Forever Young

I chose the title of this blog post not because I'm a huge Rod Stewart fan (I'd say I moderately appreciate his work), but because Chipper Jones seems to be drinking from the fountain of youth. I also chose this title because that's how watching Chipper, my boyhood idol, play baseball makes me feel. Forever young.

Last Sunday night was a night that will undoubtedly be put on his Hall of Fame highlight reel. The Braves were trailing 7-3 going into the bottom of the 9th inning when they rallied after a great at bat by Michael Bourn, a fortuitous error by the Phillies and then a magnificent at bat by Chipper. I'm not ready to say goodbye to Chipper yet. When he's still providing memories like this, how can I?

Heyward's Development

I've enjoyed seeing Jason Heyward develop as a player for numerous reasons. First and foremost, I'm an Atlanta Braves fan. Secondly, he's a cornerstone of my fantasy baseball franchise and he has been on my team since he was in the minors. In fact, I traded Jon Lester for Jason Heyward and Jorge De La Rosa in 2009 when Heyward was a minor leaguer. With that being said, I've believed in the guy from the start.

His rookie campaign was very promising. He hit .277 with 18 HR and 72 RBI to go along with 11 SB and a nice .393 OBP for a rookie. Jason showed a lot of patience at the plate and seemed to get a lot of big hits for the Braves that season as he finished second to Buster Posey in the National League Rookie of the Year vote.

His sophomore season was another story. There were injuries that caused him to over compensate at the plate and it really messed with his approach. He hit just .227 and his OBP plummeted to .319. He was limited to only 128 games and there were indications that maybe he was Jeff Francoeur 2.0, meaning not as good as advertised. The comparison seemed logical since they both play right field and were locals. (Heyward wasn't born in Georgia, but did grow up there)

But then year 3 started and Heyward seemed to be a man on a mission. The Braves let go of hitting coach Larry Parrish and brought in Greg Walker from the White Sox. All reports were that Heyward let his shoulder get healthy in the off-season and then hit the cages with Walker and Chipper Jones. I heard reports of Heyward being, "a man possessed" and that he was incredibly focused on breaking out this year. He hasn't disappointed. While he isn't an MVP candidate, he's back to being the middle of the lineup guy he was in 2010 and when he's at the plate, it just seems like he's going to get that hit. Through 129 games this year, Heyward is hitting .272 with 24 HR, 69 RBI, 19 SB and his .343 OBP is decent. Heyward is striking out more this year, but let's not forget the guy is 23 years old. 

I don't believe Heyward is going to be a .325 hitter ever in his career. But .300 at his peak with 30 plus homers and 25 steals is within his grasp. His defense also goes unnoticed much of the time even though he's one of the best in the National League in right field. His arm is impressive and opponents are figuring out you shouldn't run on him unless you know for sure you're going to make it. 

The biggest indication that Heyward is back on track is the fact that he's making pitchers pay again for bad pitches. The great hitters always do that. Take a look at this home run he recently hit in San Francisco. A hanging breaking ball from Clay Hensley goes over the right field wall at AT&T Park. 

I can't wait to watch this guy patrol right field for the Braves for years to come. Now let's just hope the Braves pay up and keep him right in the middle of that lineup.

Ditching the Dish

My wife and I recently decided to make a switch with our tv habits in an effort to lower our costs and also watch more baseball, specifically the Braves. We currently have Dish Network and pay about $50 a month for their basic package along with a DVR. That comes out to roughly $600 a year on tv alone. We have a good satellite internet connection and it was recently upgraded for free by our provider. MLB.TV was running a promotion a few days back in which you could get MLB.TV premium and Post-season tv for only $10. We couldn't pass it up. We will also be getting their MLB.TV package next year for $125 and get a Hulu Plus subscription for $8 a month.

In order to watch this on our television we are going to purchase an Apple TV box in the next couple of weeks. Those currently run $100.

So let's do some math. Current set-up: $50 a month x 12 = $600 a year and no Braves games unless they are the ESPN special game or TBS Saturday game (translation: not very often)

New set-up: $10.40 a month for MLB.TV plus $8 a month for Hulu Plus = roughly $19 a month x 12 = $228 a year and we'll still get to watch all our current favorite shows, tons of Braves games, archived classic shows, and we'll save a boat load. Even if you factor in the one time cost of $100 for an Apple TV box we're still saving a lot of money the first year and even more each year after that.

Needless to say, if you are a big baseball fan and never get to watch your team, you would be wise to consider this route. Keep in mind, if you live near your favorite team, they are going to hit you with black outs frequently. Being Braves fans in Iowa makes this whole thing work a lot better for us.