HR Turnarounds of Late

Three guys struggling mightily to hit HR's like they're paid to early in the year have found the long ball stroke of late; in fact, each hit one out today.

Troy Glaus had all of 2 homers in 187 AB's with his new team, the Cards, through May 30. Cards must have wondered if they'd obtained a washed up has-been. Not so quick. Since May 31, Glaus has hit 8 HR's in 71 AB. And we're suddenly reminded: "Hey, he's only 31!"

Similarly, former Card J.D. Drew was foundering with 4 HR in 149 AB for the Red Sox through May 31. (And he'd only hit 11 his first year in Boston last year.) But June's been good for him, too--10 HR in 66 AB, a .424 avg. and 1.045 (!) slugging pct.

Then there's Vladamir Guerrero, who, despite being a streak hitter all his life, has been a picture of consistency when it comes to all-star caliber season totals. But the .320-something career hitter was only batting .249 with 7 HR in 201 AB as of June 1 when he missed several games (due to injury I presume). Since returning on June 6,he's hit 6 HR in 54 AB and hit .444 to raise his season avg. to a respectable .290. Oh, and Vladdie, like Glaus and Drew, is only 32--maybe it just starts to take a little longer to get the kinks out and hit your stride is you move on in your 30's...