I can’t find it here, but I’ve been accusing Ortiz of being a bit “Smiley” for at least a month

Good to have an unbiased writer like Simmons on the case. But seriously, these things have a way of coming out, and Ortiz has been under more scrutiny than Tejada for many years now, so it seems unlikely that Papi could have kept it hidden for so long. (And yes, I realize this isn’t exactly an airtight argument; a lot of things are kept 100% hidden until, well, until they’re not hidden any more [see: Rodriguez, Alex or Ramirez, Manny].) But really, it isn’t too much of a stretch to believe that 33 would actually be the age at which Ortiz falls off the proverbial cliff. I believe it’s often been said that out of shape left handed power hitters who don’t hit for average rarely age well. Look at Travis Hafner. Sure he’s had injury woes, but for all we know Papi is also suffering from an assortment of ailments that really weigh his already weighty body down. He doesn’t have to be 37 to miss 89 MPH fastballs, just an old 33. And extra bodyweight and a lack of a good fitness regime are two things that will go a long way to making you an old version of any age.

Also there’s this to consider. Simmons is lobbing a pretty severe accusation at David Ortiz based solely on WHERE HE WAS BORN and WHO HE ASSOCIATES WITH. I bet a lot of us would be pretty darn hot under the collar if we were accused of unethical deeds simply because of where we’re from and who we’re friends with. I’m stopping well short of saying Simmons’ accusation is border-line racist, but it certainly seems irresponsible,

Here come the theories.  Some lucky so-and-so is gonna guess it correctly, and they’ll be lauded as the next guru. Hindsight’ll kick in once Ortiz’s true achilles heel has been exposed, and most of the flacks will have ‘seen it coming’.  Until then, we’re all invited to the speculation party, and evidently everyone wants up on the dance floor.

Andruw Jones was nigh written of by everyone after he took a colossal dump in LA.  And here he is stroking it okay in Texas.

Nice article by Simmons though.  I’ll go with age until something better comes along…

Happy Tuesday everybody.

J.W., reality. Reality, J.W. Hope you two meet again soon.

Ah, classic Bill Simmons, aka making stuff up for no good reason, other than ESPN apparently prints licenses for that. Seriously, the guy’s whole career is based on “well, I don’t have any hard evidence for this whatsoever, but doesn’t it make sense that [xyz]. And my dad and this one guy I used to drink beer and watch Sox games with in college totally agree we me, so it must be true!”. As other readers have pointed out, 33 is plenty old for a hefty slugger to fall off the face of the earth. No age-based conspiracy theories required here.

JW - I actually think Simmons’ was trying to ‘protect’ Ortiz by making an argument for something other than steroids, an issue that has disproportionately affected players from the DR, though he may have used another loaded rationale.  As one who has a strong radar for issues related to race and ethnicity I did not pick up on what you are sensing. 

I do think that MLB needs to dig deeper into the issues associated with why so many Latin, specifically Domincan, players are getting busted with the PEDs test.  Combine that with the whole signing bonus shannigans (i.e. paybacks), drafting of underage players (by our standard) and baseball academies that may exploit more than they benefit and I think MLB doesn’t pass the smell test. 

However that is a discussion for another day.  As for Simmons - I think he deserves a pass on this one.

The other thing is, he’s not completely basing it on the fact that Big Pop-up is Dominican.  He points to the fact that the Sox were at least concerned about the veracity of his age before acquiring him, and he does acknowledge that Bill James went and Bill Jamesed the numbers and concluded his career arc was consistent with a player of his stated age.

For those taking notes at home, one can discern what is real from what is fantasy by the amount of capitalization used to relate the information.

*Peers through binoculars*

I think that’s Vlad Guerrero, swan-diving on the cliff right next to Papi.  Although he’s been coasting downhill on a less precipitous decline for a couple of years now.

Different skill sets in their primes, for sure.  But both have now fallen from coveted middle-of-the-lineup bats to…something much, much less.

Looking on down the road, you would expect that Ryan Howard and Prince Fielder may go cliff-diving rather than soft-landing in their later years.