Berkman enjoys bounce-back year with Cards

There is something about an aging superstar that makes sports fans uncomfortable.

Lance Berkman understands this. It's why he thinks there is so much panic over the subpar season Derek Jeter is having. It's why he believes fans dwell more on the fact that Tiger Woods hasn't won a PGA tournament in nearly two years than the fact that he has won 72 tournaments and 14 majors.

And it's why the 35-year-old Berkman feels so great about the bounce-back season he is having with the Cardinals. Berkman knows he isn't an iconic figure like Jeter or Woods, but entering the season he was a .295 career hitter with 353 home runs.

"It's certainly satisfying to come back from a down year," he said. "I'm trying to enjoy it as much as I can because you never know when it is the last good run you are going to have. It's been a pretty good year so far."

As it turns out, Berkman was hurt, not over the hill, when his career was given up for dead last season as he struggled to come back from a knee injury with the Astros and the Yankees. Now he is healthy, slimmer and back to being an All-Star on a contender. Berkman entered Wednesday night's's game against the Mets with 26 home runs, the most in the National League. Splitting time between the outfield and first base, he was hitting .286 with 65 RBIs, fourth in the league.

Berkman batted a combined .248 with 14 homers and 58 RBIs last season. It didn't matter that he was coming off knee surgery. What most people saw when they watched Berkman last year was a player who no longer could do what he used to do. And when that happens to a player in his mid-30s, he said, people assume the worst.

"I just think it's the nature of people [to judge]," Berkman said. "There's Tiger Woods, and certainly Derek has gotten his share of that kind of talk. And at some point, the people talking are right. But sometimes people want to be right too soon. I don't know if you can make that kind of judgment, and really, what difference does it make? A guy goes as long as he can go and when it's over, it's over."

Berkman seemed to particularly feel for what Jeter is going through now, given that the Yankees shortstop is coming off an injury, as Berkman did last year. Berkman experienced Jeter decline-mania firsthand at the All-Star Game, when Berkman said general comments he made about playing in the game were misconstrued to be a criticism of Jeter's decision not to play.

"Someone said I said something about Jeter, which I never did," Berkman said. "If you would have asked me, I would have said he needs to miss it. It was disturbing. I would be the last person to tell anyone about how to deal with an injury. I know what that's like."

When the Cardinals signed Berkman to an $8 million contact in December, manager Tony La Russa heard all kinds of negative comments about how he was over the hill and his bat speed was gone and how he didn't have what it takes to play the outfield every day. And he didn't pay attention to any of it because he knew that Berkman had been dealing with injuries.

Said La Russa: "He was hitting off one leg last year and survived. He had an off year. What I think is surprising is that based on the career that he had, he didn't get more of the benefit of the doubt. He earned the benefit of the doubt."

In return for that benefit of the doubt, the Cardinals are getting a big-time benefit in their lineup. Berkman, a six-time All-Star, is on track for his first 30-homer season since 2007 and has a shot at his seventh 100-RBI year.

Said Berkman: "It's good to be in the position again where you are among the league leaders in offensive categories. It's good to have that sort of feeling again. I don't take it for granted. I'm trying to enjoy it while it lasts."