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178 comments Add your comment
Strom Boli
October 11th, 2011
1:05 pm
Yo…. ahhh I just donts knows whats ta think about braveschoke… yo you live neah Flushing like me? Dey say sometin in da watah makes us sounds like retahds but ahhhh I ain’t nevah noticed anyting like dat!
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
1:07 pm
oh and east bound: I have a “work from home” job, plus taking care of my two kids, plus a part-time job in the evenings, my wife teaches school during the day, we live in a rural area where daycare is limited and VERY expensive so f—- you and the horse you rode in on!
basstringerfish
October 11th, 2011
1:07 pm
I remember playing in the 80’s before MRI’s and such and I had an issue in my back behind my right shoulder blade that no one could detect. It took every bit of my power from throwing and altered my swing. I had orthopedics look at me, trainers, etc…and all they could find was a knot they tried to massage out before games…I had a coach who thought I was just making excuses – fortunately he was fired mid way through the season. It only got better with rest as I sat over the winter, it never got better while I was playing. I was able to throw just enough to play 1B and hit enough base hits to stay in the line up, but zero power. I imagine today it would be noticed and identified, but it was the weirdest injury I ever had in the 15 years I played. Until you are in the players shoes you can not comment on what a person should or should not do or if they are a wimp or not…some injuries hurt like the dickens, but you can power through them, others you can not.
Having said all this, it was very obvious to most observers that he had a hole in his swing from year one and he did not or could not make the adjustment…I agree with a lot of folks, the kid is a talent…he is young…this was in essence a minor league year that he had in the bigs…he should not be summarily dismissed…but by the same token, it will be completely up to him as to how he fixes that swing and it will be interesting to see if in fact this shoulder thing was the root cause of him not making the adjustments – or was it in fact stubborness or a hard habit to break? I do not want to see him in Mexico…he needs to rehab and then hit from a tee then in the cage…drive those pitches in on his feet and work through the problem…he is not alone in this…look at Uggla, Prado, etc…how does the kid respond??? I bet he does fine…
will36206
October 11th, 2011
1:08 pm
DOB, do you think the Braves front office would consider interviewing Brian McCann’s father for the hitting coach job?
www.braveschoke.com
October 11th, 2011
1:10 pm
@ROCKY I GUESS FACTS DO NOT MATTER TO YOU, WHEN THE ATLANTA BRAVES ADD ANOTHER WORLD SERIES BANNER TO YOUR STADIUM THEN YOU WILL BE ON OUR LEVEL!!!!!!! BOTTOM LINE IS THAT YOU CAN NOT RELY ON A 2ND YR GUY TO CARRY YOUR OUTFIELD. SUCK IT UP AND LET THE KID DEVELOP, WE ALL WISH WE HAD AN ALBERT PUJOLS ON OUR TEAMS!!!!!
www.braveschoke.com
October 11th, 2011
1:14 pm
Yo mommy, wheah’s my bowl of macaroni?
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
1:19 pm
basstringerfish: if that’s true in Heyward’s case, why can’t all the advances in modern medicine find anything wrong with him? Somebody else said he had a smaller amount of cartiledge or some such thing, but this lates MRI came back finding nothing wrong with him. I’m with you as long as there really is something wrong with him, but this seams to point towards more of a flawed swing and a coverup moreso than a real injury problem.
www.braveschoke.com
October 11th, 2011
1:19 pm
Look, I was just kidding with you… yes, the Braves have had some down years lately, but with all the turmoil my Mets have had between an owner getting taken by Madoff, our bloated salaries and season-ending slumps over the past decade and our attempts to compete with the bigger, successful and much more professional team over in the Bronx, we can’t say a thing about another team.
www.braveschoke.com
October 11th, 2011
1:21 pm
I GUESS I SPEAK THE TRUTH AND OTHERS HAVE TO STEAL MY SCREEN NAME….LOL…..CLASSIC FOLLOWER!!!!!!
