Braves Quote For The Day ... This Is Jason Heyward
by gondeee on Jan 30, 2012 8:28 AM EST
in Braves Quote For The Day
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I'm already getting the chills just thinking of what a healthy Jason Heyward will mean to the Atlanta Braves this season. Here is the money quote from an article posted over the weekend about our young outfielder by Peter Gammons:
When Heyward was growing up outside of Atlanta, he went to a handful of Braves games every year, and after playing every day in one of the nation's elite programs, he watched the games with his parents. What he didn't know then was what Major League players deal with, especially when they are hurt.
"With the help of my parents, I realized that the only way to cope with disappointment is to overcome it with hard work," Heyward says. "Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere."
The even tempered way in which Heyward carries himself continues to impress me time and again. I remember what a punk I was at age 20, and I also remember how immature and impulsive I was at age 25, but I've never been subjected to anything close to the pressure situations that Heyward has been under since he was in high school. For a kid his age to carry himself that calmly and be so self aware is an amazing thing, and it has been and will continue to be one of Jason Heyward's greatest assets.
I'm really excited to see what a healthy Heyward can do this year. In an off-season for the Braves that was more about subtraction than addition, a renewed Heyward is the key to a successful 2012.
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Watching some games the past week or so from the 2012 season on MLB.TV, it was really apparent how different his swing looked from the beginning of the year and after the DL stint. I have no doubt 2010 was closer to the real Heyward, and even that probably wasn’t even scratching the surface.
by michaeldlee1480 on Jan 30, 2012 8:40 AM EST via mobile reply actions
Sorry meant 2011 games, I was watching.
by michaeldlee1480 on Jan 30, 2012 8:41 AM EST via mobile up reply actions
Heyward could have a .300 / .400 / .500 season just as easily as he could get a Francoeurian trip to the Minors to work on things or anything in between. If he stays pretty healthy, I expect a tremendous bounceback season over 2011. Unfortunately he hasn’t had a healthy season since he was 18 yrs old. Hope he puts all that behind him and rakes.
"An insult is an insult either way you fucked up freaked out wierd people want to spin it"
PhillyBrave Jan 18, 2012
I think his struggles were almost purely injury related
and just can’t see a “Francouerian trip to the Minors”.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Jan 30, 2012 12:58 PM EST up reply actions
I'll come out and say it...
Since I haven’t seen anyone really put Chipper’s feet to the fire about the comments he made about JHey last summer.
I guess Smoltzie gave him a terrible example of how to address your concern that a teammate might not be giving his all with an injury. Instead of walking over to his locker, or picking up a phone, and asking…“how bad is the injury”?. And maybe even offering some hitting pointers when your shoulder if stiff and you have to start guessing to be able to turn on the ball.
Instead, using the media, he hints that Jason hasn’t learned that he needs to play with injuries. For all the crap people around here give Fredi Gonzalez about not playing Jason towards the end of the year, and how it “ruined” his confidence. I love it that Chipper gets a free pass in calling out a guy with a legitimate injury keeping him from performing at his best…until he comes back not fully healed and struggles. No ruining of confidence there…
"If you're looking around...then we're looking around" - Coach Paul Johnson
by TBuzz on Jan 30, 2012 9:04 AM EST reply actions 1 recs
I remember those comments as being taken out of context. I think Chipper’s point was to compliment Heyward’s ability and character by saying that he may be too humble to realize that at 60%, he’s better than anyone else we got for RF. Kind of a “shrug off the poor performance and hang in there” statement.
If you want to bag on Chipper for that one, I’d say only about not choosing his words more carefully to avoid the confusion. But his frankness with the press is something I really like about Chipper.
"I have a dream that our twelve pitchers will one day play in a city where they will not be judged solely by statistics, but on the quality and consistency of their pitches." - MLK, Jr.
I called Chipper out on those comments at the time.
I love Chipper, and I understand what he was trying to do, but he’s not a doctor, and he doesn’t know when another player is healthy enough to play (or play well). Of all people, Chipper should understand that sometimes “playing with injuries” actually hurts the team. There’ve been a couple times in his career when Chipper played—terribly—through an injury when he should have taken some time to rest it instead. Sometimes it’s best to play through it, but not always.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
I also blog about weird statistics at JunkStats.
Follow @junkstats
by Jacob Peterson on Jan 30, 2012 12:30 PM EST up reply actions
I remember you, me, and others being upset with the comments at the time too. It’s interesting that they are causing as much of a stir now as compared to when the comments occurred, because it was not often talked about among the members of the national media at the time.
I think it also didn't help that...
for whatever reason, the Braves FO refused to come out and say the truth that Jason’s shoulder was injured. It’s not like pitchers (especially LHP) didn’t figure this out already.
