July 03, 2005
Bret Boone Moving On
The Seattle Mariners designated Bret Boone for assignment today. He'll either be traded or released in 10 days.
It's another example of how fast a player in his mid-30's can decline. He had a .901 OPS in 2003. It dropped to .740 last year and fell to .684 in 2005. Maybe a change of scenery will do him good, as it did for Ryan Drese, but my guess is that Boone is at the end of the line.
For someone with 252 home runs, he mostly had a disappointing career. Only in three seasons, 1994, 2001 and 2003 was he really outstanding. I remember drafting him for my strat-o-matic team after his debut in 1992 given the hype he received. His OBA was too low for most of his career, and his dominant period was all too short.
More than an example of a player in his 30's, Boone is perhaps an example of a player post-steroids.
Yeah...weren't there rumors about him? The coincidence is unfortunate if he was a clean player.
The reality is that what happened to Bret happens all the time: teams cut players. What is sad is the way it happens. They show up for work and they are either given a letter or in Bret's case, surely one of the coaches gave him the sad news. I think we should think about cutting Lincoln and Armstrong.
Rumors and suspisions aside, the man gave a lot of joy to Mariner fans.
I'd rather celebrate the person than degrade him on unsubstantiated rumors.
Shame on us for spitting on him when he is down.
I for one will miss his presence on this team.
Refer to an article I wrote last year (I saw all this coming, because the signs were just too noticeable):
http://boocity.com/archives/the_juice.php
There's little to celebrate in large muscles that weren't real and a large ego that was.
Bret gave the fans a lot of great games. Who knows if the rumors are true any way, he was a good ball player for the M's.
bret boone is just having a hard time i think the mariners should resign boone 4 little amount of cash for the 2006 season and use him as backup.i bet boone will rebound and the mariners will get the steal in the end
