I went back to some of my classes today after a bout with what I’m pretty sure was the Swine Flu. (Health officials here have pretty much said people who come down with the flu shouldn’t even bother to have it verified as H1N1 – it probably just IS.)
One knock I hear year after year about David DeJesus is that he’s too delicate. It does seem like he often sits out with seemingly minor medical issues: a sore ankle, hives, and now the flu.
While the rest of the team is in New York, DeJesus is in Kansas City, sitting out his 4th straight game. Yeah, people are calling him names for that. They say he’s out with “the sniffles.” Of course, they’re calling him “soft.”
However, speaking from recent experience and without getting too graphic here, it’s entirely possible that DeJesus can’t move without, um, losing a meal or two. It’s totally possible that his heart rate feels like it’s about 3 times the normal rate…when he’s just lying down. It’s even possible that staying home was not his choice.
Whether David is “soft” or not – I happen to think not – to suggest he’s playing up an imagined illness to get some paid time off is sorta dumb. After a slow start to his season, DeJesus kicked it up a notch and is now worth 3.4 wins – more than his WAR total from 2008 or 2007. He’s fresh off a long hit streak, and without knowing the guy personally, I’d bet a princely sum that he wants to be in the batter’s box, building off of whatever was working so well for him in that time. Sitting in bed watching TV and eating soup doesn’t help with the mechanics or timing of a swing. Nobody who’s competitive enough to get to the Majors in the first place would be soft enough to waste a darned respectable stretch of hitting.
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