"If you're looking around...then we're looking around" - Coach Paul Johnson
And it wasn't just the injury thing
but the hypocritcal comments considering how he went through it with Smoltz a few years before.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
by Mr. Sanchez on Jan 30, 2012 12:59 PM EST up reply actions
Barring serious injury I think J-Hey's stats will be approximately this....
149 GP 523 AB 137 H 28 2b 3 3b 21 HR 81 Runs 73 RBI 83 BB 115 K 13 SB .262 AVG
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
if that's the case
he’s a top-30 OF. his OBP, though, might be higher than .400. If so, then he’s a top-20 OF.
by JoelGuzman'sScout on Jan 30, 2012 11:57 AM EST up reply actions
If he comes back this year and finds himself truly healthy and comfortable at the plate
I see him being closer to this;
154 games / 600 AB’s / 189 hits / 34 2B’s / 28 HR’s / 88 RBI’s / .298 AVG / .380 OBP / .475 SLG
Id rather take your numbers over mine lol
Trust me on that one… but I do anticipate at least one nagging injury, cause he has had one both of the years hes been in the league… but lets keep our fingers crossed :)
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
You could be right about the injury
but it just seems as though he is highly motivated and has been working out hard preparing his body for this upcoming season . I also think that after last year , that he comes out with an attitude of “I have something to prove” an takes that next level of stardom to become the player that he has been hyped to be . It wouldn’t suprise me at all if he actually puts up better numbers than those I posted above .
by bravesdude on Jan 30, 2012 3:00 PM EST up reply actions 1 recs
agreed!
He is something else… not a typical snot nosed 22 year old who wants to cash his paychecks on 10 sports cars and a mansion with an indoor basketball court… its not about the money as much as it is being successful and helping his team win
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
My biggest concern with him is can we truly say
“barring injury”? Especially considering the force he slams in to the bag on head first slides, are constant shoulder/elbow/wrist/thumb injuries just going to be a fact of life for him?
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Agreed...
One thing we cannot question is his passion to play hard… so hard that it may cause many nagging injuries throughout his career… but remember Andruw Jones the way he dove to catch fly balls could have done the same throughout his spectacular defensive career, and he really didnt miss all that many games… so we will see… lets hope
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
Andruw Jones did not dive…..he magically appeared where the ball was going to drop.
If we can land [Stephen Drew], I will give FW a bj.
~justincredubil02
by king of games on Jan 30, 2012 2:03 PM EST up reply actions 3 recs
lol...
Bourne is pretty good out there as well… at least we dont have to see McClouth or his blonde mullet out there anymoer
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
Well put king
but also, Andruw’s dives don’t have the direct impact force head first slides do at Heyward’s speed and weight. A dive can land on your belly, or chest, or with Andruw, often never leaving his feet. But on a Heyward head first slide, the impact hits that arm area every time, and you have direct force slamming in to your thumb, or wrist, or elbow, or shoulder.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
Great point about his his calmness and maturity. I remain of the opinion that he’s going to be a superstar and very much believe we are going to be witnessing one helluva bounceback season from him in 2012.
I like it...
We may as well be optimistic…what’s the alternative? And they say that hope ‘Springs’ eternal!
by TomahawkGuy on Jan 30, 2012 11:08 AM EST up reply actions
I think hes potential is .. the skies the limit
The reason is his maturity is like no other… i mean Frechy was different because he allowed his emotions to dictate his play.. I have not seen the same with J-Hey, hear me out… This kid makes NO excuses for anything.. He even played with an injured shoulder last year and played hard… NO excuses. Then when the season ended instead of crawling into a whole, he worked his butt off and lost 20 plus pounds and worked on his swing with the Hitting coach even before the team is supposed to report…
This kid WILL be something special… his mental makeup sets him apart from most everyone else in the league.
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
He does seem to have
a level of maturity for his age that is rarely seen . The only other person I can think of right off the top of my head would be Derrick Rose of the Bulls . They have that same quality of not pointing the finger at someone else but rather taking the blame themselves and working hard on making themselves better .
Rose..
Great example Braves dude.. and what Rose has done for the Bulls in whole.. will happen for the Braves as well even with a 94 million dollar payroll.. and a great young crop of pitching prospects… Just hope we find a way to improve our hitting soon… all they seem to do is nab first round pitching prospects every year.. start getting some power hitting outfielders and corner infielders now
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
As I see it, a healthy bounceback season is the equivalent to us getting an outfield bat in FA this season
If Halladay, Lee, and Hamels all break their arms while playing tag in the clubhouse, We'll be set
by suicide bunting is a sin on Jan 30, 2012 11:41 AM EST reply actions
Free agents
Many people can be had for almost nothing. JD Drew has an impressive ability to get on base. Johnny Damon could platoon well with Prado. There are better options this year than someone like Garrett Anderson. Low risk but with some upside.
