A lot was made in the media about Hanley bulking up during the off-season. While his power was on display early in the year, he seems a bit slower than in 2008 and was just caught stealing again tonight.

 

Would you prefer the leaner Hanley from last year or the one that might blast 40 home runs and not steal as often?

Well the steroids does make Hanley smaller in certain areas, so i guess his wife doesn't prefer that

 

 

J/k before anybody has a hissy fit over that comment

 

In all seriousness, Hanley stopped running so much last year, he made a committment to working on his hitting and stealing less. And right now from the 3rd spot, he needs to bulk up to build power. I generally love fast guys, but now that Hanley is in the 3 spot its better for him to be a bulked up power hitter.

 

 

but if I was going to go by which player I would rather have on my team, skinny fast Hanley or power buff Hanley, I'll take speed and line drive hitting any day. But the spot Hanley is in in the lineup, he has to be going for power.

 

WOOHOO 3100!

Pfft, no doubt! Not only is he slower, but he's completely let it go to his head. His swing has gotten insanely long and you can tell he's trying destroy ever pitch. He's trying to pull everything and it's just frustrating the crap outta me lol. But yeah, even though he'll eventually come out of the hitting funk he's in, I'd still prefer a "smaller" hanley.

I need a bigger sample size to decided that.

 

If he ends up stealing less bases but hitting an extra 5-10 HR, I take this Hanley easily. Still fast enough to make it up the lines and run the bases well.

 

That said, both caught stealing were on perfect pitches to get him on.

 

Also, he's obviously worried about that shoulder getting reinjured, which is slowing him down as he is sliding feet first instead of head first.

if the only change is he is hitting for more power then you take that all day every day.

His struggles really have nothing to do with his additional bulk. An extra 10 or 15 pounds of muscle mass isn't really going to slow anybody down much if at all. As of right now, I think it's all in his head. He hasn't gotten in rhythm, and he's trying to hard. Hopefully he'll snap out of this funk and show up. We need him if we hope to be a legit playoff contender.

He needs to go talk to Cabs about how to be a #3 guy. I swear, Cabrera thought he was a leadoff hitter when he dug in. All he ever did was step up to the plate, and try to stay within himself by staying back, and letting everything come to him. He would take a base hit to right field all day. Hanley, in the leadoff spot, was the same type of hitter. Unfortunately, he seems to think he needs to change. If he can get it in his head that singles can produce runs, too, he'll be fine because the power will just come.

I think it has to do with the smaller leads he has been taking at first ever since the shoulder problems. I've heard that he stated that he doesn't like taking such a big lead so he doesn't have to dive back so far and possibly aggravate the shoulder. His lead yesterday looked really small when he was caught stealing. Not like the usual base stealer. Unless my mind is just playing tricks on me.

I think it has to do with the smaller leads he has been taking at first ever since the shoulder problems. I've heard that he stated that he doesn't like taking such a big lead so he doesn't have to dive back so far and possibly aggravate the shoulder. His lead yesterday looked really small when he was caught stealing. Not like the usual base stealer. Unless my mind is just playing tricks on me.

More importantly than taking smaller leads, he is only sliding feet first. It's not a lack of speed, it's timid technique.

He needs to go talk to Cabs about how to be a #3 guy. I swear, Cabrera thought he was a leadoff hitter when he dug in. All he ever did was step up to the plate, and try to stay within himself by staying back, and letting everything come to him. He would take a base hit to right field all day. Hanley, in the leadoff spot, was the same type of hitter. Unfortunately, he seems to think he needs to change. If he can get it in his head that singles can produce runs, too, he'll be fine because the power will just come.

He ssaid he talked to pujols in st about being a 3 hitter. Can't really go wrong listening to pujols.

He needs to go talk to Cabs about how to be a #3 guy. I swear, Cabrera thought he was a leadoff hitter when he dug in. All he ever did was step up to the plate, and try to stay within himself by staying back, and letting everything come to him. He would take a base hit to right field all day. Hanley, in the leadoff spot, was the same type of hitter. Unfortunately, he seems to think he needs to change. If he can get it in his head that singles can produce runs, too, he'll be fine because the power will just come.

He ssaid he talked to pujols in st about being a 3 hitter. Can't really go wrong listening to pujols.

 

If only he would actually listen to Pujols.

God people, it's been 1 week. The first week it was "Wow, Hanley's not having any trouble in the three spot. He's really hitting well."

 

S**t people, use your memory.

God people, it's been 1 week. The first week it was "Wow, Hanley's not having any trouble in the three spot. He's really hitting well."

 

S**t people, use your memory.

this

 

couple of bad days and the sky is falling...some of you people are more fickle than red sox fans...and that is by no means a compliment

Alright, Hanley needs a red light on the base paths every once in a while!

OMG i just saw the replay of Hanley running the bases(missed it earlier) and that was pretty ugly.

 

He's starting to become flashy showboat kind of guy which is great at times but you gotta know when to play serious and that run could have been the difference between a win and a loss tonight.

I don't care how big he is I just want a Hanley who can hit and not act stupid.