What’s wrong with Jason Heyward? It’s a blip in his BABIP

FIRST

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Third place Jhey will b back

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That percentage of infield fly balls is just downright alarming. That’s the one guaranteed out in every level of baseball. I have to ask — does that mean 24.7 percent of fly balls are in the infield, or 24.7 percent of every time he makes contact, it’s an infield fly ball? Could be either, but the latter would be even worse.

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Freddie Freeman is the Jason Heyward we thought we would have!

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I, for one, blame Larry Parrish. TP wasn’t so bad of a hitting coach after all, since he taught patience at the plate (and it showed). The Braves were always near top of the league in OBP under TP (5th, 6th, 6th the past three years). They’re currently in the bottom third of the NL (11th) with a .313 OBP.

Also, Mark, before you go cracking the “batting avg on balls not in play” joke, I should warn you that HRs count as “balls not in play”, so unless a player has 0 HRs, his BABNIP would be greater than .000.

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During “The Open” I heard it said by guru that what helped one of the players was some pretty simple advice: “Don’t let the game control your attitude. Let your attitude control your game.”

It sounded reasonable, and universal, to me.

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Doesn’t sound like you believe in the advanced metrics? Why not?

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Perhaps he and Greg Oden should just change places again and Heyward can go back to being a good baseball player again.

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Heyward will come around…. but may not be till next year

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a bad toe can end a career. that’s what happened to dizzy dean. jason heyward always looks like his shoes are too tight. he should also lose the batting gloves because he spends most of his time at bat fooling with his gloves. where his toes point has a lot to do with where he hits the ball. look it up.

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[...] Post By Google News Click Here For The Entire Article Discount Computers- Share and [...]

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I’m waiting for the AJC statheads to provide Heyward’s MOANBBA.

(Mentioned on AJC non-baseball blog batting average) I’m sure this is a true measure of his state of mind while hitting.

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I’m certainly no expert, but Heyward’s swing looks kind of jerky when I compare it to the smooth and seemingly effortless swing of Chipper Jones. I still think the kid has great potential but he needs to get away and work herd on improving his mechanics before he ends up being the next Francouer. When he was here, it seemed like Francouer wasn’t willing to make any substantive changes in his swing. I hope Jason isn’t as stubborn.

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O.K Now back to college football

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As Chipper Jones pointed out in his calling out of Heyward earlier in the season, the Braves clearly need to hire a full-time staff gynecologist to tend to their sophomore right fielder.

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ASN

August 23rd, 2011
9:24 am
Doesn’t sound like you believe in the advanced metrics? Why not?
****************
Probably because it’s baseball and not bridge or aircraft building. Homeruns don’t count in the silly BABIP statistic? Brilliant….

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Hayward will be ok and World Series MVP

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BABIP is a function of putting good contact on the ball (and some luck, which normalizes the rate). Putting good contact on the ball is the result of swinging at good pitches to hit. His line drive rate is down, his infield fly rate is up. This is because he’s swinging more often, and he’s swinging at more pitches out of the zone. Voila, his BABIP is down. It is explained clear as day in the block quote – not sure why you’re criticizing the stat. (Granted, swing mechanics play a role in this, and folks who know what they’re talking about say his mechanics are off. However, the numbers provided support the BABIP argument.)

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Heyward is scuffling up there right now. I don’t know that there’s any explanation for it other than the standard slump curve. They say you first just blow it off, then realize you’re in a slump, then start pressing to try to get out, then get frustrated with yourself, then finally get a couple of lucky bounces that are good for the soul (think Uggla’s hit streak) and all is right with the world again. I think he’ll make it back, but don’t think you can sit Constanza while he does. Of course, Constanza spraining his ankle might just be the “opportunity” that Heyward needs to get fixed. How ironic would THAT be?

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JHey is a more likable guy than French. When things going well, French would talk differently. JHey sounds more level headed.

The guy is only 21. I wouldn’t be in JHey’s shape mentally if I was JHey at 21. So, give him some time.

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The Heycoueur nickname….gaining steam!

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That’s all we ever hear….

Give him so more time.

What will the mantra be this time next year if he’s hitting like this?

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Too much back patting, too much expectation, too young to handle subtle changes in how pitchers pitch him. It’s Frenchy part 2, and his replacement has done what Heyward hasn’t been able to, get on base and steal bases. He’s a catalyst versus a hole in the line up. Heyward needs to go back to AAA and get his head on straight, and work his way back.

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@Sean Infield fly percentage is infield flies over total fly balls, not over total contacted balls.

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He has the same problem a lot of the Braves hitters do. They have stopped trying to get base hits and are swinging for a home run every time they swing. Thus the increase in infield pop ups. They uppercut half the pitches they see. Also why we have seen so many bases loaded situations where we get either nothing or maybe 1 run.

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PHIL- If he’s hitting like this next year by the trade deadline, The mantra will be “he looks real good in that Royals uni”

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I gotta believe J-Hey will be okay. Too much is in his head at this point. He has had alot chances to snap out of his slump, but to be fair, not nearly as much as Dan Uggla. He needs an offseason to rework things. I still think he the biggest piece of the future of the Atlanta Braves. I don’t see him being another “Frenchie” for us either. (I Still love Frenchie though!!)

Mark, What do you think he needs to do? I think a productive off-season is the absolute key. Chipper is right. It starts with your mechanics. If J-Hey’s mechanins aren’t good right now…it is going to mess EVERYTHING else up when you are at bat.

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BABIP is just batting average on fair batted balls that wind up on the field of play. So it doesn’t account for strikeouts or homeruns.

BABIP is especially useful for determining if a pitcher is actually performing well or is actually just getting some unusually good or bad breaks and some help from his defense.

The idea is that a pitcher doesn’t have much control over whether something like a grounder just out of the reach of an infielder or a grounder that the infielder gets to and turns into an out. The pitcher more or less did his job and got the grounder on both plays. Most pitchers are going to allow hits on about 29-30 percent of fair batted balls of the long haul. If a pitcher has allowed lots of hits on fair batted balls at a higher rate than that, it’s a good indication that he’s not getting a lot of help from his defense or he’s just getting a ton of bad breaks (lots of bloops and bleeders). That pitcher is very likely due for a turnaround.

BABIP is not as useful when evaluating hitters because hitters have a little more control over batted balls that are in play. Hitters have some control to some degree over how hard they hit the ball, how they hit the ball (fly balls, line drives, grounders), where the ball is going, how squarely they are hitting the ball. But BABIP still is useful to some degree for the same reasons as it is useful for evaluating pitchers. If a hitter’s BABIP is off from his norms and everything else looks alright, he’s probably getting a lot of breaks or fewer breaks than the norm.