Mark (another one)
October 11th, 2011
1:28 pm
I for one like a lineup with Heyward in RF. I know it was an offensive hole last season but I don’t think that will be his future. Heyward is a five tool outfielder and is only 22. He had a rough season, and it might have been better for him to be sent to the minors to work it out. However, the Braves kept him in the majors, worked with him and there was progress towards the end of the year.
Also, if Heyward thought he had a health issue and didn’t bring it to the FO’s attention, he would be wrong and stupid. He’s neither. He got his spine checked out and is cleared for ‘maintenance and stretching’. That’s the smart move. Get healthy and feeling good in the off season, and go have fun next season being productive in all facets of the game.
My belief is that the fielding core of this team is Heyward, Bourn, Prado, Freeman, Uggla and McCann for the long term. For next season we probably have Chipper but not much longer. We also have SS to worry about as Gonzalez is a FA. Prado is slated as the replacement for Chipper but it might be good to get a power outfielder to compete for LF and some SS experience for 2012.
Flo-Rio-Duh
October 11th, 2011
1:29 pm
Heyward is a failure of management.
Flo-Rio-Duh
October 11th, 2011
1:30 pm
Georgia has played weak offenses the last four weeks. Let’s see how they do against Florida before saying their defense has arrived.
basstringerfish
October 11th, 2011
1:31 pm
Enter your comments here
www.braveschoke.com
October 11th, 2011
1:32 pm
@ MARK, THAT MAKES SENSE YOU HAVE TO KEEP THE CORE TOGETHER.
Juan
October 11th, 2011
1:35 pm
It’s Heyward Helath issue as the same of The Legendary Roberto Clemente?
Clemente complain all the time of Neck pain, but Dr never find anything wrong with him,,,,humm
Juan
October 11th, 2011
1:35 pm
Sorry Health
basstringerfish
October 11th, 2011
1:37 pm
Bravesfan…maybe I am naive, but I don’t see any cover up…but your point about nothing specific popping up is well taken…I would venture a guess that this is the kids first taste not being “the guy”…look at what he has accomplished up to this point…and now…he’s an also ran for this past season…so maybe its a commbination of a lot of things…in his head a bit, some type of physical issue, bad coaching/stubborn/good MLB pitching/scouting…all combined…I can see that boiling over into a head game…I still think he is worth keeping as long as he works this off season as a professional should in today’s game..
buster brave
October 11th, 2011
1:39 pm
damn,just damn,please, all of you, take your medication!!!
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
1:44 pm
basstringerfish: I completely agree, I want Jason Heyward to come out of this crap smelling like a rose. His upside is still superior to just about anybody we could go out and get so as a braves fan, one would have to want a healthy, happy Jason Heyward in the lineup for 162 games. That said, this ol’ boy firmly believes Mr. Heyward has a lot of growing up to do this off-season and I think a lot of us had the “wool pulled over our eyes” when he first came up as to his maturity and work ethic.
buster brave
October 11th, 2011
1:44 pm
did i just see heyward’s name associated with roberto clemente? the best rightfielder of all time,on the same page? juan,double up on your medication!!!!
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
1:46 pm
basstringerfish, I say let Heyward work out the kinks during the off-season and give him the first month or two of 2012 to see if he is making progess… if not, then I think it’s time to go down to Gwinett to work on both the hitting AND FIELDING.
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
1:49 pm
Bravos: agreed, he needs to be on a short leash next spring, but his fielding is just fine, it’s the accuracy of his throwing that is an issue at times
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
2:02 pm
Really? I have seen a steady degrade in his fielding ablilities. I used to think I couldn’t wait to see his arm as he pegs runners out at home… now I wince when the ball is hit to him – or when he lumbers for the the ball in the right field corner. His throws have missed cut-off guys… I am not seeing what you see.
Ed Randall
October 11th, 2011
2:03 pm
Heyward certainly looked healthy to me most of the year. Looks to me like it’s more of a case of not being able to adjust to pitchers busting him inside then going away. Who knows. He has a history of injury problems but I agree with Wren and he should certainly not be given a starting job just off of his name.
