Put a pitchfork in J.D. Drew's demon label
By Rich Hoffman

Note: Almost all of the quotes in this column were lifted from old editions of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Only the attitude is mine. With that, then, this is what happened while you were all patting yourselves and the Phillies on the back for their principled fiscal responsibility in the matter of the demon Drew . . . Offseason:

J.D. Drew wore No. 8 in his smashing September debut last year. He switches to No. 7 for this year because the newly acquired Carlos Baergo asked him for No. 8.

"He's worn it for so long; I respect him," Drew says. "I kind of wanted a single-digit number and seven was available."

March 13: Drew hits his third spring training home run and the compliments just keep coming.

Mark McGwire says, "He's so far ahead of anybody I've ever seen play at that age [ 23 ] . So he's in a class with himself."

Manager Tony La Russa says, "If you combine defense and baserunning, I've never seen a player that advanced. Jose [ Canseco ] was real impressive as a young hitter, so I'm not going to say that Drew's a better hitter than Jose, but as far as the whole thing . . . "

McGwire also says, "He's going to have his normal downs. And he's going to have his ups. Let's face it. He's never played a full six months at a big-league level so this is his first go-round. I'm more confident that he'll be very successful, but it's not going to be easy. What really helps him is hitting in front of me."

La Russa also says, " [ He ] is a guy who really works hard and has a lot to work with. On the personal level, [ he is ] a guy who's respectful of his teammates, very courteous. What is there not to like?"

April 11: A slow start. The early numbers: 2-for-18 with seven strikeouts. Pitchers who watched Drew hit five homers in 36 at-bats at the end of last season are serving up nothing but junk this year -- and Drew is chasing it.

"I'm seeing it late, and it makes me jump out there and swing at bad pitches," Drew says. "I'm seeing my fair share of junk, because I'm doing stupid stuff at the plate. I'm jumping out there and chasing the pitches they want me to swing at. So they're going to keep throwing it until I show them I won't chase them."

"He'll be fine," says Mike Easler, the Cardinals' batting coach. "He's such a strong-willed person, he's got a lot of talent, a lot of character. Adversity has been part of his career, so this isn't any different. He'll overcome this. It'll click. He'll start taking pitches. They'll start coming to daddy, and he'll be the hitter we know he can be. When he gets hot, I can't wait to see it. It's going to be great."

April 17: Still slumping, but Drew does have a triple and a run scored. "God puts you through trials," he says. "It was a little bit early. It really humbled me. Last year, it didn't seem that anything could go wrong. This season started and I couldn't buy a hit." April 20: Drew gets three hits, including his first home run of the season, raising his average to .243. He started the season 3-for-26 (.115). "I'm a firm believer that God puts you through a lot of trials for some reason," Drew says. "It's brought me closer to Him. I have a hard time playing the game when I'm in a situation where I don't feel comfortable in my relationship with God. It's kind of one of the things I had to focus on more than anything. It makes me a little more relaxed up there." April 25: Drew collides at first base with Dodgers pitcher Darren Dreifort and injures his left thumb. X-rays show it to be a sprain, with no broken bones.

April 30: After hitting fifth, sixth and second in the Cardinals' lineup, Drew is penciled into the leadoff spot by La Russa.

"Now matter where he hits, he has the same assets," the manager says. "He has good power. He has a good strike zone when he's right. And he has good speed. With those types of talents, you're usually better at the top of the lineup."

May 3: Drew, on top of the thumb (as well as hip and leg problems), has to come out of a game against the Braves with a strained right thigh muscle after being thrown out while trying to go from first to third on a single to right. "Strains and sprains come along every now and then," Drew says. "Maybe I can get them out of the way early. I want to get healthy and play every game."

May 9: Drew returns to the lineup and goes 0-for-3 with a strikeout. He does, however, make a diving catch in leftfield. His batting average going into his first series against the Phillies is .235.

Drew sits out last night's game against the Phillies with a strained quadriceps,

OK, we're up to date. The demon Drew is, by all accounts, a nice kid and a very good player who's off to a slow start, partly because of youthful overanxiousness and party because of injuries. It's only fair to acknowledge that given the poisoned atmosphere in Philadelphia concerning Drew, he would have really been worked over by the fans had he had the same kind of slow start with the Phillies that he's undergoing with the Cardinals. It would have been a really different level of hell. Overcoming it would have taken a really special player. Granted.

But that's what the big money is about. And given all the available evidence so far, J.D. Drew is not only the wealthiest boy scout in baseball, but he still -- even with the slump -- remains a much better baseball bet than either Eric Valent (chosen with the sandwich pick awarded to the Phils when they didn't sign Drew, and off to a fine start at Clearwater) or Pat Burrell (who ended up getting Drew's money from the Phils and who is coming around and playing well at Reading). Demon, hmmmm?

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