Corey Hart Love

[DuWayne Steurer]

He's said some things similar in other interviews this season..........along the lines of "I sucked this spring, I didn't deserve to start, and I had to work hard with the playing time I was given to get my spot back"

 

Which is fine, great, dandy. At least he didn't pout about losing his playing time and go into a career ending mega-slide like Bill Hall.

[joepepsi]

I think it's a learning process many athletes go through during their career. You work hard, make it to the top, only to discover you have to work harder to stay on top. I agree with RobDeer45, it's something everyone goes through to an extent.

[BrewerBrent]

It probably should be noted that last year he said something to the affect that he had never struggled like he had been before. Throughout highschool / minors / first year and a half in the majors he was just always productive. He never had to work through struggles like what started toward the end of 2008. Hopefully he has learned how to adapt to struggles and can continue his hot streak.

[thebruce44]

I find that comment by Hart as much of a throwaway comment as any other sound bite you get from a professional athlete. What, he took extra BP, which added .200 OPS to his line? Maybe it's true in this case but these guys say so much stuff that I take it all with a grain of salt.

If that comment came from most players I would agree with you, but in Hart's case not so much. I think a lot of the fans, myself included, felt like he had been playing lazy, especially on defense. Rededicating himself was something he should have been doing all along if he didn't like the criticism he was receiving. In this case it seems to have worked out for the better, though his HR/FB rate is probably going to regress back to normal soon. Maybe preparing himself mentally and physically added .100 OPS and luck added the other .100. I don't think it’s as far fetched as you are making it out to be.

[DuWayne Steurer]

Don't look now, but Corey's OPS-ing a very respectable .843 vs. righties at this point. 179 plate appearances is still a small sample, but it's safe to say at this point that his stats aren't being driven by being 'protected' from RHP'ers.

[rluzinski]

I find the theory that Hart was so lazy that he was only willing to run at 80% speed while chasing balls down, unbelievable. I think the accusation is a result of Hart's long strides giving an illusion of not hustling. Hell, Cam never looked like he was hustling. Hart also isn't the best at reading balls off the bat, so he's not going to look very hardworking when he doesn't know where to run. So I think this is mostly just based on faulty observation.

 

There also seems to be more motivation for the fans to criticize a struggling player for not giving enough effort. But that is another subjectg...

[JohnBriggs12]

Assuming both are still around, the arbitration numbers next year for Hart and Fielder should be very, very interesting. Fielder should just be taking the money out of his pocket and handing it to Hart and avoid the middle man.

[sheethead]

I think Hart's defense in the outfield, along with Braun's, looks bad because neither of them are outfielders. Not because they are lazy. They are just timid and don't want to make crucial mistakes, which hinders them from making all the plays an actual outfielder normally makes. We were spoiled a bit by Jenkins, a true defensive outfielder.

[monty57]

They also take three steps in the wrong direction due to misreading the ball off the bat, making it awful difficult to make the play. While corner OF is easier than SS, it's moving from the infield to the OF isn't as easy as a "defensive spectrum" chart may make it look. The Brewers as a team seem to take the Nintendo approach to moving players around, assuming that they can keep them at a difficult defensive position for their tenure in the minors and then move them where they want them without any growing pains.

 

Addressing Hart's quote, I'd guess the "lazy" part comes in the offseason more than during the season. This past offseason, there was a story of Hart losing something like 30 pounds due to his rigorous offseason training routine. That could potentially be paying dividends, as could his decision to start wearing contact lenses so he can actually see the ball when he's at the plate, which could definitely make a difference in determining whether a pitch is a slider or a fastball. I certainly hope there is a permanent reason for his good offensive play this year, and it is not simply the pendulum swinging from "bad Hart" to "good Hart" before swinging back again.

[joepepsi]

If Prince is going to be traded then they can easily afford Hart for next year. And they better keep him.

[endaround]

If they trade Fielder they have no reason to keep Hart. They could always afford Hart.