Regarding Heyward, he has a higher walk rate than Chipper or McCann, so the problem is probably more swing than some sort of loss of plate discipline and control of the strikezone. And injury is the most likely culprit. Not that everything else is perfect. But I’m guessing the shoulder issue is a major factor.

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I just think there is something going on that we do not yet know about. Personal, injury, or otherwise.
Get back in there Heyward!
I’ve always had my doubts about TP as well, but I could just be a naysayer in that regard. Hope he is not screwing up JH.

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Mark,
I’m not a big fan of Bobby Valentine either, but why the hate?

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The kid has a problem we all agree..should have been sent down to AAA for a few games to work on it. I do believe he will come around. The guestion is when. Bring up Gartrell and let Haywire go down…GET Well CONSTANZA!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Don’t blame Parrish..Larry didn’t change his way of hitting, He is doing just like Uggla did, trying everything and its not working. Chipper has even worked with him. have faith .

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[...] the real question now is, can Heyward fix his swing? Advertisement GA_googleAddAttr("AdOpt", "1"); GA_googleAddAttr("Origin", "other"); [...]

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I’m not a baseball stathead or expert but it’s pretty obvious it’s all mental which has in turn affected his mechanics. He’s lost his confidence, very apparent. When he gets it back, who knows? I think they’re right to play Constanza, he is hitting and his speed combined with Bourn’s is a killer for oppposing teams.

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Its called believing the “HYPE” and letting fame deter you from what got you there. When you have players basically saying on your own team I think he is okay enough to be playing- that is a head issue, that has to do with trying to worry too much about your batting average and image than working your a** off to get back to help your teammates out.

I believe Karma bit him in the *ss. He felt maybe he was above team to play hurt so oh well now your jockeying for a job bro. Chipper doesn’t call too many guys out unless thats what the coaches and the rest of his teammates were thinking.

the word on the street is he is going out on the ATL nightlife scene a lot and enjoying his new found fame immensely. Which has detoured many a great pro athlete before.

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Atlanta has to have the biggest bunch of knee-jerk moron fans in the entire country. “This guy who just turned 22 (22!) and has massive talent is done because after having injuries he has played poorly. Ship him to KC so that Constanza can have the .330 45 140 season we know he would have without Heyward around. Oh, and all those pitchers had bad starts at various times this season. We should cut the whole team and just play the Gwinnett Braves. World Series champions!!!”

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Maybe after a couple of times around the league other teams have learned to pitch to him. It happene all the time. emember Francour!

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Advanced metrics are a joke. Either you get on base, or you don’t get on base. Keep it simple, maybe someone should say that to Heyward.

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Jason Heyward is highly intelligent and may be “thinking” too much at the plate. Yes, he has had to deal with high expectations and injuries, but I also can’t forget Bobby getting on his case last year about taking too many pitches. J-Hey is a great kid who wants nothing more than to help this team. He has far too much talent to be cast aside as dead wood, particularly at the age of 22. Since any true Braves fan would be pulling for Jason to succeed, let’s hope management helps him get straightened out, be it playing regular for Atlanta or in the minors for a while. Jason needs playing time, not bench time. GO J-HEY! GO BRAVES!

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There is nothing wrong with Heyward that 1. A real rehab period on that shoulder, 2. Some time away from all of those hitting gurus in the Atlanta dugout that have never fixed one mixed up hitters swing (the list is long), and finally 3. Real confidence in trusting himself in the batters box can’t cure!

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Agree with those who have correctly pointed out how stupid Bobby Cox was to mess with Heyward’s approach. Then add Chipper (who has missed the equivalent of 2 seasons with owies since 2004) mouthing off publicly about him needing to play hurt.

Great leadership. All Heyward needs is to go somewhere else to flourish but hopefully he can get it straightened out here.

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Cheap, unnecessary, immature, petty shot at Valentine.

Here’s a clue Bradley – if you want to call out jerks try not to be one yourself.

The article and your readers didn’t need that.

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Why do you people continue to bash Frenchy, he was a good kid too(just like JasonH) when he was with us? Comparing the two players, Jeff never hit as low as JasonH(even on his worst year), had more HRS, RBI’s and threw out many base runners from RF attempting that extra base! He continues to do that today, 7 years later. JasonH has never thrown out a base runner, to my knowledge? Get off bashing Frenchy. you couch-potatoes!! Now about JasonH, big league pitchers are over his head at this time, he needs to be at AAA or AA getting 4 or 5 AB’s per game. OJT should be on the farm not at the bigs! That is his best shot at coming out of it? Gartrell at Gwinnett AAA needs to be brought up( I think his BA is .260, 26 HRS, 82 RBI’s) to replace him. We gave Constanza his shot and see how that worked out. Don’t give me that crap about him not being on the 40 man roster, they can make it happen if they wanted to. This is a business, the best players should be on the team and in the field, not some feel-good story about a player!

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Heyward hasn’t been the same since his first stint on the DL last year. Basically he had a great start to his career and has declined ever since. Is it possible we’ve seen his best already? If he wasn’t so hyped we would never consider him a sure thing based on what we’ve seen.

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I liked the recent article about Chipper Jones watching Heyward in the cage with Coach Parrish and seeing several things he thought he could improve. My recollection was that Chipper said Jason’s swing was not adaptable – if a pitcher throws a ball in his wheelhouse he can crush it, but the rest of the league scouted that, so balls don’t show up in the Heyward crush zone often.

I looked it up – Carroll Rogers gets the credit:

“By the time he was done talking, the three of them had been in the cage for an hour. Jones had showed Heyward a tee drill trying to encourage him to hit inside the ball, so he can drive even inside pitches up the middle.

“His hands had to be killing him, but he got the gist of what we were saying,” said Jones, who also emphasized using left field. “Guy can hit the ball out of the yard anywhere. He’s got too much talent to be doing what he’s doing. If you’re thinking left center and you get a fastball in, you drop the hands inside and hit a bullet right back up the middle. Good hitters do it all the time.”

This was in New York two weeks ago. Time for a little extra Chipper-Jason BP? Should Chipper negotiate for a “turn Heyward’s swing around unofficial hitting coach” bonus if Jason starts tearing the cover off the ball again?

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Shuddduppp fool. If Bradley thinks he is a jerk he probably knows for sure.

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Jenius – yup and Cox did it publicly. The Great Legend Bobby Cox who was a player’s manager and always defended them and had their backs and would never call them out to the media no matter how poorly they performed.

