David Ortiz

[Pochucker]

On way to work this afternoon, caller to WFAN in NY mentioned that David Ortiz was "significantly " lighter than last year and of course attributed it to new work out and diet.
Anyone else here anything?

[nikku88]

less pizza and beer?

[FoolOnTheHill]

Just stumbled across this post after gagging down the 8 pages of the Bonds Slide Show thread. Sad thing is we're seeing 'roids everywhere now, like scared kids seeing monsters in the dark. We know (that is, overwhelming circumstances add up to convince us) their use has been rampant since the McGwire-Sosa battles and even longer but everyone from the front offices of MLB on down are, for all intents and purposes, denying it. We target a guy like Bonds but everyone is complicit. Best you can get is, "yeah I know it's going on" but no one seems to know who's doing it! Major coverup.

Canseco violates the code of the brotherhood of the clubhouse and becomes a whistle-blowing hero to some, lying greedy opportunistic scoundrel to others. (Gee, maybe both are right!)

Why are we torn by this?

One thing we feel we know with confidence (overwhelming circumstances add up to convince us!): They're all lying! AND WE DON'T LIKE LIARS!!

Beyond that, why does it engage and enrage us so? It destroys our faith in the game, a game based on statistics more than any other. 73 beating 70 beating 61 beating 60 only means something in baseball and the stink surrounding the 70 and 73 is growing far worse than 162 vs. 154. And now fantasy guys worry if this guy or that guy is "for real." Will Ortiz tank this year like Boone did last? Why the hell did Boone lose all that weight anyway? Was 37 too many HRs for a 2B? Gotta be that Popeye ain't got his spinach no mo'.

<img src=/forums/images/smiles/kiss.gif>

Maybe the powers that be in MLB know more than the rest of us -- ignore the elephant in the corner and sooner or later he'll disappear. Let everyone argue back and forth about whether you can prove this or that, keep denying everything, lie, lie, lie, cover it all up and eventually, everyone will run out of gas, fuhgeddabout it all and go back to just loving the game and their heroes. Maybe the big records of these years can survive without asterisks, the grass will be deliciously green with another spring and all will be Peachy Kuehn (Harvey's wife, you know) once again.

[Shakes]

avid sox fan here and looking at pictures of david from spring training he certainly doesn't look and lighter. Still just a big guy.

[Dice]

Judge for yourself

Looks about the same to me.

[Yoda]

I think Ortiz will be fine. He is still relatively young and he can probably maintain this level for a few years provided he stays healthy. He is a $ player IMO. If he figures out how to hit lefties, he will be even better. Scary thought.

[firstclassfastball]

Ortiz is going to crush the ball all year like he did all year last year. Boone is just getting old and had an off year.