[sheethead]

If they trade Fielder they have no reason to keep Hart.

 

Well that is confusing. If they trade Weeks they have no reason to keep Gerut. No reason to keep Hart? None?

[endaround]

Nope. They go from an 83-85 win team with Fielder down to an 79-81 win team without Fielder. Assuming Hart isn't signed to a long term deal, which is unlikely though possible, you move him.

[thebruce44]

I find the theory that Hart was so lazy that he was only willing to run at 80% speed while chasing balls down, unbelievable. I think the accusation is a result of Hart's long strides giving an illusion of not hustling. Hell, Cam never looked like he was hustling. Hart also isn't the best at reading balls off the bat, so he's not going to look very hardworking when he doesn't know where to run. So I think this is mostly just based on faulty observation.

 

There also seems to be more motivation for the fans to criticize a struggling player for not giving enough effort. But that is another subjectg...

Who said he was running at 80%?

 

I completely agree that his problems were centered around reading balls off the bat. He also seems to take his eye off the ball too early at times causing him to muff catches on grounders. Those are issues that can be corrected with proper practice and repetition (same thing for laying off low and away sliders). Not doing that is being lazy in my book.

[monty57]

Nope. They go from an 83-85 win team with Fielder down to an 79-81 win team without Fielder. Assuming Hart isn't signed to a long term deal, which is unlikely though possible, you move him.

There are a lot of pieces to the puzzle. I think we have to trade Fielder, as he's too good to let walk for draft picks. However, we could make a trade for someone like Dan Haren and sign someone like Adam Dunn or D. Lee to play 1B and probably be better than we are this year. We'll have a lot of money, so what we do over the next 8 months will be very important.

With Hart, if we get a good offer, I'd take it. If not, and if we make some moves to have a decent team next year, I wouldn't mind holding him for the draft picks. My worry is that he has either been great or terrible, so there would be a good chance of paying him $7-8MM next year to be a .750 OPS bad fielding RF. If he continues his hot hitting, he's worth the $7-8MM he'll cost, and he'd potentially net us a 1st rounder, as two seasons of .900 OPS baseball would make him a Type A free agent.

Also, Cain will be MLB-ready next year, so it becomes a decision between Hart and Gomez. If Gomez can't learn a better approach at the plate, it may be better to put Cain in CF next year and hold Hart to FA. If Gomez improves his approach, and we get a good offer for Hart, it may make sense to trade Hart and play Cain in RF next year.

It's nice that Hart has played well enough that this becomes an issue. Prior to the season, I figured he'd be a platoon player this year and be let go for nothing after the season.

 

 

[TheCrew07]

I sure am glad we traded for Gomez so we could platoon Edmonds and push Cain into corner OF spot where he doesn't belong. I'm inclined to ride Hart into FA unless Melvin flips him for pitching which seems highly unlikely given his track record.

[sheethead]

They go from an 83-85 win team with Fielder down to an 79-81 win team without Fielder.

 

I guess I don't live completely in this world. I still don't see why trading Fielder would leave the Brewers no reason to keep Hart.

[monty57]

I sure am glad we traded for Gomez so we could platoon Edmonds and push Cain into corner OF spot where he doesn't belong. I'm inclined to ride Hart into FA unless Melvin flips him for pitching which seems highly unlikely given his track record.

Whatever the eventual outcome, I think it's really important to play Gomez everyday from here on out. He either plays well, allowing us to cement him in as next year's CF or get more in trade for him, or he plays poorly, prompting us to supplant him with Cain next season. Giving Edmonds 4/5 of the starts in CF doesn't help make this decision.

 

If Gomez plays to his potential, I don't hate the thought of playing Cain in RF for a season until some of our young corner OFs are MLB-ready. We could then flip Gomez for something of value and move Cain to CF.