Imagine a young kid who grew up in the Atlanta area fully aware of all this. He makes it to his hometown team and tears it up, demonstrating a patience and batting eye that even few veterans display. He cools off for the first time, early in his first season, and hears this legendary “player’s manager” telling the world that his approach at the plate needs to completely change, the approach that got Jason to where he is and that he knew in his heart was the right one. The same manager who would stick with a washed up veteran forever and praise the guy endlessly when asked why.

Does anyone thinks that didn’t completely F with his head and his confidence? Please.

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I’ll take Francoeur….

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Instead of sending Heyward back to Gwinnett to let him get his stroke back, the Braves insisted on leaving him in there day after day to become more confused and befuddled with each plate appearance. He obviously has no feel for the plate right now and it would have been much better to send him down and let him work through it outside the glare of major league scrutiny. It’s too late now since Sept. 1 is fast approaching. But if they don’t do something with him the first part of next year, he may very well end up the way Francoeur did and we will have lost a potential talent that showed so much promise last year. You have to wonder about the hitting instruction he is getting here considering what happened to Francoeur and to Uggla the first part of this year. May be pure coincidence, but it does seem very strange. Let’s hope the Braves will work with Jason over the winter and try to salvage his career. He has way too much potential to squander.

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Heyward needs to work with B-Macs buddy who helped him on his swing..Heyward isn’t going to be like this forever..he is in a funk and will get through it.

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He holds his elbows so high and his swing appears to start at 1 o’clock, down to 4 o’clock, and up to 12 o’clock. I have been told the proper trajectory of the bat should be 3-6-9-12. All I know is the last time I saw him bat, there were two fastballs right down the middle, and he swung under both of them.

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Shaun – BABIP is useful because things like batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage don’t account for a grounder just out of the reach of an infielder versus a grounder that ends up in an infielder’s glove …

Really? The first one sounds like a hit, the second one sounds like an out. That shows up in the good old-fashioned batting average.

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JH hasn’t been the same since the thumb injury last year… the one they said might never fully heal.

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Anyway Chipper’s or McCann’s father can help him out…or we could send Jerry.

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This same article and comments could refer to Atlanta native Gordon Beckham of the White Sox.

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Here’s a question I have on BABIP… If an outfielder jumps up and robs a player of a homerun does that count as a “ball in play”. Cuz if it does then a homerun should count. Of course this is baseball and some of the rules don’t make sense (ie on sac fly/bunt that scores a run batter gets a RBI, on an infield hit that scores a run but batter is thrown out at first thats a “fielder’s choice” and no RBI)

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Say what you want about Francouer, but he just received a two year extension from the Royals. Not a long term contract, but better than the minors or out right release.

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people saying send him down…send him down…constanza is injured..missing couple games…so yeah..keep him here.

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Would Fredi dare leave him off the playoff roster? He hit 2 singles in 16 at bats and struck out 8 times in last year’s playoff.

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Heyward will be fine if people like Chipper and Cox get out of his head. It was Cox last year who said he was taking to many pitches, this at a time when his OBP was almost 400. Then earlier this year Chipper shoots his mouth off about Heyward needing to suck it up and get back on the field even if is shoulder was not 100%. I am sure that Heyward came back to soon and the shoulder screwed up his swing. Now on top of everything else when he gets in there and does have a good game like he did against the mets a few weeks ago Fredi sits him the next day. Time to stop screwing with him and just let him go out and play and work through this the same way they did for Uggla and how they would for Mac or Chipper.

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The issue I have with BABIP is that it ignores a key factor…how hard did you hit the ball?

If you have a low BABIP but are rolling over grounders to the right side all the time, then saying bad luck plays a part in that is stupid. It’s not like JHey is hitting them right at em all the time. He’s not squaring up the ball like he used to. I’d say the combination of a shoulder injury, Chipper guilting him into coming back, adjusting his mechanics due to pain and feeling a sense of urgency to perform is why he’s out of whack mechanically and mentally. He needs an offseason of health and video work to wipe the slate clean and get back where he was.

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Man do people on here turn on Heyward or what? If Freeman struggles like this next year, which I hope he doesn’t, are you going to treat him the same way you all are treating Heyward or will you put him in the “Good O’Boy” section with Chipper Jones?

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From what I am hearing, Jason needs to be more of a student of baseball and less of a community leader. Some people’s expectations are hurting him.

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@Josh…………that could be a good thing.

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@jerry,

The way he is playing now, true but who would you use in his place on the bench on the roster that is any better ?

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Its seems simple to me Heyward did explode in in first year, but that was last year when he noone knew who he was. this year the league adjusted to him, but he seems to REFUSE to make his own adjustments back to the pitching. instead he does things like REFUSE to play ball when he comes off the disabled list!!! and he continues to do the same things at the plate!!! and now he is injury prone!! he is going to be another Chipper Jones that is full of himself and thinks he is ENTITLED not to have to work at his game!! he doenst deserve to be wearing a Braves uniform!!

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It is sad to see what appears to be a young Henry Aaron so dispondent and unable to even hit a foul ball. He was the only Brave listed in the “Top 50 Players” in baseball earlier this year (#50), with only his minor league resume to go on. He has all the tools, but a mind is a terrible thing to waste. He needs to be cleaning toilets in Gwinett until he decides he wants to play pro ball again. Leave him off the playoff roster and bring up some minor leaguer to play right field until Costanza is back.

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@Josh,

The tv guys mentioned signing Wes Helms, not to take his place on the roster specifically, and if they did, I don’t know if he would be any better.

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Shaun – BABIP is useful because things like batting average, on-base percentage and slugging percentage don’t account for a grounder just out of the reach of an infielder versus a grounder that ends up in an infielder’s glove …

Really? The first one sounds like a hit, the second one sounds like an out. That shows up in the good old-fashioned batting average.

Felix, that’s the problem. Same batted ball but one time it’s a hit, the other time it’s an error.

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Johnny at Southlake, but the Braves don’t like to give Heyward the same benefit of the doubt as Uggla or that Prado got, for that matter. Heyward’s different in their minds for some reason.

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He’ll get it figured out. Look how long it has taken Francour (sp?) and he just signed a pretty sweet deal with KC.

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he clearly needs time in the minors rediscovering what made him a no-miss star on the major league level, just like Francoeur, i dont know why we always are so shy about sending someone down to make him better and have him stick around on a second tour, players in Jason’s position should volunteer this so they can have a career, not look down at the opportunity see it as a negative!

