With all of this evidence - it is safe to say for me that Bradley is just going to be one of those Mike Napoli sort of three outcome (well, not that sort of power, but the general vibe) hitters.
There will be about 2 months where he'll be an MVP, and long dry spells where he walks enough to not kill you. The total package will be worth it - but consistency ain't happening.
Yikes! I hope that is not the case but from what we have seen so far it is a strong possibility.Originally Posted by sk7326
I guess that means Bradley will never be clutch!
"Hating the Yankees like it's a religion since 94'" RIP Mike.
"It's also a simple and indisputable fact that WAR isn't the be-all end-all in valuations, especially in real life. Wanna know why? Because an ace in run-prevention for 120 innings means more often than not, a sub-standard pitcher covering for the rest of the IP that pitcher fails to provide. You can't see value in a vacuum when a player does not provide full-time production."
Like Napoli in 2013 - can Bradley get on base enough during the meh periods to allow the rest of his game to show? I think that's possible. (he won't walk as much - but as a good CF, he offers more to the party outside of offense than Naps ever could)Yikes! I hope that is not the case but from what we have seen so far it is a strong possibility.
I guess that means Bradley will never be clutch!
Except that there's no "law of averages" that requires such a hot streak as he had last year, nor does one waste hits by getting them in spring training. You can't keep throwing a .170 hitter out there assuming that there is an MVP-like month in the near future.
Other than him saying he was going to try harder to be more consistent, he added nothing about what trying harder meant. My view is that he needs to realize what works and what doesn't. He is surrounded to coaches and advanced technology to zero in on what works best for him. My hope is that he alters his approach if needs be to be the hitter the hot stretches show that he could be. The rest of his game is excellent.
JBJ is a strange case. From what I've seen and read (Apply salt liberally) he has a high-maintenance swing that easily gets loopy leading to his pitch selection suffering as well once he's pressing. Lots of possibilities for improvement if that's the case.
We miss you Mike.
JBJ is worth above replacement level based on defense alone.
Good point as well. You'll get the offensive peaks and valleys but he can go get it. Also, he's a good baserunner, which improves the overall package.
We miss you Mike.
Sounds like a good description to me.
So why not make the effort to get away from the high maintenance swing mechanics. The time to do that was the off season. When he talked of trying harder, there was no mention of altering the swing.
Personally, I don't think he will remain a streaky hitter. He may still have some hot streaks, but I think we'll see more consistency when he's not hot.
I don't see why we can't expect at least the same overall numbers since August 2015 to now. Over .800 and GG like defense in CF. If he has a full season of .700 here and there, I'll still take it.
He made adjustments in 2015. Maybe he doesn't need to make more alterations, he just has to get more comfortable with the ones he made back then.
E Rod threw 85 pitches in a minor league game yesterday and declared ready to go.
Last year on June 27th making his 6th start, he fell apart. In 2 2/3 innings, he allowed 11 hits and 9 runs. He was sent down to the minors. He's way ahead of where he was last year.
Here's hoping he stays healthy all year.
Last edited by Nick; 03-23-2017 at 01:27 AM.
Mechanical changes aren't as easy as making a sandwich. Changes to movements ingrained in muscle memory are not easy.
We miss you Mike.
That's why they should be done in the off season.
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