Drew wants to retire
http://www.cbssports.com/mcc/blogs/entry/22297882/34553919
He’s only made $108M in his career, and all.
No wonder nobody likes you, Tuttle... everything's a (Pujols) damn debate.
once again, someone made this come back up
by crimsonqueen9 on Jan 30, 2012 2:54 PM EST up reply actions 2 recs
That was different
The talk then was signing him for several million dollars (I think in the 6-8 mil region). At this point, he’s not going to get anywhere near that. I still wouldn’t sign him, because he doesn’t provide a lot of value to this team.
Don't kiss an ass if it's in the process of shitting on you.
"…aren’t worthy enough to hold his (Pujols) ass cheeks apart while Playboy models wipe him with thousand dollar bills after he craps out the cure to whatever previously-incurable disease." by royhobbs 1/7/09
I get misty eyed everytime I see this.
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." Rogers Hornsby
Me too
Mostly because I remember that our starting LFer that year ended up being Garret Anderson.
Q: If not us, who? If not now, when? A: The Batman. And "when you least expect it."
correct me if I'm wrong but were not the Damon rumors 2010?
FUGA played for the Braves in 2009 (1 yr @ 2.5m). Damon was still a Yankee in 2009, entering FA in 2010 & going to Detroit (1 yr @ 8m). 2010 was the year of The Melkman which brings me to the point of uncontrollable sobbing with the only saving grace being Melky was much cheaper (3.1m with 500 k paid by the Yankees) than what Damon would’ve been in 2010 plus the Braves got a good pitching prospect in Vizcaino.
"People ask me what I do in winter when there's no baseball. I'll tell you what I do. I stare out the window and wait for spring." Rogers Hornsby
lol
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
I admire Jason Heyward as a player and a person.
As I said on Twitter, we Braves fans are so lucky to get to root for him. And that’s true even if he never fulfills his on-field potential.
"Yeah, and I have an enchanted jock strap." -- Karl Karlson
I also blog about weird statistics at JunkStats.
Follow @junkstats
by Jacob Peterson on Jan 30, 2012 12:31 PM EST reply actions
Agreed.
There aren’t too many guys out there that are easier to root for than Jason.
I’m hoping he has a long and productive career with the Braves, as my sons are of the age that they can grow up following/idolizing him – and that would be just fine with me.
by Pope Vanderbilt on Jan 30, 2012 12:34 PM EST up reply actions
VERY TRUE.
He is the type of player that comes maybe once or twice in a generation.. Someone that you can actually let your kids watch and HOPE that they learn something from.
He is something special.
"Performance comes from work and dedication, belief and strength. Words and excuses get you nowhere." -Jason Heyward, Atlanta Braves Rightfielder
I was sitting in right field for that dinger.
Hence, the signature is what it is.
"This stadium is upside down!!!" -Jim Powell, 4/5/2010
by Cammando2317 on Jan 30, 2012 2:01 PM EST up reply actions
Knowing how much WE all want 2011 to be the exception rather than the rule of Heyward's performance...
…just think how much more HE must want to prove that to be the case.
I believe Jason will have a great 2012 and I’m looking forward to seeing it.
~ "Life is hard, God is good and heaven is real."
wanting to prove it and actually doing it are very different, of course.
we shall see. It would make me very happy if he does.
Braves.
Falcons.
Gamecocks.
I still wish he would step into the batters box a little more, seems like he couldn’t reach the outside corner strikes
If Halladay, Lee, and Hamels all break their arms while playing tag in the clubhouse, We'll be set
by suicide bunting is a sin on Jan 30, 2012 2:38 PM EST reply actions
I thinks it more of him being too worried about pitchers throwing inside and not being able to adjust his swing.
McCann is a prime example of a lefty who has learned over time to turn his hips quicker, pull his hands through the zone, and still barrel the baseball through experience. As a result McCann has become far better at stepping into those pitches on the outer half of the plate and going left center because he knows how to and knows he can still adjust to pull those pitches that just so happen to come inside.
Just my point of view tho.
its so hilarious to me
when pitchers try to bust McCann inside and he just launches the ball
by drumzalicious on Jan 31, 2012 9:14 PM EST up reply actions
not gonna lie
I will be pretty diappointed if Heyward doesn’t top 20 homers this year.
Its his 3rd full season. Regardless of age, its time to step up and start fulfilling that potential.
Freeman isn’t on Heyward’s level in terms of tools, skills, or baseball IQ–but it’s fair to say Freeman has failed to meet the modest expectations in place for him - Capitol Avenue Club (May 28th, 2011)
Odd statement...
