OK, so I'm guilty of hyperbole just like the papers.

Rob Neyer has a blog post up: Ludwick rids himself of "4-A" label

http://insider.espn.go.com/espn/blog/index?name=neyer_rob

A few pieces of interest:

He's ... until this season seemed like a so-called "Quad-A" player: ...

...I believe that a significant percentage of supposed 4-A players would fare well enough in the majors if given a real shot to actually play in the majors. In 2002 and '03, Ludwick racked up 693 plate appearances in Triple-A -- essentially one full season -- and posted this slash line: .295/.367/.543. Granted, he was in a hitter's league. But he was also 22 and 23 (turned 24 in the middle of 2003, actually), and most 23-year-olds who can hit like that in Triple-A are plenty good enough to play in the majors. Ludwick did get 263 plate appearances in the majors in those same two years, but he struck out too often, which killed his batting averages and on-base percentages.

The next two years were mostly lost to injuries.

...But when he batted .340/.380/.642 in his first 29 games they brought him up, and he's been up ever since.

Ludwick's stats this season are sort of a fluke. But his career .273/.344/.508 line in the majors? That's no fluke. That's the hitter that Ludwick's always been. Fundamentally, he's no more a fluke than Carlos Peña.