Maybe this is what happened to Homer and why he's so improved....................article from SI.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/ted_keith/02/26/reds.postcard/index.html?eref=T1

Bailey spent part of his offseason working out in Austin, Texas. Among his frequent workout partners was tennis star Andy Roddick, whose fanatical workout routines put Bailey and the rest of the participants to shame. "We'd all be exhausted and he'd just keep going," says Bailey.