Maybe? I really have no idea if he did or didn't. I think that's sort of irrelvant here since even if he did lose weight, he's still a big boy, listed at 6'6 and 255 pounds, and who's to say now that he's signed long term he won't let himself go? Plus we're talking about him 2 years down the road in 2012 at age 32 going forward. Do you see him being able to catch up to a 95 mph fastball at age 35 on, weighing at least 255 pounds as his listed weight says (meaning he probably weighs more than that), while playing in the field all year? It screams disaster to me, especially for someone that has had trouble with big K rates as it is. Those types of players just scare me.
I don't know what Howard's weight is at but he lost about 30 pounds a year ago and has kept it off. He looks almost skinny compared to the way he looked, and nowhere near the fatness of Feilder who is 5'9" 280. Also, Howard plays the easiest position in baseball (first base) so I don't see him having any problems. I doubt he will average 45 HRs, and 140 RBI's fot the rest of his contract but I think he can easily average 35 HR's and 100 RBIs through age 37.
Heard today that Brian Jordan said Chipper should work out harder to avoid the injuries we see every year. You wouldn't think Jordan would say something like that about him unless he really knew what he was talking about. So I'm inclined to think there is something to it.
Honestly Chipper's injuries should be the least of our concerns. I think half the order batting under .200 is a lot more troubling. It sucks to think Chipper might have a poor work ethic but he wasn't going to be carrying the team anyway. I've also decided I can't figure out a reason why Heyward shouldn't be batting cleanup. You think he would see more good pitches to hit wedged in between Chipper and McCann.
I'm not sure what the thinking is with Heyward. He has struck out the most on the team. But his OBP is 4th best and his SLG is second best. You're probably right that he would get more protection hitting in front of McCann. And he gets on base enough (so far) to allow McCann to be able to keep driving in runs. Maybe Bobby just wants to see how he handles things for a while before moving him up.
The biggest problem I see with Heyward is that he's not getting any pitches to hit, and is is starting to chase. He needs to start taking walks, and letting pitchers pitch around him. Unfortunately, when you hit 6th or 7th in the order, and the 2 or 3 guys behind you are hitting below .200, it's tough. This might sound crazy as much as he strikes out, but I would not be opposed to seeing Heyward hit 2nd or 3rd. If he hits 2nd, you put Prado in the leadoff spot. If he hits 3rd, you could move Chipper into the 2 hole. A lot of people on the Braves boards would like to see him hit 4th, with McCann 3rd and Chipper 5th. Something needs to be done though, because this entire lineup, with the exception of Prado is basically a black hole right now.
I think if Bobby wants a shot at the NL East he should stop experimenting but he's the pro not me. The Mets didn't hesitate to throw their new power hitter in the cleanup spot. Looks like it's working OK for them so far. I haven't watched the Braves in about a week, I'm going to watch some of the game tonight and hope I see something better than I've been seeing.
I love him in the 4th spot. He's not getting anything to hit because teams can easily afford to walk him. It's not like anybody behind him is going to make too much happen. If you have Prado and Chipper in front of him and McCann right behind teams will be a little more hesitant to be so careless. I don't see how he wouldn't get more stuff to hit.
Yeah, it's one of those things that's hard to quantify (determining where in the order someone will see the best pitches), but if I were a pitcher, I wouldn't give J-Hey anything to hit. There's really no reason to with Cabrera and/or McLouth hitting behind him, then the pitcher. They tried moving Escobar to the 7th spot behind him, but even that's not working because Esco is in the worst slump of his career. I think you have to move Prado to leadoff, Chipper in the second spot, then try McCann in the 3 hole with Heyward and Glaus and Esco behind them. We cannnot have Glaus hitting 5th anymore. The guy has 5 hits in 25 AB's with RISP and has grounded into 4 DP's. Heyward, on the other hand, is 8 for 16 with RISP. When he puts the ball in play with men on RISP, he's hitting .700.
I agree. I'll punch something if Glaus is higher than sixth in the order tonight. I can't handle watching him kill anymore innings.
Well, this streak doesn't appear to end anytime soon. 8 in a row now. I was glad they gave Heyward the day off. IINM, he's the only Braves regular to have been in the starting lineup every day this season (maybe Escobar has?). This team just can't score runs. It's weird to see an entire team save for one guy (Prado) go through the worst slumps of their career at the same time. At least Melky is starting to get some hits, and McLouth isn't an automatic out. But even McCann is fighting it right now. It's a shame too, because the starting pitching has been really good.
Well, you can pretty much mark 9 in a row in the books. JJ is hurt, which somehow makes this streak even worse. Looks like I was right about hiving J-Hey a day off though, he's 2-3 with a HR. Maybe the entire Braves team should just forfeit the next game.
I didn't see today's game but I was disappointed last night. It's hard to tell if they even care. Can they all really be this bad?