 

Sorry for going off topic

 

[joepepsi]

The team has several young players being worked into the mix this season. They have some good prospects in the system, some of whom could be ready next year. Trading Hart and Prince, and and I don't know, Weeks, sends the message the team intends to lose 100 games in 2011. But they don't have to do that. They could continue to to bring up young talent and work them into lineup and pitching staff in 2011, but they don't have to destroy the team to do it. Keep Hart and Weeks, trade Prince if re-signing if possible, and try and field a competitive while also developing young talent. This is what good teams with strong farm systems do.

[thebruce44]

The team has several young players being worked into the mix this season. They have some good prospects in the system, some of whom could be ready next year. Trading Hart and Prince, and and I don't know, Weeks, sends the message the team intends to lose 100 games in 2011. But they don't have to do that. They could continue to to bring up young talent and work them into lineup and pitching staff in 2011, but they don't have to destroy the team to do it. Keep Hart and Weeks, trade Prince if re-signing if possible, and try and field a competitive while also developing young talent. This is what good teams with strong farm systems do.

The Brewers are 29-40. They are not a good team.

 

[TheCrew07]

Why does trading 2 players=punting 2011? I've been having trouble with this concept going all the way back to 2008 when people were claiming trading Hardy or Fielder would have been punting on 2009... which by the way we punted unintentionally, just like we're punting 2010 unintentionally by trying to fill out the roster with aging FAs.

 

For me it's simple... For example... you trade a 4 war player and replace him with a 2 WAR player from inside the system and get a 3 WAR player from the trade, just like that we're a better team than we were prior to the trade. You replace a 4 WAR and a 0 (or negative) WAR player with 2 younger players, but become a better team in the process. Sure you lose a little production that first year in the 4 WAR spot (assuming young players get better, and maybe the replacement player is never that valuable), but we also significantly upgrade another. It might be even be a wash that first year, but in the 2nd or 3rd year the team is much better off. Lets say Fielder is a 5 WAR player this season, we replace him with Gamel whom I think is an easy 3 WAR player and a young pitcher who ends up being worth 2-3 WAR. We've lost some production at 1B, but we've replaced a replacement level pitcher from the rotation and the team is stronger as a whole.

 

I'm not saying Fielder is the guy, I'm just talking concepts... I don't see why trading 1 or 2 players means we're jumping off the cliff into complete rebuilding mode. I think it's more of a convienent catch phrase excuse for those who rather would ride out or resign a player like Prince than trade him.

[Invader3K]

I think the team can very easily be competitive again next season if the right trades are made. Maybe one key FA signing can be made with all the salary coming off the books and possible cost savings if Fielder and/or Hart are dealt.

 

I just look at Hart as a guy that can potentially be quite easily replaced from within the system. It's not like affordable right fielders are that hard to come by in FA, either. People talk about being likes the Twins or Rays, but then get gun shy when it comes to actually dealing guys that are becoming expensive and approaching free agency. I don't get it.

[monty57]

I'm not necessarily gun shy. It's just that a few months ago, I thought he wouldn't be worth the $7-8MM he'll probably get next year so I figured he'd be allowed to walk after the season and we wouldn't get any returns for him. Now, I wouldn't give him away, but I would trade him if someone will give something of value for him. The potential for him to be a Type A (or maybe B) FA if he stays hot this year and is decent next year adds to his value, as we could get draft picks for him as he leaves for FA. The fact that Hart could bring back as much return in draft picks as Fielder seems silly, but that's the way the system works. I'd gladly take the picks for Hart, while I would be upset if the Brewers settle for the draft picks for Fielder.

[bobskube]

I still don't like him. Please trade him!

 

Anyone who takes game for granted for a season and slacks off is not a player I want long term. I think many on here remember Bill Hall. This is a prime case of that.

[TooLiveBrew]

Except that Corey has recognized & admitted his mistake, and addressed it. While I agree that he should be traded as soon as a good offer can be found (selling high), I think his progression & success at the plate this season is pretty good proof that the most extreme nay-sayers were far too down on Hart.