Atlanta Braves II

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#9,751
#9,751
zjcvols said:
Alright, let's just put this to bed.

Unless Liberty Media does something completely uncharacteristic, Mike Bourn is not going to be an Atlanta Brave in 2013, nor is he negoitiating with Atlanta during the 2012 year.
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Even if liberty media okay'd the funds (they won't), Frank Wren still isn't signing Michael Bourn. It will be a horrible contract.
 
#9,752
#9,752
Somebody will pay him way too much money, yes. 4th or 5th most sought after upcoming free agent will get paid.
 
#9,754
#9,754
#9,755
#9,755
Vercingetorix said:
The very headline is idiocy. Even if you swallow all the ridiculous hype over J.D. Drew Harper at face value, the idea that adding him would be enough to make the Natinals frontrunners is ridiculous. You should have to know more about baseball to write for ESPN.
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The headline was poorly written based on article content. Nationals are predicted second based more on pitching strength than any contribution from Harper, in conjunction with the Marlins and Phillies off to slow starts.
 
#9,757
#9,757
It's a hot start + a good pitching staff. And Harper could add more value than whoever the hell else was gonna play left.

Morse, Zimmerman, Storen returning at some point makes a difference, too. The title was for hype, yeah, but I don't think anybody expects him to put up GREAT numbers this season.

Not understanding the JD Drew strikethrough.
 
#9,759
#9,759
Andrelton Simmons, SS: 2-5, 3B, 2 R, 2 RBI, last night, now hitting .325 on the year.

Gattis made his AA debut against top prospect Trevor Bauer: 1-4, 2 RBI, BB.
 
#9,761
#9,761
Dbake005 said:
Not understanding the JD Drew strikethrough.
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Because so far there's no reason to believe this guy is anything more than J.D. Drew 2.0. Boras has managed the hype around him in exactly the same way. Drew's had a decent career but he was supposed to be Mickey Mantle too.

Harper has the scouts weak-kneed, but that happens all the time. There's nothing on his resume yet to support all the hyperventilating around him. Guy hit .250 with no power at AA last year, but here he is in the majors anyway. The Natinals are letting Scott Boras drive the bus.
 
#9,762
#9,762
I think it's more Rizzo driving everything despite people trying to convince him to chill. Who may be close with Boras, i'm not sure. There's also just a good chance that Harper is better than Xavier Nady.

Harper sure is talented, so we'll see how it all plays out.
 
#9,763
#9,763
Dbake005 said:
I think it's more Rizzo driving everything despite people trying to convince him to chill. Who may be close with Boras, i'm not sure. There's also just a good chance that Harper is better than Xavier Nady.

Harper sure is talented, so we'll see how it all plays out.
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I don't disagree that Harper is talented as hell, but so are a lot of guys who don't pan out. The Nats should be doing everything possible to cultivate this guy carefully. I don't understand why they'd rush him to the majors and start up the ESPN hype machine at age 19 before he's demonstrated that he's adjusted to professional pitchers. It sure seems like they're significantly increasing the risk of flameout for no good reason.

If you think he might be the difference between a World Series run and not, then yeah, maybe you take that risk. But nobody thinks the Nats are there yet, right?
 
#9,764
#9,764
He's played above his age and level for his entire life. Maybe they just think he can handle it mentally, even if he struggles. Talent overcomes bust potential at some point, I guess.

We could be in the mix for a playoff spot, and, therefore, in the mix for a world series.
 
#9,765
#9,765
I like watching great players, so I hope he pans out. I just don't see the sense in putting a 19 year old kid in a position where if he hits .240 against major leaguers, they'll be arguing on Sportscenter whether he's a bust. I'd feel better about it if he'd handled AA or AAA pitching at all during his short stints there. The whole thing smells to me like something that's being done for marketing/"build buzz around the team" reasons rather than baseball reasons.
 