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Yeah Heyward’s mechanics and approach are a lot different than they were last year. I remember thinking that he was good last year with a lot of potential, but this year, he’s just all over the place. He does pop up a lot, but man he grounds out to second base more than anyone I’ve ever seen.

Hope he gets back on track because we’ll need him without Jose for a few days.

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Send him to AAA to learn again how to hit. Get a new batting coach.

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I’ve said it before, and Chipper’s recent comments to USA Today about Heyward tend to reinforce the suggestion that the kid has a tiny sweet zone and the pitchers have learned quickly how to keep the ball out of his sweet zone. But the swing is true to the zone, not to where the ball is pitched. I think he needs a new stance and a new approach. It’d start by getting the end of the bat more over his head instead of behind his back. He lunges into the plate at a weird angle, an angle that allows him to generate a lot of power when the ball is in his tiny sweet spot, but an angle that doesn’t allow him to adjust to where the ball is pitched, or where the ball is moving as it gets to the plate. And this, of course, leads to a lot of pop ups and tame grounders. I don’t know how often someone who’s made The Show has had to scrap everything they’re doing at the plate and start from scratch with an entirely new approach, but it seems to me that’s what it’s going to take. And why the Braves haven’t sent him down to begin this re-engineering and retooling process is beyond me. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result. Heyward probably is not going to be anything more than a .300 onbase guy until the re-engineering is complete, and that might take an entire year. You’re not going to win the pennant with Hayward and Gonzales and the pitcher’s spot sapping the offense at the bottom third of your lineup. (So, thank god for Georgy.) Let’s be honest: Gonzo has been a rally-killer and is one of the worst offensive producers in the majors this year — among everyday players, anyway. I know he’s there for his D, which is awesome, but c’mon. Use your head a little, Gonzo. Don’t give away at bats by swinging at pitches that are a foot outside.

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Hey, Mark, don’t I recall in spring training that the coaching staff stated they were working with Heyward to be more aggressive at the plate? If my memory is correct then it would seem the blame for Jheys loss of the strike zone would have to fall heavily on Parrish and FrediG. Also, the preponderance of new stats in baseball is blowing my feeble 53 year old mind as well. I like the WHIP stat, its simple and makes a great point. WAR, on the other hand, seems a lot like the QB grading scale. Only a few geeks can explain it and/or calculate it, but everyone thinks it infallible and fawns all over it.

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Whatever is wrong, Fredi’s approach to dealing with it is worse. Either play him and let him figure it out in the big leagues or send him to AAA and let him figure it out there. Nothing is being solved by him getting 8-12 AB’s per week.

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J Hey STINKS….Sinks at the plate……Stinks in the field going after fly balls….It is time to send this MISFIT back to the Minor Leagues…..if he has the talent – and I am not sure he does – he will make it back but no real loss to us right now because HE STINKS UP THE CLUBHOUSE & DUGOUT WITH HIS FUNK!!!!!!! SEND HIM DOWN NOW!!!!!!!!!!!

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The same question was asked of Dan Uggla until July. Heyward is in a serious slump, but he is too talented of a player for the slump to last. Perhaps, just perhaps Heyward will catch the playoff spirit and become one of our heroes in the post season. I believe it is all mental at this point. He needs to take the suggestion of Chipper and just make contact, using all of the field.

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It appears as though he has lost all confidence. I also wish he would show a little emotion. This slump should be bothering him and he seems appathetic at all times. I wonder about his mental toughness… he is kind of acting like a puss!

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mark, I also think Valentine is one of the most smugh, jerks on tv.
On another note will baseball tonight please quit talking about the yankees
projected pitching rotation for the playoffs. In almost every segment, they predict
what their rotation should be. And I’m sick of it.
They sure as heck don’t discuss the other playoff teams rotations.

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Mark, I thought you were above old school, ink-stained wretch, curmudgeonly rants against sabermetrics. I honestly think J-Hey has expanded his zone for a couple of reasons; one he is so young that umpires don’t always give him the benefit of a doubt and call borderline pitches for the pitcher. Two, he has struggled this year and it has cause him to be less patient and more aggressive. He will be fine eventually but wih the rise of Constanza and an outside shot to catch the Phils it’s tough to let him work it out.

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In addition to the % infield pop-ups increasing and % line-drives decreasing, what is his WGBHA2B rate compared to 2010? That seems higher also. A high WGBHA2B will contribute to a lower BABIP.

WGBHA2B = weak ground balls hit at 2nd base

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Hearing that scouts think his shoulder is nowhere near healed.

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I cringe when I look at the comments of most of the bloggers here. No wonder the rest of the country thinks we’re idiots. Bashing Bobby Cox? He’s going into the Hall of Fame, inbred cretins. And criticising Fredi Gonzalez? Took over a playoff team that is even better this year. You guys would complain about a free meal.

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Mark, Valentine is indeed a smug,jerk.
On another note, baseball tonight needs to quit discussing the Yankees
predicted playoff pitching rotation. They bring it up almost EVERY segment. Sickening!

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Well, Atlanta doesn’t really care about baseball anyway (they have a hard time selling out PLAYOFF games), so I’m not surprised that many of the comments here are of the Neanderthalic moron variety.

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Last year Heyward hit the ball very hard, very often. This year he’s a cheap out. Comparatively, Freddie is pounding the ball and he isn’t a cheap out. That’s all that matters. Uggla started to slowly come around when he started hitting the ball hard again. Even when he made an out, he was hitting the ball hard, only he hit it right at somebody. A lot of that is just dumb luck, but as a hitter, you know good things are on the horizon as long as you hit the ball hard. Heyward has lost that feeling. Last year he had a swagger. This year, his game has gotten away from him and he’s trying to hard to get it back. He needs to start having fun again.

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Yeah but racial jokes of inequality are nothing to joke about this country for one has been through enough of that crap.

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Im still teed off at the Francouer comparisons they are giving to Jason Heyward. LMAO you gotta be kidding me!

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Heyward seems to have a good attitude and appears teachable. Send him to AAA and let him work on a daily basis until he gets things sorted out. Maybe in a season or two he will be ready to return. Until then the Braves have Costanza and another outfielder at AAA (Gartrell) that they can replace Heyward with.

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@JoeFan — Dumb idea. He was ready last year. He doesn’t need “a year or two” in AAA ball. He needs to get his mojo back.

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Got stuck listening to the Cubs broadcasters yesterday I almost fell asleep during the game. All they talked about is how Sterling Castro wasnt paying attention to the game while on the field sounds the the Cubs all year except when they are trying to hit opposing batters

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I say give him one more year if he sucks it up again trade him so he can get a new start somewhere else

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It’s Bobby’s fault, He told him to be more aggressive shortly after he got the call-up.He has not been the same since.

