Johnny Damon: Juicer?

One of the many regrettable aspects of the Steriod Era is that it forces you to look twice any time a player undergoes an extraordinary change in career trajectory.

Take David Ortiz, one of the most lovable stars the game has. At the age of 33, Ortiz's production has completely fallen off a cliff. On its face, it's strange but not completely unprecedented. But when you couple it with the near instantaneous career makeover he experienced upon arriving in Boston, and, not for nothing, the known steroid use of his former bash brother Manny Ramirez, it makes you ask questions.

Which leads us to Johnny Damon, and the question no one seems to be asking. After all those years when journalists allowed themselves to be awed by incongruous home run production, and after all the lessons they supposedly learned, I haven't seen the question raised once about Damon and steroids.

Consider the stats. Through June 9, at the ripe young age of 35, Damon has 12 home runs and 14 doubles. The former figure puts him on pace to hit 36 home runs, well more than he's ever hit in a single season (his former personal best was 24 in 2006). This is Johnny Damon we're talking about; for context, 36 home runs is more than Carlos Beltran has ever hit in a season except one.

The latter figure puts him on pace for 42 doubles which would match the career high he set in 2000 when he was 26 years old. Consequently, Damon's slugging percentage, .551, easily tops his previous best of .482.

It's a nice little career renaissance Damon is experiencing, isn't it?

It's true that there are mitigating factors. The new Yankee Stadium is a complete joke; Damon's pop up turned home run last night is perhaps the best evidence of that. And it's true that Damon's home-road splits show that he's hit more home runs at home (9) than on the road (3). At the same time, Damon's also hit more of his doubles on the road (8-6), so it's not that he's only driving the ball in the Bronx.

Nevertheless, it's a question that should be asked. Reporters don't want to ask it because it's "not fair" to turn the steroid question into a witch hunt. But that's completely ridiculous. The players invite this scrutiny by routinely voting down proposals to toughen up baseball's drug policy, and, you know, by using steroids.

His defection from the Red Sox to the Yankees aside, I have no problem with Johnny Damon. He seems like a good enough guy, and for years I wanted him on the Mets.

But come on, he's 35 years old and he's having the power season of his life and we're all just along for the ride. I hope he's clean, I really do. I hope it's just the new ballpark. But you gotta wonder.

* * * * *

As I write this it's pouring rain, and tonight's opener against the Phillies looks like a total long shot.

A lot of Mets fans seem to be dreading this series, but I look at it as an opportunity. We have our ace on the mound in game 1, and any time we can say that Johan Santana is pitching in a series we should feel that we have a chance to take 2-of-3.

Down 3 games in the division, this is a good opportunity to make a statement to the Phillies; bruised and battered as we are, it's an opportunity to remind the Phillies that we're still competitive with anybody in the league. We don't have to fold because Reyes went down or Delgado got hurt.

And when it's all over, hell, if we get three games in, the Mets could find themselves tied for first place. Now that's someting worth hoping for.

But that's getting ahead of ourselves. Maybe for now we should just hope it ever stops raining.

- A.F.O.M.G.