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
2:16 pm
I would go so far as to say that a “healthy” Jason Heyward covers ground well enough to play a pretty respectable CF in MLB, it’s just an issue with him getting the ball in AT TIMES. Some throws look great, he has a good arm, but some throws have a tendancy to “tail”, especially going home on a close play, his throw almost always goes too far up the 3B line to be effective. That’s nothing but practice as long as the arm strength is there. I didn’t see the “lumbering” you saw, in fact as the rest of the team looked very tight out on the field, Heyward made some awesome plays and made them look easy.
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
2:24 pm
I agree with you that he’s a good fielder, I just think he has regressed a little bit. Just one man’s opinion…
TP
October 11th, 2011
2:50 pm
So the whole freaking off season will be dedicated to the hating on JH. The Braves had the worst collaspe in sports history because of JH off year?? I didn’t know that in a “team sport” a second year above average player could cause so much demise.
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
2:57 pm
Nobody is blaming the collapse on Heyward alone… you need to relax. Over the past several weeks people have been discussing ALL OF THE ISSUES this team faces, including JH. Man you’re sensitive… what’s your agenda?
kirkinga
October 11th, 2011
3:00 pm
Yet another Heyward entry for the blog. Maybe it’s just me, but I could have sworn that 99% of the players disappeared/underperformed in those last 6 weeks or so. Will we get to explore what happened to the well-compensated vets, or will we continue to turn Jason Heyward into some kind of Jeff Francouer-Yunel Eescobar problem child?
The Braves gave up on both of those players and they sure could have used them this season.
TP
October 11th, 2011
3:00 pm
Your agenda is as clear southern moonshine.
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
3:03 pm
So you’re saying rip the entire team but do not include Heyward because….? LOL
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
3:06 pm
I have no agenda. I have ripped Fredi, McCann’s funk during September, our starting rotation other than Hudson, etc. So when I also blame Heyward for a PATHETIC season, I have an agenda? LOL TP – you are no doubt a brothah with an agenda. That or you have a man-love for Heyward.
dinkdunk
October 11th, 2011
3:14 pm
Jay-hey needs to go look at film of good hitters and see how still they keep their head. J’s head must move a foot when he swings. Hitting starts with seeing-if your head moves that much, no wonder you can’t see the ball.
Check out Barry Bonds swing when he was dominating-(roids or not.)
b
October 11th, 2011
3:22 pm
Heyward has always been injury prone since the minors.
And that’s not good for a 22 yr.old.
And I’m talking about almost his whole body.
bvillebaron
October 11th, 2011
3:22 pm
buster brave:
Uh, no offense, but Hank Aaron was the greatest RF of all time and the greatest player of all time IMHO.
bvillebaron
October 11th, 2011
3:30 pm
Flo-Rio-Duh:
I think you are on to something with your comment that Heyward is a failure of management. But what the heck, if you read Wren’s post season pubiic comments, you will find that this epic collapse was due to the fact that (1) Lowe wasn’t one of the team’s 5 best starters (too bad he apparently only discovered that precious gem AFTER the season was over and not while he pitched to an ERA of around 10 for the entire month of September and did not give a team that was struggling to score runs a chance to win any of those games) and (2) Heyward underperformed and struggled at age 22.
Why do I get this sinking feeling that Heyward will flourish and become the player many have predicted AFTER he leaves this organization?
joe in tucker
October 11th, 2011
3:33 pm
somebody get him a Temperpedic Mattress!!
jim
October 11th, 2011
3:42 pm
It seems like the Braves are wasting money bringing in hitting coach candidates from other organizations. There seem to be no lack of candidates already interviewing on his blog.
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
3:43 pm
I’m not at all ready to give up on JH… but I think we can’t afford to have the same level of production next year… I have no issues with going to Gwinett to work things out.
TPic
October 11th, 2011
3:50 pm
bvillebaron,
Thr best RF (or player) of all-time would be a great discussion. I’m not going to tell you it isn’t Hank (I could easily argue it was) but cases could be made for others. My personal favorite was Al Kaline, clearly not the best ever but one of the greats. Don’t forget that fat pitcher from Baltimore who became a position player and could go yard every now and then.
