2012 MLB Regular Season Running Thread

Yeah, I was thinking you meant this season, not last, and just consider this his "Age 38 season" via baseball-reference.

Was just busting your chops. It only makes your point a little stronger.

I do believe he's still clean, but I can't say the thought hasn't crossed my mind.

 

See, this is really the lasting historic effect of the steroid era. It gives fans a paranoid excuse when a player they don't like plays well. There's testing now. People flunk the tests, too. So if a player has yet to fail a test "suspicions" are just cynicism masquerading as knowledge.

 

No, they're not suspicions masquerading as knowledge. It's just a healthy does of well-deserved skepticism wrought by the players themselves.

Had there been more skepticism in the 1990s, the steroids era might never have gained so much traction.

 

I have no idea if Jeter is using and do not care if he or any player uses but the passing of these tests as proof that players are clean is as naive as it gets.

 

http://www.baseball-reference.com/players/s/sosasa01.shtml

No, Sosa's strikeout numbers actually went way up when he was on the juice. He hit .300 one season early in his career, but it seems he always was swinging for the fences while juiced.

 

Except that you don't know that he was "declining." He's gone through stretches before where he appeared human. Go back and look at 2004. He didn't get his batting average to stay above .200 until almost June. He ended the season hitting .292.

 

He worked with Gary Denbo last year at midseason and they made some adjustments to his swing.

 

After looking at Jeter's career, it really makes me appreciate what Pete Rose did without the use of a DH. 4,000 hits. Damn.

 

Rose was a great player until about 1979. From 1980-1986 he added 884 more hits but only hit .274 with 6 HRs and 301 RBIs in 900 games played.

I guarantee you that if Jeter breaks the hits record he will do so as a productive player not just a guy chasing a milestone.

 

Rose also wasn't the five-tool player that Jeter was, and is. Rose was a lousy basestealer and had several seasons where he got caught stealing more often than he stole bases. Jeter is a better power hitter even compared to the steroid era. And a better defender. He has 5 Gold Gloves to Rose's 2...Rose also couldn't stay at a position bouncing from 2B to OF to 3B to 1B.

 

Like probably 80 percent of all baseball fans, I hate everything about the Yankees. Except when it comes to Jeter. How can you not love that guy? Which is why even slight hints about Jetes juicing makes me sad. Maybe he'll go 5-40 and quiet down the rumors.

 

Pete had the under on HRs and RBIs.