Your thoughts on Heyward so far?

[Omeletpants]

Or he's choking. Which is worse? They're both equally bad. You're right I don't know the guy but if he does need coaching why isn't he in the batting cage constantly. If it were me I'd be so afraid of failing that I would work until I worked through the problem. And it doesn't take long to fix a problem with your swing assuming its even the problem. It looks like he really doesn't care when he's not really running out those weak ground balls to second base...

Choking? WTF man, just stop with these incendiary, definitive statements. He is one of the best OF in the league with tons of experience. He is not choking. He needs to be coached up on going with the pitch. Having Fowler and Heyward at 2nd and 3rd with no outs to start games would be scary for opponents

 

[Parade_Rain]

Still do you really think an OBP of .364 deserves to be hitting second in this lineup? He's hitting almost 30 points below his career BA and 100 points below his career OPS. This is not a productive player on a team...

You realize Bryant' OBP is .365, right? Who gives a shit that his BA is 30 points below his career average in June? He's a slow starter and his bat is heating up. When the season is over, you can compare his career BA and his OPS. Best record in baseball and a huge lead in division. This doesn't even rate as a first world problem.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

BA is decidedly less important than OPS and for more than a month Heyward has been at about his career OPS of .775 which is fine for 2nd in the lineup. He started poorly, he's not performing poorly now. Maddon stuck with him there because he thought it was his best shot of getting right. It's worked. Plus as far as BA he's been at his career average for a month as well.

 

[brett05]

BA is decidedly less important than OPS and for more than a month Heyward has been at about his career OPS of .775 which is fine for 2nd in the lineup. He started poorly, he's not performing poorly now. Maddon stuck with him there because he thought it was his best shot of getting right. It's worked. Plus as far as BA he's been at his career average for a month as well.

It took a long time but it is working. That does not mean he shouldn't have been moved though.

 

[Parade_Rain]

It took a long time but it is working. That does not mean he shouldn't have been moved though.

Yeah. He should have been moved. Maybe the Cubs would have had the best record in baseball at this point, if Maddon wouldn't be so stubborn.

 

[brett05]

Yeah. He should have been moved. Maybe the Cubs would have had the best record in baseball at this point, if Maddon wouldn't be so stubborn.

Thanks for arguing my case.

 

[TC in Mississippi]

It took a long time but it is working. That does not mean he shouldn't have been moved though.

Well we all have our opinions don't we? Yeah, I thought he should have been moved in May until I heard Maddon explain his reasoning which I understood. Once again Maddon has been shown to know more about baseball than me. Go figure.

 

[brett05]

Well we all have our opinions don't we? Yeah, I thought he should have been moved in May until I heard Maddon explain his reasoning which I understood. Once again Maddon has been shown to know more about baseball than me. Go figure.

No one argues that Maddon know more than us. The argument is that he makes mistakes. And you have no idea if what Maddon has done was the right call. Your argument would get crushed in a courtroom/debate hall.

 

[Raskolnikov]

Heyward has been moving Fowler successfully though. He has impacted the team, and he bats in a high pressure zone.

I think you guys need to relax about Heyward. He is adjusting to new environment, and he seems to have a positive impact when batting .200. lol. Thats why you paid 200,000,000 for him. He can play winning baseball at .200. Just wait until the guy starts to heat up, which he will.

He has a proven track record as a 5 tool player. He will be that guy again plenty in the next 4 years. Relax. Maddon isn't going to put some hot 22 year old ahead of him, who pitchers having even teased apart yet.

A hitting slump for Heyward is about the last guy to worry about on this team. Hitting slumps happen. Some teams look like they have entire lineup slumps at this point because they had tough pitching matchups so far. As a lefty, he is facing different opponents so to speak than most of this lineup, so the fact that Rizzo/Heyward numbers are low could partly be a lefty thing in terms of who they have faced so far?

you guys have some analytic freaks around here, perhaps the numbers tell a tale about why our lefties might have struggled so far in comparison.

 

[ZAN]

Still do you really think an OBP of .364 deserves to be hitting second in this lineup? He's hitting almost 30 points below his career BA and 100 points below his career OPS. This is not a productive player on a team that expects to win a championship and hitting second. The guy should be benched in favor of someone hitting better like Almora Jr, or Szczur, or LaStella (when he gets off the DL), or Soler. **** I'd rather anyone batting second than Heyward. Its sucks that you can't penalize a guy for not hitting up to his potential without shooting yourself in the foot because what's his trade value right now? Try next to nothing because he has an EIGHT YEAR CONTRACT with guaranteed money. To me a guy who is batting 30 points less than his career average is lazy.

You're using a week long sample size of Albert Almora (who is one of my favorite prospects, admittedly) to justify benching a guy a perennial gold glover (so the defense from Heyward to Almora is actually a slight downgrade - lateral at absolute most) who has a track record of getting scorching hot in June/July and carrying into the fall? Not to mention that the last 2 weeks of Jason Heyward, he's hit BETTER than his career marks (showing signs of the streak coming on)...and his last month falls perfectly in-line with his career marks?

I love Almora more than most, but benching Heyward for him is about as knee jerk as it gets. This team is 11.5 up in the division. We have the ability to let guys "work it out". Guys on that list include Heyward, Grimm, and Richard.

 

[cubsmann]

Heyward has been moving Fowler successfully though. He has impacted the team, and he bats in a high pressure zone.

I think you guys need to relax about Heyward. He is adjusting to new environment, and he seems to have a positive impact when batting .200. lol. Thats why you paid 200,000,000 for him. He can play winning baseball at .200. Just wait until the guy starts to heat up, which he will.

He has a proven track record as a 5 tool player. He will be that guy again plenty in the next 4 years. Relax. Maddon isn't going to put some hot 22 year old ahead of him, who pitchers having even teased apart yet.

A hitting slump for Heyward is about the last guy to worry about on this team. Hitting slumps happen. Some teams look like they have entire lineup slumps at this point because they had tough pitching matchups so far. As a lefty, he is facing different opponents so to speak than most of this lineup, so the fact that Rizzo/Heyward numbers are low could partly be a lefty thing in terms of who they have faced so far?

you guys have some analytic freaks around here, perhaps the numbers tell a tale about why our lefties might have struggled so far in comparison.

I really hope you're right. No one wants to see him succeed more than me. All I know is that Heyward shouldn't be hitting second in this lineup considering his struggles at the plate. He OPS is over 100 points below his career average. That's all I care about. Remember when a number 2 hitter had the best chance of not hitting into a DP and of moving a guy into scoring position for the 3 and 4 hole guys. Yes it would be great to have Fowler and Heyward starting off a game on 1st and 3rd with Bryant and Rizzo coming up. Sounds like a perfect role for Zobrist. The number 2 guy bats more often than the number 8 hitter and I would much rather have Fowler and Zobrist leading off a game that Fowler and Heyward. Heyward has grounded into so many DP's and killed so many rallies with his lack of clutch hitting. A lot of his hits have come in blowouts when the Cubs didn't need a hit. They needed a hit last night and will need a hit in October. Would you really want Heyward batting with the season on the line and a guy on third with 2 outs? I wouldn't. I really hope he turns it around but I think almost 70 games is enough of a sample to see the guy doesn't have it this year. We don't have time for him to retool his swing. This is MLB not fucking little league...I don't care if he's making $10M a year, he should be sitting and working out of the 8 hole until he becomes more reliable. Why Maddon keeps sending him out there in the 2 hole I don't really understand. Sames as why he keeps bringing in fucking Richards with the game on the line. WTF?!! The guy came in a promptly almost blew any chance with 5 pitches. I hope Maddon gets a clue and stops sending these guys out there when they obviously don't have it this year...

 

[cubsmann]

You realize Bryant' OBP is .365, right? Who gives a shit that his BA is 30 points below his career average in June? He's a slow starter and his bat is heating up. When the season is over, you can compare his career BA and his OPS. Best record in baseball and a huge lead in division. This doesn't even rate as a first world problem.

