Braves limited Heyward's power potential

VirginiaBrave said:
An article like this proves exactly why this thing had to be tore down and rebuilt. The Braves had to be rebuilt from minors up. We wiffed on Frenchy, we wiffed on Heyward. The only place he will ever be the HOF he is supposed to be is MLB 11 The Show.
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Francoeur and Heyward didn't cause irreparable damage to the organization, and both of their situations were different. Even if they hadn't lived up to potential/billing, both had major league careers.

The hype and organizational investment in Brad Komminsk set the franchise back years.
 
VirginiaBrave said:
An article like this proves exactly why this thing had to be tore down and rebuilt. The Braves had to be rebuilt from minors up. We wiffed on Frenchy, we wiffed on Heyward. The only place he will ever be the HOF he is supposed to be is MLB 11 The Show.
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Right. They just brought back Roy Clark who was the head of scouting when both of those guys were drafted. So if he 'wiffed' on those two then are chances are bleak going forward.
 
You can make fun all you want but the Braves haven't turned out a position player that has been as advertised since McCann. Freeman is on his way and Simmons could still go either way. Thats not debatable thats fact.
 
VirginiaBrave said:
You can make fun all you want but the Braves haven't turned out a position player that has been as advertised since McCann. Freeman is on his way and Simmons could still go either way. Thats not debatable thats fact.
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Just because a player isn't as advertised doesn't mean they aren't good. And apparently only certain Braves fans and their front office are the ones who don't think Heyward is a good player.
 
thewupk said:
Just because a player isn't as advertised doesn't mean they aren't good. And apparently only certain Braves fans and their front office are the ones who don't think Heyward is a good player.
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I'm not saying Heyward isn't good (maybe others are, but I'm not). It just seems like a chump move to blame his disappointment in his own performance on the fact he was asked to bat lead-off. As others have said, he changed his approach and it will be interesting if Fredi or anyone else flat-out asked him to do so. I doubt very much anyone did.

Francoeur is a chucklehead, but he managed to stick around a few years. Heyward is a better player and I expect he will stick around even longer because of his superior athleticism. And maybe Heyward becomes the franchise player many projected him to become. But in order to reach that level, he is going to have to do some serious thinking about his approach at the plate and like Matheny says, develop a solid approach regardless of where he is batting.
 
He should probably stop talking as much. He's all hurt we didn't give him a huge extension and now complaining about the Braves limiting his power. If he performed close to his talent he would have been paid. Bottom line
 
thethe said:
Heyward sure seems touchy about his ended relationship with the Braves.
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He only "seems touchy" if you're touchy about ex-Braves criticizing the team. The comment should be ignored and he should not have said it.

He was put there because there was no one else to do it and it seemed to be a good fit for him. If he had been a more obvious power hitter he wouldn't have been put there.
 
50PoundHead said:
I'm not saying Heyward isn't good (maybe others are, but I'm not). It just seems like a chump move to blame his disappointment in his own performance on the fact he was asked to bat lead-off. As others have said, he changed his approach and it will be interesting if Fredi or anyone else flat-out asked him to do so. I doubt very much anyone did.

Francoeur is a chucklehead, but he managed to stick around a few years. Heyward is a better player and I expect he will stick around even longer because of his superior athleticism. And maybe Heyward becomes the franchise player many projected him to become. But in order to reach that level, he is going to have to do some serious thinking about his approach at the plate and like Matheny says, develop a solid approach regardless of where he is batting.
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This is what I think many have been trying to get across all along. I haven't heard anyone say that Heyward doesn't possess all-world potential and tools. He obviously does. The difference is that you can't hang the blame for not reaching your potential ceiling on others. You've never heard a peep from guys that struggled as badly as B. J. and Uggla about it being the coaches' or Manager's fault.

Part of his quotes can be attributed to his age - he is still young after all - but he's probably already quietly heard from Mattheny and others that the Cardinals' organization won't put up with that kind of criticism regardless of his talent. They have plenty of good prospects lined up behind him, and the ability to go get someone else for the kind of money he hopes to get if he wants to complain to the media. He's not a "hometown hero" in St. Louis. If he keeps shooting his mouth off, the only team willing to give him a mega-deal will be the Yankees - the Red Sox, Dodgers, and Cubs sure as hell don't need him, and there aren't many more teams with the kind of resources to hand those deals out.
 
NYCBrave said:
Just not classy of him to speak out like that against his former team. He needs to take some responsibility for his own performance.
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I think he got coaxed into saying that by the reporter. It makes perfect sense that batting leadoff could stifle a hitter's power a bit. The reporter led him right to it and Jason took the bait. Reporter 1, Jason 0
 
thethe said:
Heyward sure seems touchy about his ended relationship with the Braves.
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Probably because he expected to play here forever, and the Braves pulled the rug out from everyone really fast and probably didn't even talk to him about it. Just a hunch on that last part.
 
zitothebrave said:
Probably because he expected to play here forever, and the Braves pulled the rug out from everyone really fast and probably didn't even talk to him about it. Just a hunch on that last part.
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Last time I checked Atlanta wasn't NYC. All the local boy stuff was hype. Dude's from Jersey...
 
I think most hitters, no matter where they bat in the lineup, should be trying to see pitches and get into a good hitters count to where they can drive a predictable pitch. Isn't that just common sense and the philosophy for most elite hitters??? Heyward's swing hasn't been right, limiting his ability to drive the ball. It had very little to do with batting leadoff. As a matter of fact, he has speed, the ability to take a walk, has shown at one time or another the ability to slash the ball from gap to gap. I have always thought he was a leadoff hitter in a power hitters body. Maybe he just needs to change his way of thinking as to what he really is as a hitter.
 
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