Considering he probably hits 20 with a healthy rookie year and most likely hits 30-35 last season. I mean Heyward hit something like 7 homeruns in the month of april preceding the numbness from his shoulder to his wrist.
It isnt a question of if, but just how many.
Schafer has the second best OBP among regulars, and he has had his speed going to waste while batting at the bottom of the order – ATLandUNC (May 30, 2011)
Indeed it was, and Freeman’s line that Peter alluded to in his comment — though I completely agree that it was far to premature to make the statement he made — was .253/.333/.397, which is very poor for a first baseman.
The interesting thing is that ATLandUNC has a sig quoting a bad statement someone made seven months earlier while he made a pretty poor one himself just two days later. Another interesting thing about his sig is that he quotes it as the blog and not the person. While I respect Peter’s opinion on baseball more than almost any other Braves’ follower, he is not affiliated with the blog any longer as he has retired. I am sure many blogs have made poor statements in hindsight, and while I never agreed with Peter’s to begin with, the fact that he still has it in his sig now seems odd to me.
Yea but his is an assessment of the state of things. The quote from CAC is assessing whether or not Freeman has met expectations. There’s a world of difference there.
Sgt.: Pointed stick? Oh, oh, oh. We want to learn how to defend ourselves against pointed sticks, do we? Getting all high and mighty, eh? Fresh fruit not good enough for you eh? Well I'll tell you something my lad. When you're walking home tonight and some great homicidal maniac comes after you with a bunch of loganberries, don't come crying to me! Now, the passion fruit.
And at that point, he hadn't
he’s trying to make of what was, at the time, a 100 factual statement. Only to soon thereafter lead the Schafer is great parade when he was performing even worse.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
sooo
guess a broken wrist didn’t affect anything at all that year huh?
by drumzalicious on Jan 31, 2012 9:16 PM EST up reply actions
last year was essentially his first year back playing baseball. Even the Front Office knew that he would probably need the whole year in the minors to get re-adjusted to game speed and get his swing and timing back. instead of him being able to work stuff out in the minors he was called up within the first half of the season against ML pitching. No baseball player is going to come out and play to their true level after missing two whole seasons. At least not a hitter.
by drumzalicious on Feb 1, 2012 12:21 PM EST up reply actions
"last year was essentially his first year back playing baseball"
Not really. He was in and out of the lineup, but he was playing from the beginning of 2010 too. He was just playing very poorly in the minors.
He never missed “two whole seasons”, not even close.
http://sportsandgrits.com/
All I want
is for him not to be in a freaking platoon. I see too many posts talking about him sharing time in RF with Diaz. Absolutely not.
I agree .
He seemed in his rookie year to be able to adjust somewhat quickly to how pitchers were pitching to him . He’d be much better if he were allowed (being injury free of course) to work through a slump and make that adjustment , if for anything , to get some confindence back in himself to know that he can instead of Fredi benching him for a few games .
After watching more games from the start of the 2011 season and those from after the DL stint today, there is absolutely no way that it was all due to a ‘slump’. Swing looks ugly…almost like a kid with bad form using all arms and nothing else. He does not seem, at all, to be able to get anything into the swing…looks like he’s trying to hit off a tee using nothing but arms.
by michaeldlee1480 on Jan 30, 2012 4:37 PM EST reply actions
The only odd thing ive noticed, in regards to his swing, is that he is one of the few power hitting lefties that i can remember that utilized a two handed follow through in his swing. I cant remember a lefty with Heywards power potential and ceiling not following through with one hand.
Not sure if it makes a difference or not (I dont think it does), but it definitely makes for a swing that is less than sweet.
Definitely My Favorite
Brave going into the Future, so long as A) He stays with the team (lol) and B) He produces…..The hype on this guy has been tremendous. He has five tools written all over if he can stay on the field….Chipper is my fave but this guy has the power to hit some mean home runs for us in the future….I just hope it all works out….I’ll be even more disappointed than I was when Frenchy bombed……
Odd thing
If Heyward can become the player we believe him to be, and Prado can return to form, combined with a full season from Bourn our OF could suddenly swing from being a liability to a strength.
Q: If not us, who? If not now, when? A: The Batman. And "when you least expect it."
If all went perfect
It would be a little bit of the best of all worlds from each position, LF – CF – RF
.300 AVG – 60 steals – .900 OPS
Freeman isn’t on Heyward’s level in terms of tools, skills, or baseball IQ–but it’s fair to say Freeman has failed to meet the modest expectations in place for him - Capitol Avenue Club (May 28th, 2011)
huh?
60? Thats it? Do you forget that Heyward swiped 11 in his rookie year? Bourn can get 60 on his own so I’d think we should see 80 from them combined. 60 from Bourn, 15 from Heyward, 5 from Prado.
by drumzalicious on Jan 31, 2012 9:18 PM EST up reply actions
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