***Official 2024 STL Cardinals Thread ***

[VAChief]

Originally Posted by DJ's left nut

Just doesn't look as athletic anymore. Not defensively, not on the bases. He just looks a lot older. And he's always been a 'see ball, club ball' sort of hitter who wasn't exactly patient or selective in what he swung at. The traditional 'old man skills' weren't really his strength.

But he had good plate coverage and a willingness to attack anything hittable and drive it. Made him an excellent RBI guy.

Now he just looks older. And to compensate I think he's gotten MORE aggressive because, unlike when he was younger, he's not going to punish that first hittable pitch he sees. He may mis-hit it a bit so just in case, he's gonna expand his zone and try to attack a pitch he may not have in the past. And finally the frustrations of losing have him pressing and selling out for power.

I don't think it's anything mechanical. I think he's gotten older, he's gotten frustrated by poor performance and as a consequence he's just gotten awfully damn aggressive in his approach.

But if you want a far shorter answer - watch him play defense. He's not the best defensive 3b in baseball anymore. Or the NL. Or the even the NL Central. You could convince me that he's not one of the top THREE defensive 3b in the NL right now. And that's not approach. That's just age. His athleticism has just wanted.

Agreed, he has never had what you would call a "sweet swing." He has just had incredible hand/eye coordination that was partly innate and partly honed even further by the defensive work he put in everyday.

Now, I think he has started to age (not uncommon for eyesight to start to change in your early thirties) and it's such a fine edge in baseball that you see him struggle. I really thought they should have tried to move him at the deadline last year. Some contender would have overpaid on his recent history.

He could still recover, but the signs of decline are starting to show.