Dunn is on The Program
By
Amanda
Posted at 1:33 pm
Reporting from Reds spring training in sunny Sarasota Florida, Cincinnati Post reporter C. Trent sends surprising news about Adam Dunn. Everyone's favorite super-talented slacker has shown up two days ahead of time in good shape:
Dunn looks noticeably leaner, he said he's done more running and eating much better. New hitting coach Brook Jacoby visited him for about a month ago in Houston.
Dunn said he just wants to forget last season, when he 40 home runs, drove in 92 runs and scored 99 runs. He also hit .234, struck out a major league high 194 times and committed 13 errors.
“I’m trying to get that out of my head, first of all,” Dunn said. “I spent all offseason thinking about how hard the last two months of the season were for me; I was terrible. I don’t want that to happen to me again.”
There are plenty of Dunn fans out there who don't care that he walks to his position because he contributes 40 homers and .850 OPS. There are just as many Dunn fans disappointed because he does that stuff without seeming to really try, and just think what he could do if he'd apply himself.
I don't know about those people, but I get pretty excited to think that he's on the path to really apply himself this season. The guy's a freakin' tank. Plus, the photos of him are going to look that much better.
People really seem to forget that Dunn was having his best season yet until the last two months of last season when he went into a prolonged slump that he couldn’t bust out of. He has always been extremely streaky, so I don’t even think it’s that surprising that he’d hit a rough patch that he’d stay in for an extended period of time.
Dunn committed 3 embarrassing errors on opening day that set the tone for his entire season. The power numbers are always going to be there, but he was clearly in poor shape last year, playing without energy and stumbling about a lot of the time. He was overmatched by good pitching. Yes, he really dropped off at the end, but he was consistently disappointing all season long, especially in clutch situations or against quality pitching.
Dunn had three opening day errors…and was also 2-4 with a HR and 2 RBIs. Get over it.
The fact of the matter is he had an OPS of around .950 until the .700 and .598 he put up the last two months. Furthermore, he was better than his season OPS with runners in scoring position, runners in scoring position with two outs, and in close and late situations. You have to compare Adam Dunn to Adam Dunn, and Adam Dunn was actually a better player in those situations in which you say he disappointed in.
Yes, in typical fashion he bolstered his stats in a game that was out of reach against cheesy middle relief pitching. The game was out of reach BECAUSE of his horrible errors in the opening innings of the game. He is a terrible defensive player as a direct result of his inability to chase down balls, a direct result of him being out of shape. In the article we are commenting on he admits he was out of shape and he is embarrassed about last season. No one gives a rat’s ass about OPS. Have you ever heard Krivsky or any other baseball person mention OPS? No, that is a fantasy baseball stat. Games are won and lost by doing the little things right, which is exactly what Adam Dunn doesn’t do well, which is why he freely admits to being embarrassed about his play in the past.
And no, I am not discounting his value as a power hitter… but of all the power hitters in this league he is probably the one you are least likely to stick in the #3 or #4 spot, because he simply does not match up well against good starting pitching or closers. He’ll get you that cheap home run shot off of a bad starter, or a middle reliever, and he’ll try to draw a walk when he is overmatched. I hope he improves, I ama big fan of his because he is the strongest man I have ever seen play baseball.
OK, I am wrong… Dunn hit a home run off of Zambrano to tie the game up. Very nice. Well, like I said I like Dunn, I really do. And I remember he hit a opening day home run off of Pedro Martinez in 2005. I just want to see him put together a complete season and reach his potential. He puts up huge power numbers while seemingly playing lazy and out-of-shape. A meaner, leaner Dunn could be a force to be reckoned with. I hope he really breaks out in a big way this season, with 45+ homeruns and 120+ RBIs and a respectable batting average, and just decent defense. THat is all I am asking. We need him to put up those kind of numbers if we want to have a chance in the post season.