#9,766
#9,766
I think it was a mix of hype/panic move + baseball talent and quality of at bats rather than numbers at AAA.

I definitely think it is Rizzo and Boras influenced. But he may hold his own and stay in the majors.
 
#9,767
#9,767
Dbake005 said:
I think it was a mix of hype/panic move + baseball talent and quality of at bats rather than numbers at AAA.

I definitely think it is Rizzo and Boras influenced. But he may hold his own and stay in the majors.
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He's certainly not just a one-trick pony. He can go get it in center, throw it to home from the wall it seems, and can hit. There's still a lot of work to be done but he's already pretty far ahead where most could imagine at this point. I personally think he's gonna need to cut down on his swing as he has that sort of sweeping/funky bagwell-esk type swing. If he's as strong as Bagwell, which I doubt, then he will just keep on keeping on.
 
#9,768
#9,768
He has as much raw power (more) compared to Bagwell. But there can be a difference in that and pure strength.

The long swing does bother me. It kind of told on him some in spring training, as he never got rolling. On the one hand, it may need to be fixed in a major way. On the other hand, he may have a great approach + Hamilton-esque talent and just hit everything eventually.
 
#9,769
#9,769
Dbake005 said:
He has as much raw power (more) compared to Bagwell. But there can be a difference in that and pure strength.

The long swing does bother me. It kind of told on him some in spring training, as he never got rolling. On the one hand, it may need to be fixed in a major way. On the other hand, he may have a great approach + Hamilton-esque talent and just hit everything eventually.
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Hamilton has REALLY cut down on his swing over the years. He used to really struggle with stuff biting in on him when first coming up as do most human beings playing this game. :) One of the more difficult things to do in sports, imo.
 
#9,771
#9,771
Vercingetorix said:
I like watching great players, so I hope he pans out. I just don't see the sense in putting a 19 year old kid in a position where if he hits .240 against major leaguers, they'll be arguing on Sportscenter whether he's a bust. I'd feel better about it if he'd handled AA or AAA pitching at all during his short stints there. The whole thing smells to me like something that's being done for marketing/"build buzz around the team" reasons rather than baseball reasons.
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It's an interesting question, though it's WAAAY to early to make that call based on your chances of a world series.

In 2009, the Braves could have used an outfield bat the last two months of the season while they were chasing the wild card. In Mississippi, Heyward was hitting .352/.446/.611 but they decided not to bring him and make sure he was ready, where he would be in the heat of the pennant race. It worked out well.
 
#9,772
#9,772
It could have worked out just as well the other way, too. Everybody handles prospects differently, and some organizations don't even have a set plan.

Does it worry me that we kind of don't even have a plan with Harper or Strasburg this season? Yes. Do I think overwhelming talent can make the point moot? Yes.
 
#9,773
#9,773
Dbake005 said:
It could have worked out just as well the other way, too. Everybody handles prospects differently, and some organizations don't even have a set plan.

Does it worry me that we kind of don't even have a plan with Harper or Strasburg this season? Yes. Do I think overwhelming talent can make the point moot? Yes.
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If overwhelming talent trumped all, then Darryl Strawberry would have been a first-ballot Hall of Famer. How a career is handled matters.

The national hype + the Boras factor + the kid's extreme arrogance/confidence (which is both good and bad) make this a combustible situation to begin with, and rushing him to the majors just seems like a good way to throw a match on it. It'll be interestng to see how he handles it if he struggles. I mean, Jeff Francoeur thought he was The Natural too.
 
#9,774
#9,774
I don't know what exactly you mean by the Boras factor? Not being a dick, jw.

He has had national hype since he was 16 and been fine. He's the most analyzed and discussed prospect of all time... we will see if he can handle it (the good, flattering parts... and the overanalytical, negative parts). I think he can. And I also don't think he will be a huge difference maker this early / this season.

Oh, and he's better than Jeff Francoeur. But I get what you mean.
 
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