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I mean having Heyward on bench like he’s a HOFer or something is crazy. He’s young and needs to be playing every day making adjustments. Just not with the Braves,at Gwinnett.

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I hope he figures things out. Another big bat along with Uggla and McCann would be incredible. I just wonder if he’ll be able to pull out of the tail spin given the fact that any change will be noticed by pitchers and they’ll adapt accordingly.

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Look, I am not the answer. Big leaguers need to stay in the Show.

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It’s true. I am heavy. And smelly.

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OKKKKK FOR EVERYONE OUT THERE THE LAST GAME AT GWINNETT IS SEPTEMBER 5TH that gives him not even two weeks to do something. I dont know how that is going to help him.

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@Smarty Pants — Right you are … BUT … you gotta play that hot hand. I think Fredi is using Constanza to light a fire under Heyward.

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Sending Jason Heyward to the Republican bastion of Gwinnett County would be the worst thing Braves’ management could do. Atlanta is a Chocolate City and the support Jason needs is found there.

Keep hope alive, Atlanta !

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I am a school ball coach. I am not an expert but I am pretty good at this.

Heyward is pulling balls that are outside. He did it last year and it didn’t kill him. Pitchers have advanced scouting reports and know he will try to pull the outside pitch. When he does, it results in a weak ground ball or a pop out. I mean, really has he not hit several weak grounders back at the pitcher off the end of the bat?

Getting off to a rough start is not something he has done before really. It got into his head and now he is pulling off the ball worse, trying to knock it out of the park to break out of his funk. What he has to do is be less agressive going after pitches. He needs to wait on a mistake middle of the plate in to jump on and leave those outside pitches to late in the count when he can take a little off and go with the pitch.

I could be off base, but that is what I am seeing.

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Basaball is littlered with potential superstars who declined after their rookie seasons, and never made it back. It would be intetesting to see some players stats who made it back successfully after the sophmore slump.

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Heyward has the weirdest practice swing I’ve ever seen – it’s like he pushes the bat away from his body as he swings – looks so awkward. His swing at the plate is hardly a thing of beauty – never looked like he was a natural hitter even when he was going relatively well last year. It appears from here to be flawed mechanics which major league pitchers learn to take advantage of in a heartbeat.

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Heyward is just like Francoeur! Get it!? HAHAHAHA! I’m so smart! Send JHey to Gwinett at the end of the year to face mediocre pitching! Yeah, that’s it! How much time are we gonna give this guy?? MORE THAN ONE YEAR?? Ridiculous!!! Get him outta here, and send both him and Uggla to triple A and then trade them!…Oh wait, Uggla is hitting again?? I knew it!!! I love Uggla! JHey is the new Francouer! Get it? HAHAHA I’m hilarious and informed!

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If Jason can sit on bench so can Tejeran & Delgado who are better players than he is.

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Bobby Valentine was just man enough to say the truth that all you Braves homers can’t admit. Jason is not a major leaguer by the numbers. The Braves just hope he sells tickets.

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But I can. And I start over Jason right now. Why send Teheran & Delgado to minors and keep Linebrink,Sherrill,& Vavardo here ?

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No confidence and he’s pressing too hard.
This too shall pass (hopefully)!

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I’ve saw phenoms develop into stars like David Wright and Jose Reyes that I managed. I think Jason Heyward is another Michael Tucker…

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And Sherrill has been pretty effective as of late.

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I wanna play too !

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You don’t even play as well as Bourn in my world.

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Boy, that Jason Heyward reminds me of myself at 22. Maybe he will get as good as I was some day.

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Jason’s head is messed up which is indicated by the strike zone discipline going crazy. Cox tells him he is taking too many pitches, Gonzalez tells him he is swinging at too many. And he is getting advice from so many people, he does not know what to do. Unlike Francoeur, this is not physical (Francoeur put on too much muscle).

I think a break is the best thing for him and Constanza is giving him that. Constanza has been an amazing gift of fortune for Heyward. The pressure is off. There is someone else to play his position while he gets it figured, and he will.

Constanza is not a long term solution in RF, not enough power. He is a CF and I think the braves are committed to Bourn in CF so Constanza is a man without a position. If he has a .330 or better BA at the end of the season, look for the Braves to trade him like they did with Charles Thompson.

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jason reminds me of another Braves phenom who never quite lived up to the hype ANDRUW JONES

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hey morons did u know it is a felony to use someone name without there permission,keep it up i will have your ip address to the authorities

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send him to aaa,then trade him another loser who tweets all the time,he was on roids last year now he is off the drugs,c what happens?ask jordan schafer

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@ Larry A
Great example about the changing of the guard from Cox to Gonzalez. This is the same thing that happens in the NFL different approaches by different people. This kid does not deserve to be compared to Andruw Jones, he doesn’t even have 2 full seasons under his belt yet, nuff said. Any real fan is not ready to toss this guy over over a cliff just yet, it simply amazes me how some ATL fans are just plain cut-throat, these other fans never diss their players the way we do here in ATL. You guys crack me up!!!! Philly is not as bad as ATL, just check the blogs!!!

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Yeah with friends like Constanza that takes Heyward’s job away who needs enemies ?

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Jason reminds me of Terry Harper.

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Did you know quasi is Chinese for wuss ?

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I don’t think Triple A is the answer. He’s seeing the ball well. For a guy documented on being able to see the spin on a ball, he has a lot of late swings and pulls off more than he should. Furthermore, that uppercut swing is ridiculous. If he levels off his swing and shows more patience at the plate he will pull a Dan Uggla. If not, there will be more blogs about what’s wrong with him.

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Chris, its messiah. Did you finish 7th grade ?

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j heys probably more hurt than letting on is 1 reason. 2 its his hands he needs to keep them up,in and back..start trying what freeman did when he started hitting “stay up the middle”

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It’s shrinkage. Haven’t you ever heard of shrinkage!

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You really cannot even compare the success of Jeff Francouer and Jason Heyward. For example for Francouer:
2005 .300 average in 70 games 14 HR, 45 RBI
2006 . 260 average in 162 games 29 HR, 103 RBI
2007 .293 average in 162 games, 19 HR, 105 RBI
2008 .239 average in 155 games, 11 HR, 71 RBI

Now take into account that Francouer was a free swinger who had lot’s of strikeouts. In 2009 the Braves felt he had lost confidence and mechanics and traded him. This year in 474 plate appearances he has only struck out 99 times, still high but he is hitting .275, 15 HR and 67 RBI’s with 19 SB’s and has a great assit record for outfielders, one of the best in the majors. This was enough to get him a 2 year, 14M contract extension with the Royals.

