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Originally Posted by djtestudo
The only thing I'll point out is that, and you will notice this as you watch more and more, good players sometimes DO drop off the face of the Earth overnight, especially relief pitchers.
That doesn't mean that it will happen to Gagne, or that those players don't eventually come back in some cases, but it does happen.
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Quoted for accuracy.
90% of the players probably do drop off overnight and pitchers I'd say 99.9% fall overnight. That's why the smaller market teams are offering fewer years on contracts and trying to get option years.
You look at pitchers like Bartolo Colon, Dontrelle Willis, Mike Hampton, Roger Clemens, Barry Zito, Matt Mulder. Wood, Prior and I have a feeling Santana will, especially under the scrutiny and pressure of Boston or NY.
But if you follow baseball, you can see the fall of some pitchers coming but it is still a sudden drop because you didn't expect it so fast and such a drop.
Colon, for example, worked too many innings early in his career, was a workhorse and pitched late into every game. His Cy Young year he was unhittable but in the end, his shoulder gave out.
Dontrelle, who knows.
Hampton signed that HUGE contract with Colorado and feel apart, he's still plugging but not half what he was.
Clemens age caught up to him.
Zito and Mulder should have excelled in the NL. Instead they have fallen apart. Mulder through injury Zito possibly through pressure, if Zito doesn't perform this year, SF really took an expensive bullet because the kid will have no value at all in the trade market.
Wood and Prior..... 2 words Dusty Baker, I fear for Harang and Arroyo.
Santana the pressure, look at his stats he can't pitch big games, in NY and Boston they are ALL BIG GAMES.
Position players look at Thome, Robbie Alomar, Albert JOEY Belle and many many more, even Babe Ruth just dropped at the end. Ty Cobb on the other hand never dropped off.
The point is 162 games plus spring training takes a toll. Players bodies all age differently and when the body goes they're history. Most end up playing wayyyyyy too long after the body has quit, whether it is age 28 or age 38.
My point is very, very rarely do you see a slow gradual decline in a baseball player, especially the all-stars.