Wiser With Age

In 1993 he reached his prime. Never would his athletic prowess be matched. Never would the fans love him as much as they did that fall. Never would girls chase him or guys admire his strength, perseverence, and his unfailing ability to come up big when the pressure was on.

The years crept on and slowly his skills regressed. But he still went on. His career was admirable still. At the turn of the millenium his body had shrunk but still he remained a part of something special. Some loved him for his perseverance, others hated his place in the world where rings are constantly on their mind.

But now in 2006, it appears the guy needs to hang things up. He has joined a special group but he is half the man he once was. He is out of place. He is almost hatable. How could this have happened to what was once such a nice story?

Who is this mystery man you ask?

You might think you know, but you're off and shame on you for thinking it was him.

No my friends, it is not Julio Franco we are talking about. He is the man and he'll be duly praised later in this column.

The man I describe is none other than the greatest Notre Dame linebacker to hit the big screen, Daniel "Rudy" Rudiger.

See I loved Rudy. I'm one of those cheesy sports guys who loves cheesy sports movies that in the movie's finale you feel chills as the star makes the big play to win the game. I live for that shit.

While most of you guys loved those geenie movies where little munchkins go looking for rings that save worlds and what not, I was never a fan.

Give me sports or teenagers and leave the not goblins and space troopers for the next guy.

But shit really hit the fan for Daniel "Rudy" Rudiger on this season of 24. Here comes one of my favorite characters onto my favorite show.

Seems like a slam dunk, no?

But not the new Rudy. The post-Rings, 60 lbs. heavier bitch Rudy who fucks with Jack's universe and with no warrant tries to lay the law down on our good pal Bill Buchanan.

I had more conversations last night about how much Rudy sucks, how this is tarnishing the image of that "5-foot nothing, 100-pound nothing, without an ounce of athletic ability" son of a bitch.

I loved him in his prime and to see him get older, fatter and awfuler kills a young Sip. It really does.

In contrast, NEW MET, Julio Franco puts a smile on the young one's life. I always admired this guy, but reading an article about him in the Post on Tuesday sealed the deal.

The guy is old and he knows it. So he eats healthy, consuming a ton of egg whites a day, and "goes to sleep as early as possible."

Franco brings wisdom, leadership, and a very solid right-handed bat off the bench. He can give Delgado a day off against a tough lefty and DH in interleague games.

I think he was by far and away my favorite of "Wheel and Deal's" signings.

We didn't overpay, he didn't make a splash, but this is the type of guy that we need on this team.

We all remember how valuable Marlon Anderson was last year. It's the little things that win ball games, and sometimes it's the little guys who set everything in motion. Everyone remembers Rockin' Robin's Grand Slam Single in 1999, but would we ever have gotten there if Shawon Dunston, former great turned standout roleplayer, hadn't battled the shit out of Kevin McGlinchy leading off the 15th?

Besides, when you consider that 2/5 of our rotation doesn't figure to make it past the 5th inning with any consistency, you can't put a price on a guy who can put in a quality AB in the Mets' half of the 6th inning. Sad but true.

No deal is perfect, but this one is pretty close. If there's one aspect of the deal that you can criticize, it's the fact that he'll be one year shy of his 50th birthday by the time his contract expires. Was a 2-year deal necessary for a 47-year-old? Maybe, maybe not. But the truth is that there's no one in baseball who takes better care of himself, and to lock up a winner like him, a guy who can be a mentor to the team's many Latin youngsters, well, it was worth it.

This guy has aged about as well as possible. His OBP dipped to .348 in 2005 down from .378 in '04. His average likewise fell from .309 to .275. At the same time, his home run numbers went from 6 to 9 in 90 less at-bats, and his slugging percentage increased from .441 to .451.

Perhaps most telling of all, however, is that his ABs-per-strikeout rate has held steady for the most part, although there was a slight increase in 2005. Franco struck out once every 4.1 at-bats in 2005, up from a four-year average of once every 4.57 at-bats between 2001 and 2004. There's an increase there but I'm not ready to say this guy finally lost it at age 46 based on that alone. If we see another season of decline here in 2006, well, 2007 could be a long year. But as it is, his numbers don't seem to indicate that his bat speed has fallen off a cliff.

Franco may not put up the kind of numbers he did 1991 when he won the batting title as a member of the Texas Rangers, but he'll turn in some quality ABs, spell Delgado as necessary, and be a far more productive mentor than Gerald "Ice" Williams ever was. All of which is to say, as Julio enters his 29th spring training, we here at Yankees 2000 are pulling for him.

Call me crazy, but I'm happy. I'm a hell of a lot happier with Julio than I am with Rudy.

Seriously, what the fuck happened to that guy? Whatever it is, he needs to get on the Julio Franco Workout Plan if he ever wants to redeem himself.

That's right put in work,

SM