Edited. This is a perfect example of how you can put yourself out of contention super early in a season. If this team contends for anything but last place this season I'll be so shocked I might die of a heart attack at 30.
Here's a great article on how Heyward fell to the Braves and slipped past the Marlins. Some of it has been mentioned before, but this goes a little more in depth. http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-braves/how-the-braves-got-506629.html
Nothing helps a struggling team like playing a team that is struggling more. It's good to see Troy Glaus come around. He was very worthy of batting cleanup today. A huge game for him. I don't know how many homers Heyward is going to have to hit to move up higher than 6th in the order. He's got seven now and 20 RBIs. He will run away with ROY. Sorry Ike Davis.
Howard is showing signs of wear and tear? Really? You must not watch the Phillies much as Howard is probably in the best shape of his life. He lost a lot of weight and in no way he is showing signs of wear and tear. Howard has missed TWO games in the past three years.
Ryan Howard: 2010 Season Stats SPLITS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Season 23 99 14 27 6 1 4 17 5 21 0 0 .273 .308 .475 .782 Career 754 2782 478 776 142 12 226 657 411 898 10 3 .279 .373 .582 .956 Last 7 days 6 23 3 6 1 0 1 1 2 9 0 0 .261 .320 .435 .755 Projected 162 697 99 190 42 7 28 120 35 148 0 0 .273 .308 .475 .782 Jason Heyward: 2010 Season Stats SPLITS G AB R H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO SB CS AVG OBP SLG OPS Season 23 78 11 20 3 0 7 20 14 26 0 0 .256 .383 .564 .947 Career 22 75 10 18 3 0 6 19 13 26 0 0 .240 .360 .520 .880 Last 7 days 6 19 2 4 0 0 2 3 3 4 0 0 .211 .318 .526 .844 Projected 161 546 77 140 21 0 49 140 98 182 0 0 .256 .383 .564 .947 The morale of the story: Heyward is a baseball god. Also I would hope Howard isn't over the hill as I noticed when I was checking his stats that he's almost the same age I am.
How much longer can Jason Heyward keep this up? He's on pace for MVP candidate numbers right now. Of course it's only been a month but this is still taking into consideration the mini slump he had with the rest of the team. Right now he's projected for 47 homers and 154 RBIs. I don't think he can pull that off obviously [maybe the homers, definitely not the RBIs] but I wonder how close he'll come.
They'll need to be as productive against teams that aren't as bad as Houston. Troy Glaus has really turned things around which is very good. If only Chipper would go back to being Chipper now.
Glaus's at bats yesterday were very good. he put good wood on every hit. glad the Braves snapped out of their funk,. but now it's back on the road after 3 games at home. who did we piss off in the MLB scheduling office??? also saw on the pregame that Wagner announced he is hanging it up after this year regardless.
Glaus really has turned things around so far. It was probably just rust from not playing for so long. Chipper is not himself. Things will have to turn around for him or this season will likely be his last. At least if he is true to his word about retiring if he doesn't perform to the level he expects.
I had Heyward in my sights on DRAFT NIGHT and passed him over for Corey Hart (then JH never made it back to my next pick) Sure wish I went with my gut (for fun) then thinking Hart was due for bounce back. Still in 1st right now...but would be blowing the doors off with Heyward (cut Hart and going with rotation including CBY (not shabby), Furcal (solid prior to leg issue), Hardy (ehhh) as my final bat)
Corey Hart? lol That one hurts. I found this stat today that blows my mind: .450 and 20 RBIs – Jason Heyward’s batting average and RBI total in 11 Braves wins .098 and 3 RBIs – Heyward’s average and RBI in 13 Braves losses 0 — number of wins for the Braves in games in which Heyward hasn’t had an RBI or at least two hits. Through the Braves’ 25 games, the team’s fortunes have been tied directly to the 20-year-old rookie right fielder. When he doesn’t hit, they don’t win. They haven’t won a single game in which Heyward didn’t have an RBI and/or at least two hits. He is 4-for-41 (.098) with three RBIs in 13 losses, and 18-for-40 (.450) with 20 RBIs in 11 wins. He didn’t play in one other game Wednesday at St. Louis, which the Braves lost. Sad when a 20 year old kid is carrying your lineup. The running joke on Braves boards is that Heyward is "awaiting his next call-up".
Looking at Howard's stats in April is like looking a marathon runner and saying he ran a slow 100 yard dash. Howard warms up as the season goes on. Heyward looks like a good young player. The Phillies have an outfielder named Dom Brown who looks just like Howard/Heyward and he may be just as good as those two,,,,and he could be Werth's replacement if we let Werth walk: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/378138-dominic-brown-the-philadelphia-phillies-next-superstar
The scary thing about Heyward is, if you look at his minor league splits, he got better as the season wore on. Granted, it's a very small sample size as he was only in the minors for a little over two seasons, but when you consider he actually hit better after moving from A ball to Double-A half way through the season, that's pretty impressive. I'm not saying this means he's going to have a better season than Ryan Howard, because he plays in a bandbox and could end up with 45-50 HR's with a monster second half. Also, Dom Brown isn't a power hitter like Heyward or Howard. I could be wrong, but I don't see monster power potential in him.