Heyward gets on base now
October 11th, 2011
3:52 pm
Heyward made good strides at the end of the year. Hoping he continues this to next season.
Ya’ll need to wait until next year until a decision is made about Jason. Sure he sucked overall this year, but he had a good rookie season.
Year three will be the deciding year for him.
alex
October 11th, 2011
3:54 pm
other than kimbrell,venters,freeman, bourne,and hudson;no player should besave from trade status:chipper, jh,etc. The ENTIRE team collapsed in sept.
Fire FW
BuffaloAjax
October 11th, 2011
3:54 pm
I think his shoulder is hurt from trying to hit everything from 6 inches outside of the strike zone to the 3rd base dugout over the right field wall. He tried to pull everything! Someone might want to let him know the low and away slider can’t be pulled all the time. I figured after he rolled over the ball for a grounder to second base for the zillionth time this might occur to him. I might be wrong but I don’t think too much stock can be put in this kid.
Vespidie
October 11th, 2011
4:03 pm
NOBODY should be guaranteed a starting job!
Lobosolo
October 11th, 2011
4:04 pm
Hey, braveswhinersinceforever…yeah, I mean you…. Nerve systems are extremely complex and REALLY SMALL… if a synapse ain’t synapsin’, chances are you won’t see it on an MRI, and certainly not from your lofty perch in the armchair… VERY EASY TO GO UNDETECTED… ask around, lummox, next time you go to refill your meds… not all injuries are going to show up all of the time… quit while you just sound a lot stupid, until you digress into a total lump.,.
Lobosolo
October 11th, 2011
4:05 pm
Like alexis…
Getridofhim
October 11th, 2011
4:11 pm
Ship him out he is a major BUST.Franceour looks like Micky Mantle compared to him. At least Franceour had years of 70, 105 and 102 rbi’s.
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
4:11 pm
lobosolo: are you a braves fan at all or just a jackass? your posts should be followed by heeyaw heeyaw heeyaw! your name should be solodonkey! go away and leave the rest of us braves fans alone, twerp!
Bravos
October 11th, 2011
4:23 pm
Getridofhim, it’s too premature to get rid of JH. He’s a project who will hopefully learn and progress….
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
4:34 pm
yeah I think he deserves (per rookie season) another look, if he has more injury trouble right off, that might mean shipping him out, or if he can’t get his swing under control, might test the trade market, though I don’t think we’d get a lot for him, because the past has taught me that other clubs seem to be much better informed about players’ collapses or weaknesses or what-have-you (i.e. Nate McClouth)
bvillebaron
October 11th, 2011
5:22 pm
TPic:
Yeah it would be an interesting discussion I guess, if the only criteria was solely defensive ability (for which Aaron was underrated his entire career; I once saw him throw out a runner–admittedly slow–from right centerfield in old Connie Mack stadium who was tagging up from third). My point earlier was that if you consider all facets of the game, Aaron is hands down the greatest RF ever and, at least in my humble opinion, the greatest player ever.
Keep in mind that Aaron played in what I call the golden age of baseball after the color barrier was broken and all players of all races were playing but before the talent was diluted with expansion. Two amazing stats regaarding Hammerin’ Hank are (1) he hit almost the same number of homers playing on the road as in his home park (thereby dispelling the notion held by many that he fattened up his homer totals at the so-called “Launching Pad”) and (2) he has more than 3,000 hits without including ANY of his 755 homers.
bvillebaron
October 11th, 2011
5:33 pm
bravesfan since80s:
So you think it might be worthwhile to give Heyward another chance and not write him off at age 22, huh? Don’t have a problem with farming him next year if he still struggles, but your suggestion that the Braves couldn’t get much for him in a trade is laughable. I can think of 29 other franchises that would knock down Wren’s door to try to acquire Heyward.
As I said earlier, I get this sinking feeling that Heyward will become the player that many feel he can be only AFTER he gets out of this organization.
.
@___ISH___
October 11th, 2011
5:59 pm
Winter ball.
