David Ortiz's struggles were well documented in 2009, both on this blog, and in mainstream press. The normally restrained Boston press has now of course started with their campaign again after Big Papi's poor start to this season.
Whilst he clearly needs to perform consistently over a longer period, like the Indians in Major League, he's threatening to climb out of the cellar.
After an abysmal April (.143 avg/.238 OPB/ .286 SLG), he's actually shown signs of heating up.
He can now turn on mid 90s fastballs, as shown by the ground rule double off Burnett's 95mph pitch against the Yankees on Sunday, and that two of his four home runs have been to left-center. In the past, when he kept his weight back and his hands inside he was able to drive towards the Green Monster, something that he was completely unable to do in April.
Whilst it's a small sample, his May so far reads much happier;
25 AB, 7 hits, 1 double, 3 HR for a .280/.321/.680
This is about .100 pts higher slugging than Youk, showing signs of the power the team has been lacking.
If he can continue this for another 2-3 weeks he might not be released or taken off the 25 man roster in June...and it seems I'm not the only one to think so.
Finally, Dallas Braden, the A's pitcher with the 17-23 lifetime record, a high 80s fastball and 4.5 ERA is known for something else than calling A-Rod a douche.
On Sunday he pitched the 19th perfect game in baseball history. 27 batters, 27 outs. No walks, no hits, no reached on error. Not one baserunner all game.
This is as rare a feat as you'll see in baseball. Compare to the 672 triple plays and 289 times a player has hit for the cycle, you realise how incredibly difficult this is to do, as you have to rely on 8 other players to play a perfect game too.
Congrats to Dallas, now take the high road and shut up about A-Rod.
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