Now, if you wanna see a kid with power potential, check out the Braves Cody Johnson. http://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/player.cgi?id=johnso008joh This kid is a monster. He's Mark Reynolds redux. Huge power, strikes out a TON. The way the Braves are going however, I'd take 30-40 HR's in LF, even with those strikeouts.
Brown is a very good prospect but he's nowhere near as talented as Heyward. Not a knock on Brown by any means who is at least top 15 prospect (and possibly a top 10) in all of baseball but Heyward is just a truly special player. And you're right, Brown doesn't have the power of Heyward or Howard.
Johnson is a big kid and should put up big power numbers. My only concern about Dom Brown is he is a LEFTY and we already have Utley/Howard in the #3/#4 spot and could use a righty power bat, if Werth ges elsewhere. I like Heyward and he has more power then Brown, but Brown is a five tool guy. He is going to steal a lot of bases. Brown is still growing and is 6'5" and only 205 Lbs., but he should fill out and add 20 pounds. Brown also has a very strong arm and doesn't strike out much for a big man. I see him replacing Werth next year and the Phillies not missing a beat with him in there. Looks like there will be some nice outfielders in the NL East for years to come. I know you guys like Johnson and Heyward, but I like Brown.
Don't forget we also have Freddie Freeman to take over at first. If the Braves tank it early, I'd love for them to bring up Johnson and Freeman. Really the only position the Braves don't a future stud (loose term there) to fill in at is 3B. Go figure.
I've actually never heard of Cody Johnson (although outside of the usual Heyward/Vizcaino/Teheran/Freeman/Delgado group I'm not really familiar with many Braves prospects), coming into this year was he ranked in the top 10 of Braves' prospects? EDIT: Looking at his numbers quickly, although it does look like he has a ton of power, the high K rate and low OBP might not make him a 'real prospect'. He might end up being a Quadriple A player where he can hit minor league pitchers but he may not be able to adjust to big league pitchers and might not make enough contact to have a career. He's still young though so who knows but those numbers would make me take a step back on expectations of him right now.
Yeah, like I said his K totals really worry me. I know a lot of people think K totals are overrated as long as a guy has power, but I don't. As you said, OBP is crucial. Cody isn't Jeff Francoeur when it comes to BB's, but he's no Adam Dunn either. However, his SLG% is pretty nice, so I guess you take the good with the bad. In all honesty, the guy I'm most excited about is Edward Salcedo, the Dominican prospect the Braves signed in February. I've heard he's in extended Spring right now, but wouldn't be surprised if he makes it to Rome soon. He's been compared to A-Rod and Hanley Ramirez. We'll see.
I actually do think K's are overrated if the guy has a lot of power, I mean obviously you want a guy at the plate that can put the ball in play because there's more a chance he gets on base that way (of course the trade off is a lot of potential double plays which is one of the advantages of a K in that spot) but if you're talking about a guy who can put up 40 HRs with a good OBP than sign me up and I'll take the K's when they come. Obviously that makes me a big Adam Dunn fan which I am. I think he gets over looked because of the low batting average (which is almost meaningless nowadays) and the high K totals. But they guy gets on base 38% of the time and you can put him down for at least 40 HRs each year. Obviously you don't want someone like Matt Diaz or Melky Cabrera with a high K rate but someone like Adam Dunn or Ryan Howard, it's ok. The one thing people don't mention or don't know when they compare these big time power minor leaguers to Adam Dunn is Dunn not only got on base 42.5% of the time in the minors but was also a career .300 hitter there and didn't have nearly the K rate as he does in the MLB (it wasn't abnormal by any means), he also stole a few bases as well. Obviously the jump to the MLB hurt Dunn in his average (due to his high K rate) but he was still able to mantain a above average OBP and power numbers.
Another frustrating night with RISP for Atlanta. Heyward had a good night with a solo homer to centerfield, a single and two walks but they're probably about to lose, going against the trend of winning when he has a good game. I think their problem once again was having him too far down in the lineup. With Glaus hitting well it would seem like a good idea to have him wedged between McCann and Glaus. He's clearly the best hitter in the lineup right now. I have no idea why he's batting sixth. The road woes continue.
I was watching this game with my girlfriend, who knows a little bit about baseball, and when Heyward came up with 1st base open (in the 5th or 6th inning) I said "Here comes an intentional walk". My gf said "But he's only 20 years old, why would they walk him." So cute. My response: "Because Melky Cabrera is on deck." That pretty much tells you all you need to know about this Braves lineup.