Radiohead Playing Bonnaroo 2012!

In 2006 I saw Radiohead play Bonnaroo in what was one of the best concerts I have ever seen.

Now they are playing in 2012, who's coming with?

Let it be.

In an effort to not become TMZ - Sports Edition and piggyback on the unfortunate news of Josh Hamilton's relapse to increase site traffic for a day or two, I just want to wish him well.

That is all.

Jason Heyward Breakout?

Pop Quiz:

1) How old is Jason Heyward?

A: 24 years old

B: 25 years old

C: 22 years old

2) Will Jason Heyward have a breakout campaign this year?
A: True
B: False

Answer Key: 1-C; 2-A

That's right, Jason Heyward, the former top prospect with over 1000 plate appearances in the major leagues is still only 22 years old. Wow. And he will have a breakout year in 2012. Or he will at least revert to what he was in his rookie year, which if you remember, was quite amazing. Basically, as the story goes - if you are awesome in the major leagues at age 20, you'll generally have a great career. I'm looking at you Justin Upton, Alex Rodriguez, Mickey Mantle, and I think you get the point.

So, what was the hold up in 2011 then? Well, Heyward did have a bum shoulder last year, and although Chipper Jones would have liked him to play through the pain, it's clear that it effected his play on the field. It's also clear that Heyward was a little unlucky with his batted-balls, only mustering up a .260 BABIP. However, he hit significantly more infield flies last year (21.8 IFFB%) compared to 2010 (8.4%). While we would
expect his BABIP to be closer to .300, it's hard to do that when one out of every five balls you make contact with ends up being a lazy popup in the infield. But, that trend can likely be issued to Heyward's shoulder woes or bout of bad luck, or more likely, a combination of the two.

But, rather than talk about a new bill of health and regression as reasons why Heyward will breakout, I'd like to point to something else - his swing. Last year in August, Chipper Jones (when he wasn't busy complaining about Heyward sitting out because of injury) said something that I found very interesting about Heyward's swing (courtesy of Ray Glier and USA Today:

"Jason's got one swing. His swing needs some versatility. How many times have we seen him get fooled on an off-speed pitch and one-hand it into centerfield?," Jones said.

"He swings and misses because he takes the same swing. He's had some mechanics that have been a little iffy that he is trying to work out. You show me a .300 hitter and I'll show you a guy who is going to take five different swings. 

"He takes a two-handed swing. Have you ever seen him take a one-handed swing? I haven't either? How many times have you seen me get fooled on a changeup away and one-hand it through the (pitcher's) box.

"You've got to use your hands. He's got a long, smooth swing and until he learns to get some movement (in his hands) and drop them into a slot, a lot like you would a golf club and let his hands work for him, he is going to struggle.

"We've got to get him back to using the whole field like he did last year."

Is Chipper on to something here? I'd love to see an advanced study on how hitter's change their swing depending on the count or pitch, or at least see a survey of major league players, but don't count me as someone who isn't going to take Chipper's advice on hitting. He only has one World Series ring, an MVP, a batting title, and a .304/.402/.533 career line with 454 (and counting) home runs. Anyway, it looks like Heyward has listened:

Chipper Jones looked him in the eye and initiated a little back-and-forth before Heyward picked up his bat to take his first swings, with Jones, new Braves hitting coach Greg Walker and his associate Scott Fletcher looking on.

“How’s your confidence?” Jones said.

“Man, my confidence is good,” Heyward said. [...]

When it came time to get back into the batting cage, Heyward knew he would have to start from scratch. The only way to erase his bad habits was to eradicate them. So for the first three weeks in the cage, starting in mid-October, he didn’t pick up a bat. [...]

Once they did, Heyward said, Walker has complemented the work he started on his own. Heyward said he’s gotten a big lift from watching video with “Walk,” “Fletch,” and “Chip,” comparing his swing from 2010 and 2011. Walker agrees. 

“Everybody that’s seen Jason swing the bat so far is excited about where he is,” he said.

The entire article is worth reading, but to recap: Jason Heyward is healthy, he has put in the effort to fix his swing and everyone is excited about it - including Chipper Jones.

Let me finish with one last question, did anyone who answered False to the second question in the pop quiz want to take back their answer? When players with Heyward's pedigree and talent put in the effort, they tend to have great careers. Remember that fabulous rookie season? My money is on that being his baseline. 

Self Promotion Time!

Hey fans,

As you all know, Ben's Baseball Bias isn't a fantasy baseball site and although I will occasionally post about fantasy baseball here (sometimes I can't resist the urge!) I now have another avenue for that as I will be writing fantasy articles for BaseballReflections.com and Fantasy Baseball Tools throughout the season.

My first post at BaseballReflections.com is already up and can be found here.

I hope you will continue to read me here as well as elsewhere on the interweb!

So long,

Ben