David Ortiz has had a strong batting eye throughout his career. That is what makes his current struggles that much more difficult to comprehend. Most hitters decline after the age of 30, but hitters with stronger batting eyes shouldn't decline this rapidly. They tend to age gracefully.

Ortiz suffered injuries to his wrist, knee and shoulder the last few seasons, and those injuries probably contributed to his declining batting statistics the last two seasons.

Nick Cafardo of the Boston Globe hints the problem may not be Ortiz's health.

Is the answer as simple as recovering from the partially torn sheath in his wrist that damaged his 2008 season? Is it as simple as his knee feeling better, his shoulder? Is it all health-related?

For weeks, the questions have been asked. And there have been no answers.

In an interview last week, Ortiz said that, physically, he's "better than ever," but he also hinted at a personal issue.

"People don't know," Ortiz said. "Sometimes they think we just come here to play baseball and that's it. We're human beings like everyone else. We have things to worry about.

"Sometimes that gets in the way. It's hard to have that free open mind you need to play this game. There's no way you can play this game with a busy mind. No way."

Read into that what you want. Ortiz says he's healthy, but that may be different than him actually being healthy. He could be hiding an injury just so he has an opportunity to play.

But the problem could also be mental. Ortiz has been horrible at the plate this season, completely missing pitches he used to hit for home runs. Because of his talent at the plate -- the quality batting eye we discussed earlier -- he shouldn't be declining this badly with age.

That means he must be battling something, whether it's an injury or a mental ailment. It seems to be the latter from this story.

Here are Saturday's web gems:

Nick Hundley hits a home run in the 16th inning to give the Padres the 6-5 victory over the Reds in AHP's pick for highlight of the night:

The media loves to bash Alex Rodriguez, and rightfully so: he's only a highly productive player who switched positions to avoid angering an inferior player when he moved to the most famous team in American sport.  He's got a gajillion homers, will surely reach at least 650, is going to reach 3000 hits, and is probably all in all one of the 20 best players ever.

But he sucks.  Unclutch.

This is, by my count, Alex's third walk-off bomb.  The first one was a granny off the O's; then a 3-run smash off I believe the Braves; and now, today, a 2 run shot off the Twins.

Angels ace John Lackey takes the mound for the first time this season today. His first pitch sails behind the Rangers lead-off hitter Ian Kinsler and the second one hit Kinsler in the chest. That's it for Lackey as the home plate umpire tosses him from the game.

Frankly, I am stunned. Granted, there is some history between the Angels and Rangers when it comes to beaning, but this seems rather hard. Lackey may simply be a little rusty. If I would make the first start of the season in Mid-May, I would do everything to smoothly get through the first inning, not drill the first man I face. Now, Shane Loux has to pitch without proper preparation, this could be a tough night for the Angels pen.

Here are Friday's web gems:

Here is AHP's pick for highlight of the night:

The New York Mets lost Billy Wagner to Tommy John surgery late last season, which probably contributed to their September demise. GM Omar Minaya brought in closer Francisco Rodriguez and setup man JJ Putz to handle the late innings.

He's only missing a hard-throwing lefthander to round out the back of his bullpen. The Mets may get one in August, writes Adam Rubin of the New York Daily News.

Billy Wagner has returned to Port St. Lucie after a month-long moratorium on throwing off a mound. It looks like his projection to return from Tommy John elbow surgery by August may be on the mark. Wagner already is firing fastballs at 90 mph, a team source told the Daily News.

Wagner, 37, is owed $10.5 million this season, in the final guaranteed year of his four-year deal. The Mets have an option on Wagner at $8 million for next season, with a $1 million buyout.

With an extended period of time off, velocity shouldn't be Wagner's biggest concern. He was always able to dial it up in the upper 90's. The biggest thing to watch for is control. After taking a year or so off, pitchers take a few outings to get their proper mechanics back.

Wagner's return should be a much-needed boost for the Mets, especially considering Putz's early-season elbow issues.