Corey Hart is a Bitch. No Love in February for Corey Hart. Today is Judgment Day for Corey Hart. Hart Attack: Meet the $4.8 Million Dollar Man. The Brewers need Hart to win in 2010. Miles and miles of Hart... Eric Gagne called, he wants his goggles back. What more can I say about Corey Hart that I haven't already said? At this point, not too much. I'm not going to rehash the stats from the last few years and all of the shit I said about it. Feel free to click any of the links above if you need that information. In short, Corey Hart needs to rebound from last year like I need to stop hitting the bottle whenever I get depressed. The Brewers are counting on Corey Hart to regain his form because they need his power bat in the lineup. After losing JJ Hardy and Mike Cameron (two guys who each are capable of hitting over 20 homeruns) and replacing them with Alcides Escobar and Carlos Gomez (two guys who will be lucky to each hit 5 homeruns) the Brewers need to get that power from somewhere else. A healthy Rickie Weeks should help that, and Corey Hart should also be able to fulfill that role. With the top 5 spots in the lineup seemingly set, Corey could provide some much needed pop to the bottom of the order.
His offensive woes have been covered in grand detail by me in the past, but I don't know if I ever said much about his defense. Like Ryan Braun, Hart is an infielder turned outfielder. I don't know how many people know that because he's always been an outfielder at the big league level. But since he hasn't been manning that spot for his entire life, he's still a work in progress. We've watched him make spectacular plays and also some pretty boneheaded ones. But this season I feel like he will put it all together and along with Braun and Gomez, form a damn good defensive outfield. Within the last few years he was clocked as the fastest guy on the team, which certainly will help him get to more fly balls.His speed also comes in handy on the base paths, and on several occasions he has been called the smartest baserunner on the team. Recently at the Brewers On-Deck event in January of this year, during a Q & A session with the coaches, I asked 3rd base coach Brad Fischer who is the best baserunner. His answer was Corey Hart and he brought up his ability to go from 1st to 3rd and that he rarely runs into outs on the bases. I remember also hearing that under Ned Yost, Corey always had the green light to steal a base. Because he chose the right times and studied the moves of pitchers and catchers, he ended up producing runs and put a lot of added pressure on the pitcher. As you know from watching Manny Parra, pitching can be a real mental game. Once you get inside the pitcher's head, you can really open up the game and score some runs. When Corey Hart gets on base, he's always a threat to steal, which can be a big distraction to the pitcher and catcher. It's little things like that that make Corey Hart a valuable member of this team.
But even though I've said nice things 
about him in the past and on this page today, I still don't have the Hart to call him my friend. You'd think that I would love Corey Hart because I tend to hang out with tall goofy looking guys. Some of my best friends fit that profile. Aaron Spiering. Brodey Callies. Joey Kanz. Matt Salmon. Abraham Lincoln. I give Joey Kanz the most crap about it because of the way he reacts to my constant playful verbal assaults on his goofiness. Like when I go away on vacation, I promise to bring him back a t-shirt as a souvenir. I then ask him, what size do you wear? Extra goofy? Aaron can handle when I give him shit because he can dish it back to me faster than I can come up with another clever line. Brodey is so self deprecating he'll probably make fun of himself before you get the chance to make fun of him. And Salmon just gets made fun of by everyone, so he has mental toughness and just lets it all slide off his shoulders.
All of my tall goofy friends have found a way of handling the comments from those around them, but so far all Corey does is complain about the fans who pay his salary and make up excuses. He needs to come up with some kind of defense mechanism to prevent him from lashing out inappropriately. Hey Corey - if you need some advice from my friends let me know. I know that you read my blog so you have a way to get in touch with me. Corey, we talk shit about you because we care. Has anyone ever noticed that the people who give you the most shit are the people who really love you the most? That's because most of the time they aren't serious about it and they know you well enough to understand that you can handle it. And Corey, I only say that crap because I do care and I want you to do well. I can always use another tall goofy looking friend.My man Toby told me to lay off Corey Hart and to stop giving him a hard time. And I will… for now. Corey Hart gets a clean slate heading into the 2010 season because it sounds like he has put his problems (contract dispute, daddy issues and poor eyesight) behind him. He also reportedly showed up to Phoenix 20 pounds lighter and with more muscle. I’m all for people staying in shape, especially athletes when their jobs and performance depend on them being in peak physical condition. But if his Spring Training stats (.208 avg, 2 HRs, 3 RBIs) are any indication, we’re in for a rough year. But I’m a huge proponent against using Spring Training stats for any kind of prediction, lest we forget how JJ Hardy, Chris Duffy and Brad Nelson performed in Spring Training last year. They were the 3 hottest hitters down in the valley of the sun, but none of them are currently with the team, and in the regular season Brad Nelson went 0 for 27 before they cut him. So although Spring Training stats don’t mean jack shit, I’d still rather see Corey Hart play well because it can only benefit the team if he does.
Corey Hart has been a hot topic of debate this entire winter. My friend Mike at work and I were discussing his offseason antics nearly every day, and here are his predictions for Hart’s 2010 stat line:
.285 batting average, 26HRs, 83 RBIs and 23 stolen bases.
.267 avg, 16 HRs, 66 RBIs, 18 stolen bases and even more goofy looking now that he’s wearing goggles. I have a feeling that like Carlos Gomez, Corey Hart may also lose playing time to Jim Edmonds and Jody Gerut if he doesn’t improve from last year. But since he is at the core a very good baseball player, he will get every opportunity to succeed.
So for the time being, the name calling will cease. Corey Hart can sleep easy at night knowing that I am no longer poking fun at him. But if Corey slips up, then it’s on like Donkey Kong. Corey Hart better now give me a reason to start talking shit about him. And speaking of talking, I really can’t say much about the next featured player Catcher Greg Zaun. And that’s because (like Gomez) he is a newcomer to the Brewers who spent most of his career in the American League. All I know about him (before doing research) is that he is similar to (last year’s catcher) Jason Kendall, only older, less expensive and with a little more pop in his bat. Zaun has only caught more than 100 games in a season 4 times in his 15 year career (as opposed to Kendall catching like 140 + every year), so now more than ever the backup catcher spot will be very important. There’s no fewer than 4 guys competing for that spot in Spring Training. But that my friends, is a topic that will be covered tomorrow. Brewers! Brewers! Keep Turnin' Up the Heat!
- pookon -
email: pookondotcom@gmail.com
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