I believe Heyward has great promise, but you cannot play a player that is a burden in the lineup. He has to get his head straight first and foremost. Does Heyward have heart? Based upon Chipper’s comments when Heyward was sittiing because of an undiagnosed shoulder injury, Chipper said everyone plays with pain, and even though not referring directly to him, everyone knows what he meant. Also, Heyward has made a good many errors in right field this year as well. Only time will tell, but I don’t see him as a Francouer, he’s not that good.

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Blah Blah Blah,

All you excuse makers and apologist. Comparing Hurtward to Uggla is stupid.

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Look at the back of Ugglas baseball card there is a track record. Heyward had two good months. Heyward is a bust. Sooner you all deal with it the sooner I hope the Braves get rid of him

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Braves should trade Heyward.

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Hey Jesse, if Atlanta is a chocolate city, how about telling some of the chocolates to buy tickets for a change. All I see is white pasty faces in the stands.

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Nolee, if you want to give up one of the best young players in the game then go ahead. Effin idiot

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@ dee

Spare me your idiotic comments about ” your mamas basement ” that is so last year…..anyway, {dingbat dee}, since you are on Bradley bandwagon so bad I will clarify my comment…I actually read Dayn Perry’s article on ESPN’s insider last night & was referring to that moron for your information…you are a prime example of just about every idiotic Atlanta fan out there whether it is football, baseball, or basketball !!!! You blog before you think….also Mark & several other writers on the AJC staff have been known to drop a stupid article frequently & not any them puts any fear in my heart I say to their face anytime any place….so stop being a groupie & blogging from your cubicle about your idols….we are talking baseball here {dingbat dee} !!!!!!

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Heywards timing is off and he’s twenty freaking two. Bust? Are you people serious?

He had a shoulder injury this year and his mechanics at this level are not right…. but players don’t go from near rookie of the year to off the map in less than a year without some issues.

We had to be patient with Uggla now be patient with Heyward. Geez.

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Look at the difference between Heyward and Freeman. One has total cofidence and looks like someone that has been in the league 10 years, and the other looks totally lost. Guess who is who.

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PMC, Major League History is replete with one year wonders as I have been patiently explaining to young Jason during our sessions. I don’t need you to get his hopes up just to have them dashed. So what if 20 years from now he will be featured in “what ever happened to segments”. All that matters is Jason coming to grips to a life without baseball and finding happiness.

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Its amazing to me how stupid some people are. Trade J-Hey. Hes a bust. No wonder Philly fans laugh at us. This is the worse fan base. J-Hey is no frenchy hes 22 and this is his 2nd year. pitchers adjusted to him now he has to adjust to them. He will be just fine. And I guess when Freeman goes through his sophmore slump next year were all going to hate him.

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Francouer is awesome! I want him back! I call Heyward Hurtward, isn’t that brilliant!? HAHAHA I MAKE A JOKE!! Uggla has a baseball card! That’s where I get all my baseball knowledge: baseball cards! Trade Hurtward before we get a chance to see how good he is! Hurry! I want Frenchy back! Even though I hated him while he was here!

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BravesFan – I agree 110% with your comments. I really get tired of some of you nut- cases (who probably never played the sport)saying over and over JasonH has so much talent he will get over it, or it is just a sophomore slump. Face facts- Last year he had a .277 BA, 520 AB’s, 18 HRS, 72 RBI’s, 128 SO’s, that is about 1 strikeout every 4 AB’s. That is decent numbers not the 2nd coming of Mickey Mantle! Get real people, maybe it is too much pressure on some hometown players, it may have affected JasonH just like it did Frenchy at some point?? Maybe?? It did not seem to bother McCann though!!

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BTW, Francoeur was barely 21 when he was called up. Quit using that as an excuse for Heyward.

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It didn’t bother Chipper or Andruw either. Heyward just ain’t that good. Face it.

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I’m sure the great Larry Parrish will ge Heyward back on track.

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I have never seen so many experts on how to hit a baseball. Wow, you guys should be playing.

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It’s not an excuse for Heyward. Francouer whined and cried his way out of Atlanta because he got butt hurt when he struggled for 3 years and missed out on the same contract that McCann signed because his agent thought he deserved more. It was his own fault he got traded out of Atlanta. He didn’t want to be here anymore.

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some prospects just never pan out,jordan schafer,tony tarasco, mike kelly all the way back to brad komminsk,just happens sometimes

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Heyward does not have good swing mechanics. He is far to tall in his stance, leads with his arms (vs legs), swing is too long (hands not inside (close to the body), dips his back shoulder, pulls his head…and other things.

In addition to not having a good swing, major league pitchers find the holes in swings and exploit them. It is a batter’s job to 1) minimize the hole and 2) adjust to what the pitchers are doing.

Last, hitting is very pyschological. To hit best, the batter needs to be able to relax and react.

When things start going bad, hitters start trying to adjust their mechanics and about everything else which in turn affects their head which affects their swing.

Unless Heyward can employ better mechanics and learn to adjust to the pitching, I dont see him getting much better.

On the other hand is Freeman who has very good mechanics. I am sure that when he gets into a slump, he will be able to get out of it much easier than Heyward.

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Yeah but those prospects get sent back to the minors. They don’t take up a MLB roster spot.

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Heyward is not struggling nearly as bad as Uggla was and look how that turned out. Like someone said earlier, he might be the WS MVP.

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Two things wrong with Heyward. One his swing mechanics are messed up. He’s standing way off the plate then diving into pitches…to clear his hips he’s pulling his shoulders out which is either causing his bat to drag which is causing the infield pops or he completely rolling over the ball.

Second thing that is wrong is that now that pitchers have adjusted to him, he is trying to guess what they are throwing. He’s getting fooled to many times and swinging at 59 foot curve balls.

I’d like to see him closer to the plate, open the stance up a little(allows the hitter to see) and work on keeping the barrel of the bat through the hitting zone longer. Short to it and long through it.

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Get the dip out of his swing and he’ll drive the ball a lot better.

It’s easy to see his swing is not fluid, nor does it generate power.

Parrish needs to get the hell out of Atlanta.

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While there is obviously a lot of speculation as to why Jason Heyward’s production has spiraled downward since the middle of last season, I have to say the change goes back to right after he had the thumb injury. It’s indisputable that before then he was driving the ball with abandon and was on pace to lead all rookies in average and power numbers; since then he strikes out far more often and rolls over those same pitches to the second base side of the field.

