RAUUUUUUUUL and the Juice
Ok, I’m not saying that Raul Ibanez takes steroids…. because he doesn’t. In fact, when he joined the Phillies in 2009 and had that stellar first half of the season, accusations were flying that Ibanez was juicing to revive his career and Raul took great offense to it. He’s never tested dirty.
But since then, Raul has been slumping through 2.5 seasons riddled with injuries and horrible at-bats. The “RAUUUUUUL’s” quickly turned to “BOOOOOOs” this season during his 0/31 slump. His offensive production hasn’t really been the same since returning from that 2009 All-Star Break injury. This year he’s only batting .214 average with 15 RBIs. Those numbers are padded a lot from the last 3 days. If we looked the month of April only, it would read :
.161 AVG / 14 hits / 108 At-Bats / 10 RBIs / 1HR.
Yikes. Then, for some reason, the past 3 days have been monumentally better for Ibanez. Against the Nationals, Ibanez has had 8 hits for 12 at bats (.667 average) with 2 home-runs, 5 RBIs, and fell a triple short of the cycle yesterday! What on Earth has happened?
Something happened between May 1st and May 3rd that got Raul all fired up! Maybe he got laid. Maybe he found his wife cheating on him. Did you know that he sleeps in a hyperbaric chamber every night like Michael Jackson did? Kinda weird.
I saw Ibanez in person about 2 weeks ago at the Phils/Brewers and what stood out (aside from his shitty at-bats) was how jacked he looks now. It’s hard to tell on TV, but from when I saw him last year and now, his arms look twice the size. For being 38, the man is super diesel. It’s hard NOT to think he’s on steroids. I’m just saying if a news flash read “Raul Ibanez caught taking steroids” I wouldn’t be blown away.
I don’t really care what it is, but whatever happened May 2nd, I hope it continues. Go forth RAUUUUUL!!
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