Nothing we really haven't heard before...at least from what I can tell.
As expected, the fans seem to be rallying behind Mesa in the battle of the spring training sites. We'll see what happens. It seems to me that if the Crickets really wanted to stay, they would have made the announcement this weekend and made all the fans happy.
Others really think that Mesa regained the advantage this weekend due to the fan reaction...I don't think that's the case. My gut tells me right now that the Crickets are leaning toward Florida, they just didn't want 10,000 angry fans on their hands this weekend.
But I want to talk about Geovany Soto.
He showed up this weekend and stunned a lot of people...depending on what report you read, he lost somewhere between 35 and 40 pounds.
We all knew that Soto was going to do some sort of off-season conditioning this year...but 40 lbs. lighter? Wow!
Now, it's unfortunate we have to ask this, but is it possible that something more is happening here?
I want you to look at Soto's minor league home run totals through the years.
Soto spent 6 years in the minor leagues an put up these totals:
| Where | Year | HR | OPS |
| Mesa(A) | 2001 | 1 | .726 |
| Boise/Mesa(A) | 2002 | 3 | .751 |
| Daytona(A) | 2003 | 2 | .629 |
| W.Tenn(AA) | 2004 | 9 | .756 |
| Iowa(AAA) | 2005 | 4 | .699 |
| Iowa(AAA) | 2006 | 6 | .739 |
| Iowa(AAA) | 2007 | 26 | 1.076 |
Um...what the hell happened in 2007?
Ok, before I go on here, let me say that I really like Geovany Soto. I want him to do well. He should be the Cubs starting catcher.
And Everything I'm about to say is pure speculation. I have no proof of anything, I'm just putting a theory out there.
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It's the winter before the 2007 season. Soto has spent 6 years in the minor leagues. His last 2 seasons where at Iowa. He's had two very short stints in the Major Leagues with not much success. His stats in Iowa were less than stellar. His career is at a crossroads. How many more years would he continue to play in AAA? He knows he can contribute at the Major League level if just given the chance...so maybe, just a for a short time, he'll just use a little something to give him a little bit of an advantage, just to get noticed. Not forever, but just so he can get his foot in the door.
The 2007 season arrives, and Soto has a great year. He get's called up to the Major's late in the season and impresses the hell out of everyone. After 2007, the Cubs announce that Soto will be the starting catcher in 2008. His foot is in the door.
Now he needs to solidify his spot in the Major Leagues. He continues to use that little something to keep up his performance, but is becoming concerned about getting caught.
2008 comes and he wins the Rookie of the Year award. He's in. Ok...he doesn't want to get caught doing anything illegal, he's gotten away with it for 2 years, so he doesn't risk it anymore and stops using that little something.
As 2009 comes, his body starts to change, and he starts to tire easily. His performance suffers. The muscle turns in to fat, and he feels sluggish.
After a rather poor 2009 season, he decides to try something different, so he loses the weight he gained after 2008. He needs to lose it fast, and wants to have that energy back. So now he tries something different, that isn't illegal.
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I guess I'm kinda looking at Soto like I looked at Ivan Rodriguez just before the 2005 season after he lost 25 pounds. I think it was assumed now that he dropped the weight after he lost muscle and gained fat after getting off of steriods or some other PED. MLB started testing players in 2003, and suspending violators in 2004. Remember, Rodriguez was in Texas during some very suspect times. Could it be that Soto and Rodriguez followed the same pattern?
(And remember Jason Giambi?)
I don't know if Soto did anything illegal. And I hope he didn't. But something here really sounds fishy. If he didn't do something bad before, well, I think he probably did something not all that healthy during this off-season. Forty pounds in a little over 3 months? There are a ton of people who would love to know what he did to do that.
And this statement from Soto was a little disturbing too:
"It's weird, I feel like a 12-year-old. I have a lot of energy. I'm kind of wired all day."
Um...that sounds like you've been doing a bit more than just eating chicken and fish.
Well, I don't want to ramble on here too much, but one thing I think we need to consider is this, I don't think we will ever see the Geovany Soto of 2008 again. With him 40 pounds lighter, I fully expect him to stay healthy, to be a little quicker on his feet, and be a better catcher, but he is not going to be a guy who will hit 20+ homers in a season and drive in 80+ runs.
Let's face it, if Soto is going to be our catcher for years to come, he's going to be a scrappy catcher...the Ryan Theriot of catchers.
Yea scrappiness!