John
October 11th, 2011
7:00 pm
wow… I’m shocked he had a spine looking at the way he played
jbbrave
October 11th, 2011
7:48 pm
His problem is close to his spine, but a little higher. I’m sure he has had physical problems, but it seems the physical has become mental in my opinion. Regardless, he won’t improve until true adjustments are made to his swing. Now matter what the count is, his swing is the same. It’s a giant looping swing. Shorten it up on 2 strikes. Make adjustments please.
Maria
October 11th, 2011
8:44 pm
What do people think about the idea of trying Jason Heyward out in center? It’s not to take Michael Bourn’s spot but just as a backup type thing. Should Bourn get hurt, they don’t have anyone to play center unless they use Constanza. Bourn is going to need some days off during the season and Heyward could back him up. Just something to try out and it might turn into a good thing. Bourn’s contract is up at the end of next year and with that idiot agent of his (Boras), he’s gonna be asking for some big money so in case we lose Bourn to an injury or free agency, they’d have another option to go to in Heyward. Atlanta has a ton of help for the left and right field positions but do not have anything in case something happens to Bourn for center field.
fred
October 11th, 2011
9:10 pm
Hire Greg Walker to get J-Hey back on track..they both can do!
TP
October 11th, 2011
9:12 pm
Just imagine how Willie Mays would have been treated based on the comments on this blog.
1st yr age 20 121 gms 68 RBI 20 HR .276 BA
2nd yr age 21 34 gms 23 RBI 4 HR .236 BA
3rd yr age 23 151 gms 110 RBI 41 HR .345 BA
From reading the comments on here, Willie Mays didn’t deserve a third year. After his miserable second year, I wondered did the Giants GM tell him, his position was up for grabs. And this was back in the early 50’s.
bravesfansince80s
October 11th, 2011
10:37 pm
bvillebaron: yes, I think they need to give him another look, and he SHOULD open the season as our starting RF. I disagree with you, IF we tried to trade him this off season, or after spring training starts and he gets hurt yet again, or once the season gets underway he still isn’t hitting or showing adjustment and improvement, there MIGHT be several teams interested in taking a chance on him, but I can GUARANTEE you that unless we hold onto him and he comes out pretty strong next season, NOBODY is gonna offer a blockbuster type trade for him. Why would they? That would be pretty stupid given his history up ’til now. Yes, Willie Mays was a great ballplayer, but Willie Mays rarely sat on the bench for any reason, and a year where he only played in 34 games must’ve meant a major injury, not nerve synapsis issues lobosolo!
Powder Blue
October 12th, 2011
12:43 am
Heyward’s only problem is that he sucks.
Al
October 12th, 2011
6:39 am
TP, great post about Mays and his first three years.These experts
should give the Jason a chance.
Shakey
October 12th, 2011
7:28 am
Whenever I hear fans complaining about a player’s “mysterious injury,” I think of how J. R. Richard was vilified by the Houston fan base… and then I decide to give the player the benefit of the doubt.
Look him up if you don’t know the story.
poolcue
October 12th, 2011
8:29 am
READ THE BLOG OUT OF PHILLY YESTERDAY, LOVED IT! THE PHILLYS AND THE BRAVES TOGATHER COULD NOT WIN .I DONT KNOW WHO WILL BE WORSE NEXT YEAR. THE ONE I LIKED BEST WAS WE TRADED ALL OUR DRAFT SUPERSTARS FOR A BUGGED EYE RIGHT FIELDER. WE MADE THE RANGERS AND THE PHILLYS DID THE SAME THING FOR ASTROS
John A.
October 12th, 2011
9:13 am
I only have a few questions…..1) Where are all of the baseball players gone? 2) Does anyone remember Billy Bruton and Henry Aaron? 3) Why can’t pitchers pitch like they used to?
Let’s look at former Braves….Johnny Logan….Joe Adcock…Eddie Matthews….Joe Torre….Frank Torre…Warren Spahn…Lew Burdette…these are just a few that were true baseball players, and didn’t make more than $75,000 per season. Ball players such as those mentioned were in WS, and you didn’t hear them complaining about hangnails or aches and pains. THEY PLAYED BALL!!!!!
poolcue
October 12th, 2011
9:37 am
PHILLY.COM PHILLY SHOULD TRADE HOWARD AND HIS 95 MILLION CONTRACT TO THE BRAVES FOR FF. SOUNDS LIKE YOUR KIND OF DEAL F.W.
Brava
October 12th, 2011
11:21 am
Whenever I hear fans complaining about a player’s “mysterious injury,” I think of how J. R. Richard was vilified by the Houston fan base… and then I decide to give the player the benefit of the doubt.
Look him up if you don’t know the story.
I didn’t know the story, so I looked him up. I don’t see how this correlates to Heyward. Richard had extensive blockage in his arteries, diagnosed when he was 30, which eventually led to a stroke because the doctors failed to acknowledge the seriousness of his condition. Heyward has had three separate MRIs (a technology that did not exist in 1980) which have shown nothing. I’m all for giving a player the benefit of the doubt as well, but this player is 22 years old and modern medicine has failed to find anything wrong with him, unlike Richard. Apples to oranges.
james
October 12th, 2011
1:53 pm
so coach 13 its alright 2 do the things chipper has done because has not been arrested how many brave playes been arrestesd black r white
james
October 12th, 2011
2:07 pm
mr really i quess my grammar was goog enough 4 u to understand sounds like u never played the gam obw ever black persons point of view is not the old race card it is just how the world is as we know
Huh?
October 12th, 2011
4:24 pm
Wow, james, what are you trying to say? All I can figure out is that you are playing the race card and I really don’t think that’s appropriate to this situation. If you’re trying to suggest the Braves are a racist organization, you are truly barking up the wrong tree.
gotigers72
October 13th, 2011
12:09 am
Fredi Gonzalez is the albatross around the Braves’ neck. Just is not a good baseball manager. If he remains their manager for the entire 2012 season, the Braves will finish 4th or 5th in the NL East.
You heard it here first!
james
October 13th, 2011
2:13 pm
i saying that ur racist seems all u know is the old race card repley wake up u must live in a white world that only sees thier own side
james
October 13th, 2011
2:14 pm
just say some of my friend are black i will know were u r coming from
BravesFanSince80's
October 13th, 2011
2:49 pm
James: the Braves and every other professional sports team in America are not racist! Come on man, with a slight exception in baseball, the other two sports are heavily African American dominated! Yes, there aren’t as many black players in baseball, but if you’ll take the time to check your ideas out ahead of time, you’ll see that it has far more to do with the lack of availability of the sport in areas of the country that are heavily African American oriented. In other words, way more black kids are playing basketball and football than baseball, so that’s certainly not the Atlanta Braves baseball club’s fault in any way. We all want Jason Heyward to come out of this ridiculousness and be the player he can and should be, but he’ll have to toughen up, or he’s just gonna be another flash in the pan, the color of his skin has absolutely nothing to do with that whatsoever!
Braves Squawk
October 14th, 2011
9:33 am
“wow… I’m shocked he had a spine looking at the way he played”
LMFAO
Braves Squawk
October 14th, 2011
9:37 am
Obviously there is one part of his body not prone to breakdown considering the night club life supposedlyl leads
duronimo
October 15th, 2011
9:23 am
I’m old enough to remember when an outfielder was expected to he 300. Sometimes sometimes a team had to take a lower batting average to get a a good defensive shortstop, but not in the outfield. In fact, virtually every team had all three outfield positions hitting 300 or above. The same is true for first basemen.
JOE
October 15th, 2011
10:48 am
I hope he have a come back year,The way FRANK PUT IT his job is depending on it..Do you have a altermatum.for your job..
james
October 17th, 2011
9:33 pm
hey brave fan since 80s if u think and look why did all the citysmine included have torn down all the baseball fields and replaced them with ball courts and football fields if baseball is not there of course they will play the other sports i wish people like my self who played baseball will try 2 show this young black kids that baseball is a better sports and a more rewarded one then baketball r football