Great Markakis article by Brit

[24fps]

Yes. I have eyeballs and am capable of noticing whether a human being looks skinny or not.

That must be quite the reference monitor. I guess it goes without saying that it's been professionally calibrated for both dimension and color. Can't have Nick carelessly looking pale or thin or a viewer, even an educated one, might be tempted to use his eyeballs to draw conclusions better supported by data, consultation and familiarity with an athletes medical history.

A lot of us are disappointed that Nick hasn't fully capitalized on the promise he showed earlier in his career. I'm not so sure that licenses us to conclude that he's, in essence, been lazy up to this point, or at least since he got his big payday.

[pollaxt]

That must be quite the reference monitor. I guess it goes without saying that it's been professionally calibrated for both dimension and color. Can't have Nick carelessly looking pale or thin or a viewer, even an educated one, might be tempted to use his eyeballs to draw conclusions better supported by data, consultation and familiarity with an athletes medical history.

A lot of us are disappointed that Nick hasn't fully capitalized on the promise he showed earlier in his career. I'm not so sure that licenses us to conclude that he's, in essence, been lazy up to this point, or at least since he got his big payday.

What data are you providing to support your claim? Give me his BMI, Body fat %, and Weight for 2008 compared to 2013 and then we can approximate Nick's muscle mass before his contract against last season. If his muscle mass last season is more or even the same as 2008, then I will apologize. But until such data is provided, I will continue to use my eyeballs and the times I've seen Nick in person and on TV (now in Technocolor!).

Nick in 2008

v.

Nick in 2013

These are the first 2 photos I came across taken straight on during both seasons. I'm sorry, but at least to me, it is quite obvious that Nick's face and neck are wider in 2008 compared to 2013. And while it's hard to tell due to the looseness of Nick's jersey in 2008, his shoulders appear wider as well.

Now, let's look at a photo of Nick taken this past spring training.

Now, which previous version of Nick does he look more like now? 2008 or 2013? The answer is an easy one...at least for me.

Could Nick have been using the same weight training regime with the same effort for the past 5-6 years but still thinned down? Perhaps. But that would mean his diet has been calorie-deficient and I don't why any athlete or any trainer worth a damn would recommend that for an already lean Nick Markakis.

[24fps]

What data are you providing to support your claim? Give me his BMI, Body fat %, and Weight for 2008 compared to 2013 and then we can approximate Nick's muscle mass before his contract against last season. If his muscle mass last season is more or even the same as 2008, then I will apologize. But until such data is provided, I will continue to use my eyeballs and the times I've seen Nick in person and on TV (now in Technocolor!).

Nick in 2008

v.

Nick in 2013

These are the first 2 photos I came across taken straight on during both seasons. I'm sorry, but at least to me, it is quite obvious that Nick's face and neck are wider in 2008 compared to 2013. And while it's hard to tell due to the looseness of Nick's jersey in 2008, his shoulders appear wider as well.

Now, let's look at a photo of Nick taken this past spring training.

Now, which previous version of Nick does he look more like now? 2008 or 2013? The answer is an easy one...at least for me.

Could Nick have been using the same weight training regime with the same effort for the past 5-6 years but still thinned down? Perhaps. But that would mean his diet has been calorie-deficient and I don't why any athlete or any trainer worth a damn would recommend that for an already lean Nick Markakis.

I don't think the burden is on me to provide the data to support your observations. I don't dispute that Nick might have been thinner in 2011 than in 2008, nor that he has bulked up over this past offseason. I do dispute that observation alone is sufficient to conclude that Nick wasn't putting in the work and by implication had gotten lazy once he signed his big contract - that's my objection to your original post. As far a diet is concerned, you are better qualified than I am to form a hypothesis, but until there's actual data to support it, it remains just that - a hypothesis. FWIW I think it's a reasonable thing to speculate about. It's certainly reasonable to wonder if an evolutionary process has taken place in a professional athlete's approach to conditioning over a span of five years. But with that comes no requirement to question his motives in years past.

I work with images all day long and have done so for well over three decades. I use them along with words to manipulate how people feel about things. The disclaimer that accompanies your comparison of the 2008 photograph to the one from 2013 is appropriate, and we can add lighting, focal length, image size and a dozen other considerations before we approach an objective criteria for comparison. I don't question your personal observations unaided by technology.

[Redskins Rick]

How long as Brady been back with the Orioles and he took over their training program?

[Frobby]

How long as Brady been back with the Orioles and he took over their training program?

Formally, he took a position when Duquette became GM. That was the winter Nick was having his surgery. Before that, certain players from inside and outside the Orioles organization were working out with Brady and he was sometimes used as a consultant (not sure he was paid) by the team.

[Redskins Rick]

Formally, he took a position when Duquette became GM. That was the winter Nick was having his surgery. Before that, certain players from inside and outside the Orioles organization were working out with Brady and he was sometimes used as a consultant (not sure he was paid) by the team.

But, with Nick finally recovered, and now able to commit to the Brady routine, is totally understandable, at least to me.

I still say that some Athletics are so good when they are younger, they don't train as much as they should, as they age, they find out, they need to train more to compete with the younger guys. But, what do I know?

[Moose Milligan]

This is when the OH is at it's best. Whipping out photos of players over the years to try to figure out if they're in better shape now or a few years ago and what possible effect it's had on their play. I'm surprised no ones getting into the technicalities of tailoring and whether or not the cut of the jersey has changed and if that is hiding any muscle changes that would be inhibiting our ability to throw spaghetti at a wall when it comes to judging Nick's body and his off-season workout routines.