Is Heyward perhaps still hurting and refusing to share that information with his team in an effort to contribute? Did the discomfort cease but cause changes in his swing that are apparently very hard for him to let go of? Why is it that Freddie Freeman has learned to adjust to the inside pitch (not to mention lefties) with increasing aptitude in a single year at the MLB level while Heyward has the earmarks of a player who needs significantly more time in the minors?

I don’t have the answers to these questions; as with most folks here on the boards, anything I say would be pure conjecture. But the Braves probably know, and certainly Jason Heyward himself knows what the problem is. The next question he and they must answer is, “How do we salvage Jason Heyward’s career before it’s too late?”.

No, I don’t have that answer either (though I’ve suggested more time at Gwinnett or wherever he might get one-on-one help from someone who can get through to him; ironically Chipper Jones may be that guy, and I sure hope so).

In the meantime, I think future instances like this would have less of a chance of developing if the Braves instituted one simple (break it and you’re fined) rule: NO HEADFIRST SLIDES.

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He just seems lethargic all around. He is a young guy, and should have made it to that ball that Uggla over ran in last night’s game.

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Jason has a fragile psyche and he had quite a few called out on strikes . He was told to be more agressive so now he is swinging at pitches that are out of the strike zone and for which he has no confidence he can hit. He has always had a long swing and he looks totally confused at times. One pitch he is flailing on the next pitch he hits a long homer. He was a rookie who got worked over because he is a player who knows the strike zone better than most umpires and I think he has had trouble adjusting to the strike zone which is constantly moving from game to game. Its hard for him to be likechipper. When chipper gets called out on strikes he gives the umpires that I am a hall of famer and you are a pretender. You can call it a strike but everyone including GOD knows you sir are just wrong. Jason can’t do that.

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I still don’t get the Francoeur comparisons with Heyward. Jason isn’t 1/2 the player Francoeur was. PMC, where do you get Jeff had 3 bad years? He actually had one bad year in Atlanta, and even then he hit 20 points higher than Heyward and drove in 71 runs. Compare Heyward to someone else, he isn’t close to Francoeur. Francoeur in 4 years for the Braves had 73 HR’s and 324 RBI’s. His 4 year average per year in Atlanta: .273 BA, 18 HR’s and 81 RBI’s. I would take that back in a heart beat, plus having one of the best defensive right fielders in the league.

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The announcers of last night’s game put it well: “It’s like there’s a hole in his bat.”

Heyward appeared last night to have trouble catching up to an 89 mph fast ball.

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Submariner, See my comments above.

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Perhaps Jason has been listening too much to the statisticians and swing analyists. Mays and Mantle both maintained the philosophy, “see the ball, hit the ball.” Perhaps some AAA ball would have helped Jason’s confidence. I believe Jason will recover. BTW, Bobby Valentine may be a jerk, but he is a pretty good commentator and a great improvement over Joe Morgan.

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ijudgenot, a bad toe is exactly what happened to dizzy dean. toes turn to arms and arms turn to mush. journalists know these things. if jason heyward has to wear gloves he needs some with some elastic in them and no velcro. there is no velcro in baseball.

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I may be wrong but Heywards attitude says it all. He doesnt want to be there nor do I think he wants to be playing ball. It is obvious in how he carries himself throughout the game.

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Heyward has gone haywire….for sure,, I am glad Freddie G is playing the players that are being productive with the bat!

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Is Jason Heyward’s heart REALLY & TRULY into playing baseball?

When Heyward is in the outfield, does she daydream about going to medical school, dribbling a basketball or being a hip-hop recording “artist” instead?

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Heyward dives down and towards the plate with every swing. It’s absurdly obvious to anyone who watches. He needs to go back to Mississippi and get his swing back, because the Braves’ hitting coach clearly isn’t doing his job.

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Was Jason Heyward on a Sports Illustrated cover or in a featured story (with Freeman)? I’m not superstitious, but I’m just thinking…

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I think Jason needs to stay in the line up to work through this. That said, he needs to go down to Gwinnett next year if his first month or so is like this!

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For anyone who is not aware: Jeff Freancouer recently signed a 13 million 2 yr. contract extension with the Royals. I doubt if he cares what Braves fans think of him now.

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Chris from Sacramento:

Is there any chance we could get you to stop making ignorant posts and get YOUR sorry #%s out of here sooner and permanently? I’m giving odds that we can’t!

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Jason takes the best pitch of his at bat, meaning the first one. Then the pitchers throw him garbage low or away because they know he can;t hit them. He needs to shorten and level his swing and stay on the pitch, instead of swinging that long, loopy swing.

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Do braves fans STILL think McCann is a better catcher than The Mighty Chooch? Ha – laughable.

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For the last time quit comparing JasonH to Frenchy, it’s not fair to JasonH! A better comparison of skills and accomplishments would be to some one like McLouth. A decent player who seems to be injuried alot of the time. Sometimes people like to forget, Frenchy in his 2nd and 3rd years, played in 162 games( I guess it might have to do with his football mentality)!! There is 162 games in a season, right? Sorry, MentalGiant, perhaps you should use your real first name, just a suggestion!

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Fast-forward to the playoffs. The Braves will get the lowly WildCard, they will NOT sellout their playoff games (once again), and they will get bounced in the first-round (most likely a sweep ending in Game 3 at a half-empty Turner field) by the Milwaukee Brewers. Heyward will bat 1 for 12 with his lone hit in a meaningless 8th inning of Game 3 as the lowly Braves trail 9-2. The remaining 6,000 fans in attendance will lustily boo the kid with the hitched swing. braves season OVER.

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Phillies, Class of the NL:

You mean class of the NL and All World just like last year against the Giants? As I mentioned the other day, the reason why you and the other Phillies lurkers continuously post here and try to convince us that the Phils are this juggernaut is to mask your insecurity about the pending playoffs and concern that your fantastic regular season will go up in smoke again this year just like it did last year to the Giants.

Do us all a favor and get back to us in October if they actually win the World Series. In the meantime, spare us all your blather.

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No doubt The Mighty Phillies were disappointed to not win The Series last year. As the Giants flounder this year, the Phillies continue with their usual, workman-like Excellence. The Trophy will be back in its rightful place on South Broad St. come November.

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I see where Phillies put Cole Hamels on the DL and called up Pete Orr to take his roster spot. I hope that means Orr will be inserted into the starting rotation. But seriously, Braves are getting healthy and Phils could be opening up a window of opportunity. Perhaps a role reversal from 2010 is coming.

On another note, I like reading other folks thoughts but when I see a post longer than a DOB blog I scroll past it. Please keep it short.

