Please explain the decline of Bryce Harper...if it can happen to him it can happen to anyone

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I'm going to bounce from the spot for awhile but I will be back at some point to argue with you about this hoops stuff again. Playoffs have been great this season. See ya up the road.

I'm out.

Drunk all the time

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Much like Arrieta, it's probably as simple as last year was his career year.

Or, neither one can get a hold of Manny Alexander to make a run.

Career year. White Sox fans should know about their star hitter having a career year.

This year is right around...or slightly higher...than his career norms prior to last season. It makes sense that teams / pitchers would really study how Bryce got them last season and make changes. Now it is up to Bryce to make his adjustments...or not.

The great ones...like Anthony Rizzo...make adjustments. I think Bryce Harper will be better next season. Not 1.100 OPS better though.

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Rick Hahn is the best GM in baseball.

his swing is all fucked up. hitting like 2X the popups he normally does.

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

That sounds so familiar....

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Run an analysis of guys who had career years at the age of 22

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.

Ron Kittle
Jerome Walton

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Al Kaline had his career year at 20.

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Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Gordon Beckham

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McCutcheon also having a down year without an explanation.

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Elections have consequences.

yeah IIRC didn't harper usually end up hitting like .260-.270 with ~20-25HR in his average season? and if he isn't technically "injury prone" he at least "isn't a stranger to injuries" right?

yeah indeed if you count last year's truly awesome season (.330/42/99 with a 1.103 OPS) he STILL averaged .289/24/62 in a 128 game season. if you take that season out and look at just his first 3 years it's an even more modest .272/18/50/10, so that would mean this year's stats (.233/20/57) are likely an improvement on the HR/RBI totals even if the BA has slumped after a bigtime start (cuz i wanna say he was one of if not the quickest guy to like ~10-15HR this year)

but then again you can look at his bio and see that he's still just under 24 years old (oct 16 1992) and if you figure that many/most hitters tend to peak around 27-30 (even if harper technically started his career earlier than the avg MLB hitter) then there's still hope for him yet... it's just that with these young natinals (him and especially strasburg) there was this ESPN/media-driven narrative where they were supposed to grow up and be the best hitter/pitcher in baseball and welp, suffice to say that hasn't happened yet.

but hey at least it's not as bad as being one of those people who thought puig was gonna be better than trout, eh? =D

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Still alive!

I'm just glad the speculation that Harper would be baseball's first $400 million or $500 million player has pretty much died.

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I still maintain that either he, Stanton or Trout will be a Cub at some point in the next five years but Kris Bryant will not be.

I can't wait til Bryant tells the Cubs to piss off..."It's just business."

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Reality is your friend, not your enemy. -- Seacrest

Will the Cubs fans turn on Bryant like they have Tommy LaStella?

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I think he is happy to be a Cub but I also believe he (and his agent) have a long memory about the call up situation.

Hopefully, Barry Rozner will be on the radio when that chicken comes home to roost

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O judgment! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason.