southern man

Jay Bruce is the real deal. Last night in Chattanooga, he was 4-4, with 3 doubles, including a walk-off 9th inning game-winner. A great prelude to fireworks! Plus, afterwards, he stuck around and signed autographs for a good 10 minutes before going to the clubhouse. A class act, and a future major leaguer.

Spoke too soon....3 more K's in his most recent game. That's 4 in 15 official AB's....still hitless, leaving lots of runners stranded. Is there serious talk of converting him to a pitcher? He might be of more help to the Cubs on the mound.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the Padres were right....this time. They essentially gave up on Burke, and the Cubs got stuck with him. I am very familiar with him, having seen him in dozens of high school games here in Tennessee. He's got the tools. Good build, good attitude, smart kid. Good outfielder, decent pitcher. But most of his high school hitting numbers were posted against weaker schools with weak pitching. In games at the district or region level, he struggled at the plate in clutch situations. Although I read the hype that surrounded him in the local papers at the time, I always noticed that he choked against good pitching, with an important game on the line. When the Padres signed him for big $$$, I had my doubts that he was really all that. From what I've observed so far from his stats in Fort Wayne and Boise, he still has trouble making contact against good pitching. Hope I'm wrong, but I don't think so. He would have been better off accepting a full ride from Vanderbilt...hope it's still valid.