But yes, of course I believe Adrian was held down by Safeco, as well as by playing for a consistently cellar dwelling team ...
Well, hang on. Why would playing for a bad team affect him mentally, if playing in a bad park wouldn't?
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However, I'm going to go with the mindset that players like Adrian Beltre and Franklin Gutierrez are not so easily beaten into simply allowing something so simple as a home park to beat them.
If Adrian Beltre gets beaten by a stadium because it holds him to 25 home runs a year...
Losin' me, mate.
Adrian Beltre was a 163 OPS+ player before he signed with the Mariners, the #2 NL MVP ... and he went from 163 OPS+ to 93 OPS+.
And you characterize that historically unique 163 -- > 93 collapse as .... being held (insert irony) to 25 homers a year?
If you're arguing that Beltre musta been fine with his Safeco results, 'cause he was getting those 25 impressive homers, we're talking past each other at this point.
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So why would your home park make you start phoning in your performance in one of the most competitive jobs on the planet.
You don't phone it in. Players who are losing are grinding *harder.*
But when the new ping-pong player across from you --- > smashes your regular serves for winners (like Safeco smashing Beltre's doubles for caught fly ball outs), then you stop playing the game that brought you here. You start taking wild swings in desperation for a lucky shot.
Ever competed against far better players, Mal? It's not a question of quitting. It's a question of changing your game - for the worse - because your normal game is frustrating.
..............
I'll give yer the last word.