Yeah and Bryant's OPS is .898 Heywards' is .663 over 200 points difference. Bryant can do no wrong in my book. The guys hits, he hits for power, he fields multiple infield and outfield positions well and is a clubhouse leader. How long do we have to wait for his bat to "heat up". Face it, until now Heyward is the biggest FA bust out of an outstanding class of FA's including Fowler, Lackey, and Zobrist...

 

[Parade_Rain]

Yeah and Bryant's OPS is .898 Heywards' is .663 over 200 points difference. Bryant can do no wrong in my book. The guys hits, he hits for power, he fields multiple infield and outfield positions well and is a clubhouse leader. How long do we have to wait for his bat to "heat up". Face it, until now Heyward is the biggest FA bust out of an outstanding class of FA's including Fowler, Lackey, and Zobrist...

LOL. Ignored.

 

[Diehardfan]

Yeah and Bryant's OPS is .898 Heywards' is .663 over 200 points difference. Bryant can do no wrong in my book. The guys hits, he hits for power, he fields multiple infield and outfield positions well and is a clubhouse leader. How long do we have to wait for his bat to "heat up". Face it, until now Heyward is the biggest FA bust out of an outstanding class of FA's including Fowler, Lackey, and Zobrist...

If Heyward would have cranked a homer in the 9th last night, would you still be whining about him today?

Didn't think so.

So many things happened in that 9th inning, Heyward was just a small part of it. Some were saying Almora blew it, not really. He stays on second, then Cogs isn't being held at first and Zobby's ground ball is a double play. That's baseball...kinda how it works...and why people can't get enough of it.

 

[cubsmann]

If Heyward would have cranked a homer in the 9th last night, would you still be whining about him today?

Didn't think so.

So many things happened in that 9th inning, Heyward was just a small part of it. Some were saying Almora blew it, not really. He stays on second, then Cogs isn't being held at first and Zobby's ground ball is a double play. That's baseball...kinda how it works...and why people can't get enough of it.

Yeah and if Heyward were hitting close to his potential I wouldn't be whining either. What's your point? He didn't hit a HR or even come close. That's like saying if Lackey had thrown a perfect game last night I wouldn't be whining about blowing a golden opportunity to hand a huge loss to the Cardinals who every one of us hates like the plague, right?

I don't blame Almora at all. The guy did lead off with a smoked double to left center. Maddon says he never penalizes a guy for a hustle play and the guy is a genius. Heyward has consistently failed to get the big hit when it mattered.

No one wants Heyward to hit more than me. I would be the first to give him props if he was hitting .900 OPS. I hate to see a guy struggle. If he were hitting his career average we would probably be 30 games over and 20 games up on the Cardinals and Bucs. We need to bury those cockroaches to borrow a line from Tony Montana. What have they ever done for us?!!

 

[cubsmann]

I cannot believe the Cubs are paying Heyward $20M a year! For what? A good glove? Are you fucking kidding me? We could have a guy with 20 gold gloves for like $5-$8M a year at most. Im so tired of overpriced FA's especially ones that sign a big contract then don't do jack shit in their first year. Its like "why should I work on my game when Im making almost $1M a month". This seems so common in the modern era when most superstar athletes are pampered prima donnas who don't produce shit. I want to shoot myself thinking about signing this asshole to an 8 year contract for $20 per year. We should have given that money to Arrieta. Now he's going to cost the Cubs like $30M a year for six years. But at least he'll be worth it probably.

 

[brett05]

If he were hitting his career average we would probably be 30 games over and 20 games up on the Cardinals and Bucs.

No you wouldn't.

 

[brett05]

cubsmann,

Heyward was at the dish five times and on base twice and you complain. You expect a lot.

 

[ZAN]

cubsmann,

Heyward was at the dish five times and on base twice and you complain. You expect a lot.

Damn that .400 OBP

 

[cubsmann]

cubsmann,

Heyward was at the dish five times and on base twice and you complain. You expect a lot.

Im not complaining about one game. The guy hasn't been hitting his weight.