Comments on: Olney’s Latest: Is Gomez Getting Bigger?

By: sirsean

sirsean — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 20:49:57 +0000

That's a good point.

For reference, I was watching the game today, and Gomez came in late in the game to get some innings in at CF.

The ball came to him on two consecutive plays. The first one was a bit of a liner, with one out and a man at third. He calmly moved forward toward the ball (not a REALLY long way, but it wasn't near him), catching it on the move and coming up poised to throw. He kept the runner from tagging.

The second one was a deep fly ball. He turned and jogged in the direction he thought it would go, then turned around and ran backwards for about the last 15 or so feet. He caught it easily.

So he's not running nearly as fast as he was last year. For the most part his stride is still very deer-like. But he's moving much straighter now, so he doesn't need to run as fast. He looks good in the field.

By: FunBobby

FunBobby — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:44:11 +0000

It could be that he is taking better routes to the ball, so he doesn’t have to turn on the afterburners to make up for going in the wrong direction at first. I remember last year he took some interesting routes to the ball.

By: sirsean

sirsean — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 19:09:18 +0000

He doesn't seem to use the blazing speed as much. He looks much more effortless out there, gliding to the ball. I haven't seen him do that and come up short on the ball.

He looks a bit more under control ... or that he knows the games don't count yet.

I don't think that's evidence that he's gotten slower.

By: Erica

Erica — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 18:54:44 +0000

I would have to agree that Gomez getting more muscle is a good thing. He’s already shown power this Spring, and it would be great if that translates to the regular season. I haven’t been able to watch any Spring Training games this year, but does Gomez still look blazing fast in the outfield?

By: FunBobby

FunBobby — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 17:30:12 +0000

The Nationals!