Show #178: Nightmare Start for the Braves
The significance of the sweep. Should Fredi go? And Good Signs/Bad Signs of the week.
219 Responses to “Show #178: Nightmare Start for the Braves”
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Pages: « 1 2 3 4 5 6 [7] 8 9 » Show All
April 13th, 2012 at 8:48 am
That makes me miss Frenchy!
April 13th, 2012 at 11:49 am
@149
Have you compared Chipper’s and Heyward’s numbers? Rookie year and years after that? The reason I put him in Chipper’s category is because he was WAY more hyped that Chipper was.
April 13th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
Frigatedoc, a pro player doesn’t get much better by continuing to face pitchers he can dominate. So Heyward would have gained little by spending more time in the minors. However, that probably would have been better than him being benched in the majors.
Age matters. A player who has nothing left to prove in the minors but are extremely young may not have made all the necessary adjustments to be great against major league pitching. Those types of players don’t have an already honed swing. They need the challenge of major league pitching in order to hone their swing completely. The only way a hitter gets better is to play games and get reps against higher levels of pitching until they can face the highest levels of pitching and keep honing.
April 13th, 2012 at 12:14 pm
I don’t know if it’s true that Heyward was “way more” hyped than Chipper. Maybe, considering there are more top 100 (or top 101) prospect lists now than when Chipper was a prospect. And there are lot more niche baseball media outlets that pay more attention to minor leaguers and prospects. Also it seems we have a better understanding of what makes a legit prospect and which amateur players are likely to be impact major leaguers. It’s hard to imagine if that were the case in the early 1990′s that Chipper would have been any less hyped than Heyward.
Chipper was a number one overall pick and dominated at every level. And he didn’t just dominate in the on-the-surface numbers (AVG/OBP/SLG). He was rather young for his levels and he posted solid numbers that indicate command of the strikezone, like BB/K. Plus he had the athleticism to play short for a vast majority of his early pro career and stole a lot of bases. He would have been hyped, had their been a Baseball Prospectus prospect list, had there been a Keith Law and a Kevin Goldstein and a Jonathan Mayo.
April 13th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Heyward has plenty of time/room to improve and develop. No reason to think he can’t be anywhere from a productive player to a perennial All-star as long as he stays healthy. He’s been way ahead of the curve his entire career. Heyward was 20 his first full season and won’t be 23 until August this year.
For comparison of ages for first full season, Chipper was 23 as a rookie. David Wright was 22. So was Joe Mauer. Barry Bonds got his start at 21, but didn’t start really hitting until 25. Jeter was 22. Manny Ramirez hit .269 in a half season at 22.
You’re not going to find many guys who’ve made it the bigs at Heyward’s age. Some bumps are to be expected, especially if he’s fighting injury. Andruw Jones is one of the few I remember.
April 13th, 2012 at 4:16 pm
Getting ready to head to the stadium. Could not be more pumped. Follow the Twitter account for stuff tonight.
April 13th, 2012 at 4:25 pm
Some may argue that getting to the bigs at his age is sometimes more of an opportunity thing in being in the right place at the right time in having a bat that the Braves really needed since our outfield at the time wasn’t really much to write home about. I’m not taking anything away from Heyward, I’m just saying that sometimes that age and relative skill are important but most of all, the need at the big club could play a big part in why Heyward was promoted through the system so quickly.
You’ll hear an analyst or two on MLB Network say that some of these kids coming up today just haven’t had enough time to learn how to be a professional ball player in the sense of the fundamentals. Maybe true in some cases but I think Heyward’s big knock so far is staying healthy. It certainly seemed to me from last year that he needed to learn what he can and cannot play through. The knowledge of knowing if you are banged-up versus something that could turn serious. Every one of these guys wanna play everyday and as “I think” we saw with Heyward, he wanted to get out there an contribute so badly that he feared telling anyone about an injury. You gotta learn that and as a kid of 20-21 years, you still think you are invincible.
April 13th, 2012 at 5:54 pm
#156 Can I get a shout out?????
April 13th, 2012 at 6:38 pm
Once again, Fredi does not cease to amaze (i.e., frustrate) me with his lineup construction. Freeman is hitting .231/.231/.269 with 0 BB/9 K on the year, while Heyward is hitting .316/.381/.632 with 2 BB/5 K — and FREEMAN is hitting third, while HEYWARD is hitting SEVENTH?!?!!? Thanks, Fredi.
April 13th, 2012 at 7:23 pm
Will check score during intermission from The Gershwin’s Porgy & Bess. Go Braves!!
April 13th, 2012 at 9:04 pm
That did not just happen! Please tell me Martin did not do the naked nostril blow in the dugout. Please tell me I saw that wrong…bad lighting…anything!
April 13th, 2012 at 9:10 pm
Anne! Matty D went deep!
April 13th, 2012 at 9:12 pm
What a difference in the lineup when McCann is ON!
April 13th, 2012 at 9:15 pm
Did he?? I live the score I find at intermission. Go Braves!!
April 13th, 2012 at 9:18 pm
Who frew dat first pitch, anyway??
April 13th, 2012 at 9:25 pm
That was fantastic!
April 13th, 2012 at 9:35 pm
I was hoping we’d have a starter pitch through the 6th…
April 13th, 2012 at 9:57 pm
B Mac is cracking me up…
April 13th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
…god dammit
April 13th, 2012 at 10:08 pm
Gonzales is a genius
April 13th, 2012 at 10:10 pm
Why are we throwing balls down the middle to MLB hitters.
April 13th, 2012 at 10:17 pm
Ski’s gonna homer…I can feel it.
April 13th, 2012 at 10:19 pm
Good feeling’s gone.
April 13th, 2012 at 10:41 pm
Steve just wet himself. Go Uggla!
April 13th, 2012 at 10:43 pm
Did y’all see Blue Eyes point to the dugout after that 2 RBI single? He gave a “that’s how we do it boys!” This team has energy again!