Let’s get it straight on BJ Upton

I seem to have hit a nerve with my recent rant on BJ Upton. I find this funny because I rip everyone and people only seem to care about a select few when I do. That makes me laugh. Anyway, the biggest problem I have with Upton, isn’t Upton. You follow? As I pointed out before, Upton is a new wave athlete like pretty much everyone else and it’s got to be difficult for someone like Joe Maddon, who’s been around the game for so long, to deal with these guys.

You can also take care  >>> Inline roller skates

There still has to be an accountability factor involved with everything you preach. To Maddon and Upton’s credit, there has been a benching and public discussion of what I bitched about before and it was handled well by both of them. I give credit to both of them for this. What I have a problem with now is the defense being brought up about Upton and his play. Maddon obviously saw it and finally did something, so my bitching wasn’t unforeseen. I have read some stuff from some other sites that point out Upton’s OBP and his K’s going down and what not, but that is pointing out the problem more than defending him.

Again, the problem is with Upton’s attitude and the management of his performance, not his actual performance. First, if you’re going to rip guys like Aki for not running balls out, you have to do it to Upton too. Props Joe Maddon, you finally did it. Now, if a guy is going to have a high OBP, lots of stolen bases and a seeming unwillingness to swing with runners on base, should he be batting third?

 No, how bout leadoff? Upton is our best LEADOFF hitter and is batting second now (after batting third most of the year) and it took way too long for a change to be made. I piss people off for ripping guys and being too negative, but I’m trying to see things in the big picture. Isn’t the goal to put guys in the best position possible for them to succeed? They are STILL winning in spite of this. Let me stay on Upton now. Upton has the talent to be one of the best players in the game and this is what makes me so upset. Let’s try to compare like this.

I like Longoria because he’s trying to maximize his talent. He strikes out too much and can look like a little leaguer at the plate sometimes, but he’s playing the game to his strength. Upton isn’t. We saw the type of power and run producing ability Upton has last year, yet he seems to worry more about getting on base more than driving in runs. Why? This is my biggest problem with him. I call him a punk because people I know that spend time around him say he is, beside the fact that he whines when an umpire calls strikes on him (which what makes me want to fight someone like Kevin Youklis).

I am frustrated because he hasn’t improved on what he did last year. He was counted on to be a run producing number three hitter and has evolved into a leadoff hitter (and isn’t batting leadoff Maddon!). Try to understand what I’m saying here within my endless thoughts being poured out, I don’t hate Upton, I hate that he’s not becoming what he should be. He should be evolving into someone like Hanley Ramirez and he’s not. Back to slurping down Captain Morgan now!