Davis didn't get bigger, he got better

[Morgan423]

Thanks, now it's very clear why Davis is hitting more HR. He shaved.

Clearly the lack of stubble allows him to more aerodynamically turn into the swing plane.

[OsEatAlEast]

I wasn't that far off with my paraphrasing. I'm surprised because I'm not that good at remembering things phonetically.

[OsEatAlEast]

I wasn't that far off with my paraphrasing. I'm surprised because I'm not that good at remembering things phonetically.

Opps forgot something

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[El Gordo]

I would love to hear exactly how people think PED's are helping Davis to hit more HR. I don't notice increased bat speed. His average distance is the same. He isn't any bigger than previous years. Have they improved his eyesight? Given him more confidence? It is my understanding that PED's mainly improve the speed of recovery after workouts, thus enabling a player to maintain maximum strength over the long haul of a season. There is a biological ceiling in terms of strength, for every individual body. PED's can help one reach that ceiling faster, and stay there, but they can't raise it.

[OsEatAlEast]

I would love to hear exactly how people think PED's are helping Davis to hit more HR. I don't notice increased bat speed. His average distance is the same. He isn't any bigger than previous years. Have they improved his eyesight? Given him more confidence? It is my understanding that PED's mainly improve the speed of recovery after workouts, thus enabling a player to maintain maximum strength over the long haul of a season. There is a biological ceiling in terms of strength, for every individual body. PED's can help one reach that ceiling faster, and stay there, but they can't raise it.

Seems that anytime someone threatens the oh so precious records that is the first thing people think of. Especially if it is a Yankee record.

[BohKnowsBmore]

Yeah I'm a bigger guy at 25 than I was at 18. Not that I was necessarily "skinny" back then. But, I'm definitely bigger muscularly. It's called working out...

Yep. Same age. Same results.

[OsEatAlEast]

I remember I gained 20 lbs when I started working out just out of high school. They must have had steroids in the water fountain and vending machine at the gym! :eektf:

[Gofannon]

Did you guys see the article on ESPN today by Reilly where he said he didn't believe Davis wasn't taking PED's?

A typical Reilly hatchet job which included completely manipulated stats. He makes a big deal out of Davis only hitting 54 home runs in four seasons at Triple A without mentioning that he played in 31, 44, 48, and 103 games in those seasons. That makes for a home run every four games.

I totally understand the questions about Davis given how huge he is, how he's hit this season, and how the Rick Reillys of the world couldn't have picked him out of a lineup of one last year. We asked (and still ask) the same questions about Jose Bautista. We defend Davis more forcefully because he's our guy. I don't think he's using - he's always been enormous and been a power hitter - but I'm biased. There's also nothing he can say to defend himself against Rick Reilly and the rest of the talking heads.

[El Gordo]

Ben Johnson ran times, while on PED's, that were much faster than he ever ran before. Word it however you want. Either PED's raise that biological ceiling or they allow you to reach it when it is impossible to reach it without them.

I also don't notice Davis running any faster. No they don't raise the ceiling. Read up on them and get back to me. Or if you have read about them, please give me your source. It is much harder to reach your ceiling without them, and few do even with them, but not impossible. Also I would like you to explain to me exactly how PED's could be helping Davis to hit more HR. If he is stronger this year, wouldn't he be hitting the ball farther? Have you noticed increased bat speed? Or are they just magic as you seem to think.

[avdeuph]

Oh, I think he looks huge in all the photos.

Gotcha, and I agree. I think the difference is kid-huge and pro-in-prime huge, which is natural progression.

Thanks for the photos.

[hoosiers]

I don't know if CD is juicing or not. I really don't like the cheaters in baseball at all and find what Jay Gibbons did reprehensible. I also get aggravated thinking of the international kids who lied about their age and other shenanigans.

Hopefully, CD is clean. What I don't like about Reilly's accusation is the lack of evidence.

I think it is easiest to believe that CD's progression statistically has been very natural. I believe one can look at his stats last year and see that even slight improvements in contact rate and strike zone judgement could lead to a fairly dramatic increase in production. Davis is incredibly strong and one has to hope it is natural and not a Mark McGwire repeat.

One never knows. I mean, for years I told people I never thought ARod juiced because he was always the best of the best - going back to high school; and baseball really didn't have that many or any stories of guys juicing in HS like that. It turns out ARod was. So, it would not be otherworldly news if CD was juicing at such a young age, but it would be most disappointing.

You never know.

[El Gordo]

I'm not making the case that Davis is using. I'm making the case that they CAN help a lot. Did PED's help Bonds hit more homers? To say "no" would be na?ve.

An increase in speed or bat speed would most likely be imperceptible to the naked eye. I'm sure, without a stop clock, that Ben Johnson would look just as fast to me at a 10.00 100 meters as a 9.85 100 meters, if there were no other runners.

I've seen interviews with athletes such as Ben Johnson and other sprinters (another was an American woman who was caught and came clean). No better evidence than from the athletes themselves who used it and describe the increase in performance.

And I'm not saying they don't increase performance. Theyjust don't increase your ceiling for performance. PED's didn't make Johnson run faster for 40 yards. They kept him from slowing down as fast over the next 60. Bonds hit more HR on PED's because at an age when he should be declining, he was able to maintain peak performance over an entire season. His average distance didn't increase.

[weams]

I have it on good authority. Gary Thorne has juiced.

Responsibly.

[avdeuph]

I have it on good authority. Gary Thorne has juiced.

Responsibly.

?

[byrdz]

You really don't have to look very far to see that Davis has always had serious power.

http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=davis-003chr

It's only through ineptitude and laziness that you would attribute this to PED's.