Results matching “best shape of his life”

If you’ve been reading my stuff for a while, you know that I obsessively track those players who are reported to be “in the best shape of their life” each spring. Best Shape of His Life stories can take a couple of different forms. There’s the straightforward “Player X is looking good” story which, if…

Like, how to pitch without 40 pounds you used to have on that frame of yours. Derrick Goold of the Post-Dispatch reports: Lynn’s slimmer physique has given him more flexibility in his windup, and the results have been inconsistent as he tries to get used to the movements of his lighter look. “When you have a…

Uh-oh, someone was not in the Best Shape of His Life when he was demoted to Las Vegas. That someone was the Blue Jays Adam Lind Farrell implies Lind wasn’t in shape when sent down, affected range and bat speed, but also said he did his core strengthening religiously. — Mike Wilner (@Wilnerness590) June 11,…

Best shape of my life? Ha!  Try this on for size. From La Velle Neal: [Carlos] Gutierrez, I’ve been told, has rededicated himself to conditioning during the offseason and wants to come to camp in the best shape ever. He reported last year noticeably heavier. He could be a bullpen wild card if he can…

Bill Brink of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has a story about how the Pirates are going to emphasize offseason conditioning for their players this year.  In linking it, Buster Olney makes a good point that, while probably obvious, isn’t something we hear too much about over the winter: You’ll be hearing this kind of thing more…

Miguel Cabrera‘s Maserati goes one-eighty-five. Got back his license, now he can drive. Life’s been good to him so far: Florida officials have returned Detroit Tigers slugger Miguel Cabrera’s driver’s license, but he still faces DUI charges. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department determined Friday there wasn’t enough evidence to prove Cabrera had been…

Yes, we know he’s in the best shape of his life and yes we know that spring stats aren’t supposed to mean anything, but Daisuke Matsuzaka‘s spring hasn’t been too encouraging. He got lit up for five runs in 3.2 innings against the Rays today, which brings his ERA on the spring up to 11.42.  What’s…

Alex Rodriguez might not be in the proverbial “best shape of his life,” but he did show up to Yankees camp this weekend with a trimmer self. According to Buster Olney of ESPN.com, the 35-year-old Rodriguez dropped from 233 pounds to 223 pounds this offseason and slid his body fat from 12 percent to nine…

It looks like we can add Pirates outfielder Jose Tabata to the ever-growing pool of players “in the best shape of their life.” Rob Biertempfel of the Pittsburgh Tribune Review writes that Tabata “has bulked up noticeably” during the offseason “and it’s muscle, not fat.” One teammate called Tabata “a beast” after getting a look…

Brian McCann, when asked whether he lost weight during the offseason: No, I just rearranged it. I’m still 235. Judging from the reports flooding in across baseball, McCann might be the only player who isn’t “in the best shape of his life.”

When productive veteran outfielders like Johnny Damon and Jermaine Dye are having trouble finding work it makes sense that not-so-productive veteran outfielders like Darin Erstad may be headed for retirement. Bill Plunkett of the Orange Country Register recently spoke the Erstad, who “sounded like a happy father, perfectly content if he never plays another major-league…

Setting aside how old it makes me feel to hear that a team employee read Tom Tango’s “The Book” “while growing up,” these two stories — here and here — from Adam Kilgore of the Washington Post is a fascinating peek into how the Washington Nationals — a team always characterized as “scouting-first” use advanced…