I don't know if you or anyone else has noticed this, but to me, I think Pierre has lost a step down the first base line. I can't tell you how many times I have seen a relatively slow chopper on the left side of the infield from Pierre where I was thinking, " Oh, he'll beat that out" only to see him get thrown out by a step and a half. He just doesn't seem that fast to me, at least not as fast going down the line as he looked in Florida. (If there are any strat-o-matic veterans out there, I'd tag his speed right now at about 1-14). He's still proficient at getting good jumps in his basestealing, so his % is good there, but it looks like he's slowed down speed wise. He is currently leading all of MLB by a wide margin in groundouts. He has about 90, with Luis Castillo ranking second with about 70. I'd guess that his inability to beat out a lot of these hits might have something to do with his low average. The fact that he never walks coupled with his awesome outmaking ability has resulted in this terrible situation we now face with him. I think you might be on to something. But then again, it could just be the tall grass. :roll: