Will Cubs phenom Bryant fulfill his hype?
I'm not different from anyone else, and I often fall for the hype as easy as the next guy.
Some of the hype I never fell for involved first-round draft pick Corey Patterson of the Chicago Cubs or the hire of Dave Wannstedt as head coach for the Bears.
Some I did fall for involved Cubs first baseman Hee-Seop Choi and Bears quarterback Cade McNown.
Everyone makes right guesses and wrong guesses, and I try to watch and read as much as I can about a player so I can make a somewhat educated opinion on how well that player may pan out.
That said, I really don't have any insight on the Cubs' Cactus League third baseman, Kris Bryant.
Right now what I am hearing about Bryant sounds positive; he's accomplishing things on the field in the hitting department with his second two-homer game in exhibition play.
While it appears his hitting performances are matching the hype, there are some negatives as well. His fielding needs work and he has shoulder fatigue.
Yes, shoulder fatigue at age 23, and I guess the babying has officially begun.
I'm sorry, but I just don't recall ever hearing of Ernie Banks, Derrek Lee or Mark Grace missing games because of shoulder fatigue. That doesn't mean they didn't feel it, but they just didn't take games off because of it.
Look, I know Cubs fans will tell me to take it easy on the young kid, and let him breathe a bit. I get that, but the overcautious approach doesn't work for me.
If the Cubs are going to make noise this year, they're going to need at least 145 solid games a year from him. His fielding and defense won't get better if he sits every time he has an "owie."
Bryant needs to be out there every day because if you can't field your position you will eventually be a DH, and with no DH in the National League, where does that leave the Cubs?
The positives definitely outweigh the negatives right now, and I firmly believe Bryant is the most important player in Chicago baseball since Frank Thomas started playing with the White Sox. We all know what Thomas meant to the Sox, especially the first seven or eight years of his career.
Bryant can do the same thing with the Cubs.
Thomas wasn't the best fielder, but the Sox made do for a long time because his bat was so dominant.
I also believe Kris Bryant will eventually become an adequate fielder, and like Thomas he is a potential major league all-star because he can hit.
Despite the Wrigley Field fiasco, the death of Ernie Banks and the perpetually solid St. Louis Cardinals and the emerging Pittsburgh Pirates, hope for the Cubs is very high this season.
New manager Joe Madden, with a pretty good club at least on paper, has a bright future, but I believe a lot is attached to how well Kris Bryant can succeed.
Let the hype continue!
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