I like Gold Gloves and I cannot lie: the Jason Heyward thread

[cubsclapp]

And he's 3-for-3 since that post.

 

OPS up to .682, fWAR up to 1.2.

[cubsclapp]

He has the ugliest left handed swing in baseball history.

 

It's how he starts his hands and all the herky jerky stuff, plus the toe tap he's added this year make it look even wackier. But his hands are getting where they need to be now in the load position. He was all over the place earlier in the year.

[Cubswin11]

He has the ugliest left handed swing in baseball history.

http://static0.thesportsterimages.com/cdn/864/1292/90/cw/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Craig-Counsell.jpg

[Butterscup]

He has the ugliest left handed swing in baseball history.

http://static0.thesportsterimages.com/cdn/864/1292/90/cw/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Craig-Counsell.jpg

 

he looks like he's in physical pain

[bcl412]

He has the ugliest left handed swing in baseball history.

http://static0.thesportsterimages.com/cdn/864/1292/90/cw/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Craig-Counsell.jpg

 

he looks like he's in physical pain

He knows he will be managing teams against the 2016 Cubs in the future.

[BigSlick]

I'm almost afraid to declare his painful spring over, but Heyward does look like a very different hitter up there. If he is out of it and a productive, confident hitter with power and patience, that just ups the amazingness of this team that much more.

 

I'm encouraged.

 

Also, god Counsell's stance is just annoying to even look at

[Tracer Bullet]

He has the ugliest left handed swing in baseball history.

http://static0.thesportsterimages.com/cdn/864/1292/90/cw/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Craig-Counsell.jpg

 

imb's comment was obviously limited to actual baseball players

[UMFan83]

Arbitrary endpoint fun

 

OPS since...

 

April 21 (39 G): .751

May 11 (25 G): .814

May 28 (15 G): .917

June 2 (10 G): 1.026

 

Also, Heyward ended his OPS at .682 yesterday, which is the highest he's ended a game at any point this season, even in the first couple of games of the year.

[Irrelevant Dude]

This article isn't particularly encouraging that Heyward's bat will come around (at least not this season).

http://www.si.com/mlb/2016/07/06/jason-heyward-clayton-kershaw-stats

[treebird]

yeah, at this point it's not that i'm worried about him as much as i just think he sucks. the defense is nice though.

[UMFan83]

It's unfair I'm sure but at this point I'm writing him off as a great fielder who can't hit and if he turns it around it will be a pleasant surprise. His track record suggests that he will get better, but maybe its one of those things where it lasts all year and then next year everyone writes him off, the pressure is gone, and he has a career year.

 

Or maybe he goes the Soler route and waits until the playoffs and goes off.

 

Edit: Having actually read the article now, that is quite concerning if true. That said, if his swing was such a problem why was he having better results in previous years? Now all the sudden pitchers are treating him like a pitcher hitting? Now they are pounding him inside? There has to be a luck portion of this that will ensure he improves at some point.

[Banedon]

I think it's pretty reasonable to expect that things aren't gonna get a ton better during the year. I'm hopeful they can do something to get him fixed up in the offseason, but I'm not sure how warranted that optimism is.

[sneakypower]

rest-of-season, i still say over on .750 OPS o/u

[Sammy Sofa]

yeah, at this point it's not that i'm worried about him as much as i just think he sucks. the defense is nice though.

 

It feels like it would be this weird miracle if he somehow started hitting at this point; he just seems so oddly "naturally" shitty at the plate that I'm kinda baffled he's had seasons of success when he's so easily pitched to.

[Ding Dong Johnson]

rest-of-season, i still say over on .750 OPS o/u

that would look pretty good in the 7th or 8th spot

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I hope he can do a little better in the second half. But I don't have much hope. His swing is just so ugly. Fix that in the off-season and start over. Until then, he's going to have a rough time. So let's just hope he doesn't hold us back too much offensively.

[UMFan83]

I hope he can do a little better in the second half. But I don't have much hope. His swing is just so ugly. Fix that in the off-season and start over. Until then, he's going to have a rough time. So let's just hope he doesn't hold us back too much offensively.

 

I saw Duke reply to this thread and thought 'oh good, he's probably going to post something that ultimately makes me feel more optimistic about the situation'

 

Thanks for nothing!

[Transmogrified Tiger]

I'm a bit frustrated and more disappointed by Heyward's lack of offense. I'm not expecting a huge turnaround, but at the same time I'm not resigning myself to a full season of this either considering his past streakiness.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

I'm a bit frustrated and more disappointed by Heyward's lack of offense. I'm not expecting a huge turnaround, but at the same time I'm not resigning myself to a full season of this either considering his past streakiness.

 

I'm resigning myself to it, so that if this does continue, it will not anger me. It will only fall in line with what I expect. If he does improve, then it will be something for me to take delight in.

[Aaron_Kennelly]

That's how I treated Starlin last year, too. And it made his breakout all the more sweet.

[BigSlick]

I'd feel better if there was *any* indication that he is going to turn around but everything is softly hit. He pops up, grounds out softly to 2nd, or strikes out. Those homers were nice for a stretch but nothing has been sustained. Not surprisingly his Soft Hit% is way up and his Hard Hit % is way down.

 

He's just gonna have to keep doing what he's doing in the outfield and on the basepaths like he has the whole season. Didn't think Baez and Russell would be out-and-out better hitters this year than Heyward, but so it is.

[CubinNY]

His swing is way out of line. It's all arms and no weight transfer. I hope it can be fixed.

[Bryants Disco Ball]

So when everybody wanted him this offseason had nobody really watched him much or is he a way different-looking hitter than 2015?

[Aaron_Kennelly]

So when everybody wanted him this offseason had nobody really watched him much or is he a way different-looking hitter than 2015?

 

Well, his stats are certainly worse.

[UMFan83]

horsefeathers it we are 8.5 games up on a playoff spot despite being in what will probably be the worst stretch of the season. If his swing is so fucked up why can't we fix in season? He's already hitting slightly better than a pitcher and we have like 3 months to kill.