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=== What's Lame About 'Im? ===
Watching Buxton swing makes me sick. I'd call that kind of lame, I guess.
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Well, that's kind of a James-ism, an overstatement to make sure the point sticks... still, point stands. When I watch Buxton swing I have to say to myself Eric Davis, Eric Davis, over and over.
The second half of this video should suffice. He's disorganized. Where's the weight transfer? Where's the leverage? ... he's got only 2 home runs this high school season, and they make excuses, talk about he never gets anything to hit. You shoulda seen the 450-footer he hit this one time... what I see is a bunch of flat, static topped line drives. With zero leverage applied.
I'm not saying life is over for him. We are talking about the #1 overall here, right? (No, we're talking about the #3....) Actually we are talking about the #1. You've got 5-6 players who are all THIIISSSSSS close on the draft board, and if you're #3 you better get a guy you'd have been fine with at 1-1. You feel me?
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You know what, in fairness, Eric Davis' swing was totally disorganized. He just kinda stood there, hands not even ready, and here comes the pitch and he just sort of exploded on the ball. (For you kiddies who haven't heard of him, for short flashes Eric Davis was the best player you ever saw - .400 OBP, .600 SLG, 80 stolen bases, a guy who simply overmatched the entire sport of baseball.)
Could Bryon Buxton acquire some sort of leveraged baseball swing and become Eric Davis? I give him one chance in four. ... of course, even if Davis, er Buxton, only hits .250/.320/.400, he's a speed demon 50-SB gold glove type in CF. So..... where does that leave you.
If you're a Buxton fan, we'll also acknowledge Bo Jackson. Bo's swing was not exactly natural, either, and he did not have baseball-level hand-eye coordination. His gifts simply overmatched the game. Here's the Bo Knows Baseball video, if you want to see seven minutes of Bo running on outfield walls and stuff.
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People talk hopefully about Bryon Buxton being in the Justin Upton, Josh Hamilton class. Let me ask you. Did anybody ever hopefully talk about the Uptons, or Josh Hamilton, being worth a #1 pick? High school kids of that magnitude leave no doubt...
SSI sees Bryon Buxton as giving you a great, great shot at a Matt Bush or Shawn Abner. Who are they? Exactly. They were #1 overall high school kids. In their day, you could visualize them being MVP's, too. But having unique physical attributes is not the be-all and end-all of baseball. Zduriencik likes baseball players. I can't see them taking Buxton.
If Tom McNamara says that Buxton is as good as the Uptons, okay. Until then, I'll cut my risks and cut my losses. College player or ... Correa, maybe? Next post ...
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My $0.03,
Dr D