in the third before going down swinging on a nasty curveball from Burnett to end the fifth. In the eighth, against left-handed reliever Damaso Marte, Ortiz hit a harmless fly to center.


Manager Terry Francona was asked Tuesday night whether he'd given any thought to having Mike Lowell hit for Ortiz against Marte after Kevin Youkilis' leadoff single put the potential tying run on base.

"No," Francona said. "We're two games into the season. I don't think we want to start doing that. That's not because Mikey can't hit. But the big picture needs to be remembered."

[Machado]

I haven't seen the play yet. I didn't get the Extra Innings package so I'm relegated to Rays games and whatever's on national TV.

I did laugh that so much was made of Scutaro finally solidying the SS position and what.. game #2 he blows one already? Yeah yeah, I know, but still. I'm not saying he sucks but he had like one good year and all of a sudden he's the savior.

So you're not going to purchase the MLB EI package this year?
Do you at least get the MLB Network?

[JakeYonkel]

I have the MLB Network, yeah.

I haven't decided honestly if I'm gonna take the plunge again. I don't think I watched nearly enough games last year to justify spending $160 on it for the season.

But like I said a few days or weeks ago, I'll see the Yankees against Tampa like 20 times with the local broadcast, and then they play nationally probably another 20 times - so that's 1/4 of their games for free anyway...

[killeverything]

I don't understand why Lowell was riding the bench tonite. I know that Ortiz is one of the most beloved Sox of all time, but come the fuck on. It's all about a win. If you sit your favorite player, but still come out with a "W", then who gives a fuck?

That said both these teams look like shit right now ( well except for Rivera ). Both teams are seeing relievers who should be warming the bench, because no starteers can go more than five. I know that neither will look like this for long, but Come on.

Last year the Mighty Red Sox won the first nine games vs. the MFY. We all know how that one ended up........maybe they won't repeat now


*I'm torn. Right now I'm watchin' The Pacific, but want to watch Seattle/Oakland and Anahem/Minnesota.

Hey Kill-Did you read his postgame comments:
BOSTON -- After going hitless Tuesday for a second straight game to start the season, Boston Red Sox designated hitter David Ortiz lashed out at reporters when reminded that his struggles last April and May would be a hot topic if he was slow at the start of this season as well.

"Good," he said, turning to face the reporters encircling him. "You guys wait till [expletive] happens, then you can talk [expletive]. Two [expletive] games, and already you [expletives] are going crazy.

"What's up with that, man? [Expletive]. [Expletive] 160 games left. That's a [expletive]. One of you [expletives] got to go ahead and hit for me."

Ortiz was handled with ease Sunday night by Yankees left-hander CC Sabathia, who retired Ortiz on two rollers and an infield fly.

Against right-hander A.J. Burnett Tuesday, Ortiz smoked a ball into the teeth of an overshifted Yankees defense, right at second baseman Robinson Cano, turning a likely hit sans shift into an easy out in Boston's 6-4 loss to New York.

He grounded out again to Cano in the third before going down swinging on a nasty curveball from Burnett to end the fifth. In the eighth, against left-handed reliever Damaso Marte, Ortiz hit a harmless fly to center.


Manager Terry Francona was asked Tuesday night whether he'd given any thought to having Mike Lowell hit for Ortiz against Marte after Kevin Youkilis' leadoff single put the potential tying run on base.

"No," Francona said. "We're two games into the season. I don't think we want to start doing that. That's not because Mikey can't hit. But the big picture needs to be remembered."

Nah, I didn't see any of that. It doesn't surprise me. Same with the Scutaro error. He's considered a saviour because since O-Cab has been gone, there's been a black hole at SS. I'm not too worried about his ability to produce outs. It was just glorified because of the competition.

As for Papi, I think he could still be productive. Unfortunatley he'll have to be platooned to do it. While I'd like to see Lowell in the line-up more, I don't think the first two games is the time to do it. If Ortiz continues at the Mendoza Line though, let's not wait till fucking June.

As for the MLB EI package. I haven't bought it yet either. I will, I just have to take care of other shit I forgot about first. I don't actually qualify it with the amount of games I'll get to see. The Oakland/Seattle game went to extra innings last night. The girl I'm seeing came over, believe me I turned it off then. So then in that regard, I won't watch all the games I want to. In that sense. Buy the package and watch what you can. They break up payments.

[Machado]

hey kill,
blame the media.
after 2 games the media is already preaching that ortiz is done and that lowell would have done better.
i wish ortiz would have went all "ryan leaf" on those reporters. that would have been news.

take the sf giants-
they won the 1st two games behind great pitching and the media already wants to crown them nl west champs.
c'mon, give me a break.

take this heyward kid on the braves.
moments after he hits his 1st career HR, the media wants to convince braves fans they have a HOF player already.


2 fucking games don't mean shit.

[SkyDog112046]

hey kill,
blame the media.
after 2 games the media is already preaching that ortiz is done and that lowell would have done better.
i wish ortiz would have went all "ryan leaf" on those reporters. that would have been news.

Except that Ortiz's production was down last year aafter he had a horrendous start. Did you witness any of his at-bats so far? His bat speed has gone down considerably and his power numbers along with it. He is Dominican, which means that he is probably 4 years older than listed. Players in their late 30's used to decline rapidly, and now that the steroid era is over it will happen again. I love Big Papi and he was a huge part of bring 2 WS's to Boston but he is on his last legs. Lowell may not be able to run be he can at least drive the ball and knock in runs.

[Machado]

hey kill,
blame the media.
after 2 games the media is already preaching that ortiz is done and that lowell would have done better.
i wish ortiz would have went all "ryan leaf" on those reporters. that would have been news.

Except that Ortiz's production was down last year aafter he had a horrendous start. Did you witness any of his at-bats so far? His bat speed has gone down considerably and his power numbers along with it. He is Dominican, which means that he is probably 4 years older than listed. Players in their late 30's used to decline rapidly, and now that the steroid era is over it will happen again. I love Big Papi and he was a huge part of bring 2 WS's to Boston but he is on his last legs. Lowell may not be able to run be he can at least drive the ball and knock in runs.

i have seen both games. his at bats were not very good. to put it nicely, he was getting beat with the fastballs inside.
i know he had an incredibly slow start last season. who's to say he can't turn it around.
as much as i HATE the sox, i won't fool myself into thinking he can't do anymore damage at the plate. not after 2 games.

fyi: the sox have him in the line-up again tonight vs Pettitte

[TawnyVonJagger]

Poor Nolasco. He pitched an absolute beauty, and his bullpen fucks him. It's gonna be a long ass year with this pen if this shit keeps up.

[killeverything]

hey kill,
blame the media.
after 2 games the media is already preaching that ortiz is done and that lowell would have done better.
i wish ortiz would have went all "ryan leaf" on those reporters. that would have been news.

take the sf giants-
they won the 1st two games behind great pitching and the media already wants to crown them nl west champs.
c'mon, give me a break.

take this heyward kid on the braves.
moments after he hits his 1st career HR, the media wants to convince braves fans they have a HOF player already.


2 fucking games don't mean shit.

The majority of the Mighty Red Sox and MFY's public problems are because of the media. For every Dan Schanaussey and the Globe, there's a Suzyn Walman and the Post.

I don't put too much into anything they say really. They're why a lot of players have UNFUCKINGFOUNDED reps. Now for Ortiz. I wish I knew really. He turned it around last season, but gone are the 30-40HR/100RBI days. Since he's so charasmatic and approachable by the press, he's going to be BBQ'ed by them at the conferences. Like the first sweep of NY last season. Neither of these team's will look the same throughout their future matchups.

Surely Boston is all healthy right now, but their not "clicking" yet. Unfortunatley neither are the MFY.

Poor Nolasco. He pitched an absolute beauty, and his bullpen fucks him. It's gonna be a long ass year with this pen if this shit keeps up.

Few things piss me off more than having the bullpen blow a great start ( see: Tampa Bay 2009 or John Lackey's 6IP OER tonite against the MFY ), or having the line-up not put up run support ( see: Pedro Martinez 10K , 1ER games against the MFY ). That has to be infuriating for the pitcher.

Nolasco truly looks like something special. I'm thinking he and Hughes could be the next Lincecums/Hernandezes in the making. Barry Larkin and Mitch Williams were talking on MLB Tonite about how when he was sent back down to New Orleans, he went down there to completely work on bettering himself.

They mentioned that a lot players with his talent level, usually get pissed off and think they're above it ( see: Clay Buchholz 2009 ). The dude is driven to get to where he needs to be. I'm pulling for him.

[SkyDog112046]

If Ortiz hit 40 HR's and 120 RBI's last season nobody would be saying anything about his slow start this year. But coming on the heels of last season and looking at the way he is swinging the bat it is fair to question whether or not he is close to done. If he had gone 3 for 4 last night with a couple of HR's it wouldn't be an issue. But the fact is he has 1 hit in 3 games and it was a weak single.

He hasn't even driven a single ball yet. If he had smacked some lasers that fielders made great plays on or hat the wind knock down some deep drives it would be one thing. The balls he put into play so far have been weak grounders or lazy pop-ups, and he is getting punched out on called 3rd strikes. Those are signs of old age - eyes and bat speed declining.

Last year they gave him 10 weeks or so to work through it but that was when they had Bay in the lineup and he was able to carry them. They can't afford to go 10 weeks again this year or teams will just pitch around Martinez and Youkilis to get to him and then make the bottom of the order beat them.