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Phillies fans continuing to be obsessed with the Braves…nothing new there.

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Mark Bradley,

You continue to offer nothing to the journalism world. My 2 year old cousin could’ve written the “article.”

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Phillies = Getting Old
Braves = Young and good for years

Phillie should be back where they belong before long, licker the sewer.

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I literally don’t see one position at which the lowly braves are superior to the Phillies:

RF – advantage Pence
CF – advantage Victorino
LF – advantage Ibanez
3rd – advantage Polanco
2nd – huge advantage Utley
SS – huge advantage Rollins
1st – gigantic advantage Howard
Starting pitching – please
Bullpen/Closer – potentially a wash but I will take the playoff tested World Series Winning Madson over the rookies the braves have
Catcher – advantage Chooch (slightly less hitting for far superior game calling and runner holding, plus Chooch’s knack for clutch hitting)

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he hasn’t been the same since chipper ‘pulled groin’ jones called him out…

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Last year people were complaining because JH was too patient and took too many pitches. This year they’re complaining that he isn’t patient enough and he doesn’t take enough pitches.

Could just be that the league has adjusted to him and in his quest to adjust, he’s pressing a bit.

I was confused by the way the infield pop-up stat was listed but I assume it means he’s popping up more this year. That’s not a good think but it should be fixable.

Freddie Freeman is doing very well this year but let’s remember, the league is going to adjust to him, too. How he handles that will tell the tale. Baseball is a game of constant adjusting and readjusting.

People also complained the last couple years about Terry Pendleton, until he was moved to another position, and now they complain about Larry Parrish, because he’s the opposite of Pendleton, in their minds. The smart players and coaches ignore the fans, including me. Well, maybe they should have listened to a certain S. Clusters about one guy but that’s water under the bridge.

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If you watch his swing he is late on anything reasonably fast. Thus all the ground outs and popups. Not only is he late with his swing he is so late he can not even hit the ball to the opposite field. His stance causes him to be jammed on most any inside pitch–something Parrish should be able to fix easily if the young man will listen and not pull a frenchy. You have got to get the bat to the ball. If you can’t do that then you are just another 220 hitter. Not even good enough for a shorstop these days.

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Say Hey what up with the Kid… J-Hey! Sophmore jinx hey!

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Love the Utley vs Uggla huge advantage. Well let’s see:
Utley BA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .274 9 38 .356
Uggla BA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .232 30 66 .300
Plus Uggla has 18 HRs and raised his average 51 points in less than 6 weeks.

Let’s take 3rd base:
PoloncoBA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .278 4 40 .333
ChipperBA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .276 12 57 .349

The bullpen of the Phillies SUCK. OFlarety, Venters and Kimbrell wipe the floor with the Phillies. It’s a joke of a comparison. And your OLD pitchers which hopefully will have a couple of years left in them after this one compare well to Hudson, Hanson and Beachy. Doc is all you have.

Your team is old and getting older. You have NOTHING in the wings, and will rely totally on overpaid vets for years to come, while our 20yo ROY is playing first, a 6 time All-star catcher that dwarfs whomever that catcher you have.
Phillies Catcher (whathisname)
BA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .273 5 30 .368
McCannBA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .296 20 58 .369

Phillies combined ERA
3.07
Braves
3.31
The Phillies starting pitching surely cannot even begin to compare with the Maddux, Glavine, Smoltz era for sure. That’s a joke to even discuss it.

Oh, and BTW on 1st base
HowardBA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .253 26 96 .341
Freeman (the rookie and gold glover)
BA HR RBI OBP
Regular Season .293 18 63 .356

Not bad. Oh and the Phillies have LOST 3 games in the standings in the past 8 days. 91/2 games up, now 6 1/2 games up. Wow, you get a lot for $200m. I think you are getting ripped off compared to the Braves less than $90M payroll.

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I always felt Eddie Haas got a bad rap. The Atlanta writers had it in for him from day one because they loved Joe Torre and he wasn’t Joe. The people who followed him had no more success than he did, until John Schuerholz came to town.

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shut up mark bradley jayhey still got it just a bad season

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Stats are for losers…….. I like winning games.

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@Hardy – Just discrediting that jackass Phillies troll.

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OBP is a good statistic, in my opinion. It’s probably the most important statistic for a lead-off man. OPS is the one that I think is a stat just for a stat’s sake. I’m sure I’m in the minority on that, though.

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Its a Catch 22 for the Phillies.

If they win the NLCS it will be because they were supposed to because they bought their way to it.

If they lose they are chokers.

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The statistic I like is Runs Produced. That is (Runs Scored + RBI’s) – HR’s = Runs Produced.

That’s what wins games and a run scored and a run driven in have equal value, in my mind.

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I just hope he doesn’t end up like Francoeur.
Jeff would not listen to advice here and had to leave town, to get back on track.
It would be terrible to see the same thing happen to JHey.

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the same people that want to trade uggla wanted to release uggly two months ago. d-bags.

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Great timing Mark. Haha

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Perhaps tonight’s grand slam will be just what it takes to bring him out of his “funk”.

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Its amazes me how one year you guys want to cheer for the guy and time he goes through a slump you wanna get rid of him just pathetic.

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GRAND SLAM for J-Hey! Take that, J-Haters!

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Heyward served serious CROW tonight……………..J haters need to wipe das mouths after eating so much of das CROW……………..keep serving das Crow Heyward…………..Keep serving it

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Well, it’s a good thing Frank Wren doesn’t base his decisions on the negative advice coming off these blogs. If he did, Jason would have been traded, or sent down to AAA before tonights game. Now if the Cubs were to offer Aramis Ramirez, wow that guy can hit!

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3 hits, 4 RBIs, GRAND SLAM. Heyward is an integral part of the Braves’ future. Larry Jones for hitting coach.

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We can all disect Heywards decline a million ways, and chances are it does have multiple contributeing factors, health, bad mechanics, its obvious pitchers have found a whole in his swing and he has not been able to make the adjustment yet. It doesn’t mean he won’t. It is just the way the game is played, if you have a weakness it will be exploited untill you make the adjustment. I truly believe he is now working on it which is huge for him, because it seemed like with all his success that he has had throughout his entire baseball life it might have taken a while for him to admit that there was really something there that needed to be corrected. Seeing him hit the ball the other way is the best sign that he had begun to make a change. He will be a great player but he has had to go through the learning curve just like everyone else. I think this season will just be a blip on the radar at the end of his hall of fame career. Go Braves!!

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heyward…..you rat b@#*&$%…………………..

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