Maybe it’s the internet.
Ok, it’s definitely the internet. That has to be the reason there has been a careers worth of drama around top prospect Oscar Taveras before he has one at-bat as a St. Louis Cardinal.
Here’s the latest headline: “Oscar Taveras Is On Cruise Control”
Cruise Control? What does that even mean? The anonymous scout explains: “Gives away at-bats. Needs to play with more urgency. He’ll get a wake-up call but it will take [the] big leagues to do it.” Just the kind of thing you want to hear about the next Albert Pujols.
Obviously, this is one man’s opinion, right? The stats can’t possibly back this claim up.
(Music for the next paragraph)
“[T]his season Oscar is batting .261 with the bases empty. With runners on base, Taveras is hitting .372. With runners in scoring position, he’s batting a whopping .452. The bigger the challenge, the hotter the pressure – the better he does.”
Bernie… NOOOO!
This is on the heels of the ankle controversy. And the will/won’t they call him up conundrum. And don’t forget about the service clock ordeal.
Heck, he’s even too big for things like names.
It’s almost like we’re eternally living in the moment between when the expert on Antique Roadshow asks you how much your item is worth and when they actually tell you. Can’t we get the Big O to the Big Show and just see what all this commotion is about?
To be fair, everything I just linked to and wrote about is total nonsense. I’m sure he’s playing hard. I’m sure he cares about all his at-bats. I’m sure he played as soon as he was ready. I’m sure he had nothing to do with the FSN graphic. And I’m sure he wants to play MLB ball instead of MiLB ball.
We’ll get there soon.
Maybe.
Photo: Fox Sports
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