Wasn’t long ago that Javy Lopez was buying his momma a new crib…signing a lucrative 3 year deal as a free agent with the Orioles for the ’04 season. In 3 seasons he had less at-bats than Juan Pierre in a double-header – between injuries and sharing time and all. It got pretty bad in Baltimore and he was dealt to the Red Sox’ after Varitek got hurt. Why the heck do I bring this up you ask? Well, it’s simple…both the Rocky Mountain News and Denver Post say he’s close to signing with the Rockies. From the RMN:
“Lopez, 36, would receive a nonguaranteed contract with a base salary in the $700,000 to $750,000 range and performance bonuses”
Wow. Talk about drop-offs. From 7 straight years of $6 mil per (including a Niner last year) to hoping for a mil and a half? Let’s get this cat some food stamps.Â
So anyways, a breakdown of the Lopez decay is in order. Javy went from an 11 HR season in ’02, to a career high 43 bombs and 109 ribbies in his walk year, ’03. That’s like Mike Meyers going from Wayne’s World 2 to Austin Powers, just doesn’t happen without some mojo. You see what I’m getting at here? Wink wink, knod knod.Â
You remember all the talk before his ’03 season…how he had (put fingers in quote position) worked out extra hard over the off-season to put on muscle and lose fat? I do, but if you don’t, I dug this article up:
“I didn’t work out that differently, but I worked double what I had in the past. I just put more time into it. And the speed training made me more flexible and quicker.” The results were dramatic. Lopez lost 35 pounds over the winter. And he got himself in shape to be a superior ballplayer than he’d ever been in the past.”
 Well, the training got him 43 dongs, a new contract, and lofty expectactions. Of course he didn’t live up to them – and the Orioles dumped him to the Red Sox before the deadline – and he proceeded to hit less than his weight. Seriously – .190 vs. 230. You can tell me all you want about new stances, more discipline, but how else do you explain 43 homers in 1 year to only 46 in the next 3, and $8 million less in just year? I’ll just say he didn’t have his mojo.Â
