Justin Upton is a huge disappointment!

[JS22]

Upton is going to need to drop about 20 pounds to move to SS. I kind of like the idea since it solves a few problems and opens up the outfield.

On the other hand, I have a suspicion that Upton would be TERRIBLE at SS. From what I recall reading he was never that great in the first place?

 

[coyoteshockeyfan]

Just about everybody who's any good plays SS in high school. Upton is way too big to be a major league shortstop.

 

[JS22]

Upton is starting out hot. With our luck, he'll fully realize his potential in ATL and it will be a trade that haunts us for the next 10 years. (Even though I like Prado.)

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?c_id=mlb&content_id=25798679&partnerId=as_mlb_20130321_6559274

Looks like he is in better shape, too.

 

[devilalum]

Upton is starting out hot. With our luck, he'll fully realize his potential in ATL and it will be a trade that haunts us for the next 10 years. (Even though I like Prado.)

http://mlb.mlb.com/video/play.jsp?c_id=mlb&content_id=25798679&partnerId=as_mlb_20130321_6559274

Looks like he is in better shape, too.

Even if he blows up in ATL that doesn't mean it ever would have happened here. I think he'll do well there with all the other stars they have. He didn't seem to be mature enough to be "The Man."

 

[Lefty]

Many are saying Upton will have a MVP season. I hope he does.

 

[UncleChris]

Perhaps.... Perhaps not. C'mon guys: Yes, he's got 3 home runs already but a whopping 13 at bats, all at home.... and he's hitting .308 overall. Nice start, but let's not get too excited. I wish him the best, but I don't think he's on track to hit 120 home runs this year....

By comparison, our own Mr. Parra is hitting .474 with 4 doubles, 1 triple and 1 home run. The same thing applies for him: Great start... on a whopping 19 at bats and 3 of the 4 games at home.

 

[BC867]

Our front office set the bar too high for a young Upton, being desperate to find a new face to the franchise after Gonzo was driven away and Brynes was nowhere near expectations. If JUp could have grown with the D'backs that would have been great. But it just didn't happen.

There is no way that situation could be salvaged in Phoenix. For the good of everyone, he needed a change of scenery. It is not as simple as whatever stats he puts up with Atlanta.

 

[JS22]

Another solo shot in the 1st tonight for Upton.

 

[Phrazbit]

Why could the situation not have been salvaged? The only thing preventing Upton from being "salvageable" was the front office continually poisoning the waters. Their handling of him was absolutely awful.

If they had stopped publicly shopping him and throwing him under the bus he probably would have been fine.

 

[Lefty]

Why could the situation not have been salvaged? The only thing preventing Upton from being "salvageable" was the front office continually poisoning the waters. Their handling of him was absolutely awful.

If they had stopped publicly shopping him and throwing him under the bus he probably would have been fine.

Exactly. The Diamondbacks front office showed no class, kept bad mouthing Upton after the trade while Justin did not stoop to their level and kept quiet. Even if the Diamondbacks win the World Series, I will be happy the day Towers and Hall are gone.

 

[BC867]

Why could the situation not have been salvaged? The only thing preventing Upton from being "salvageable" was the front office continually poisoning the waters. Their handling of him was absolutely awful.

If they had stopped publicly shopping him and throwing him under the bus he probably would have been fine.

I agree that the Front Office's handling of Upton was awful. That's why I said that they set the bar too high. Then they compounded it by throwing him under the bus, just as you said.

And that's why a fresh start somewhere else was for the best.

So far this season, his 3 HR's have resulted in 5 RBI's, continuing his trend of last year. A player who has a few more RBI's than HR's isn't really a team leader.

Last season, JUp was 5th on the D'backs in RBI's, while batting in the heart of the order all season. He was certainly expected to drive in more runs than that. And so far, he's beginning his Braves career the same way.

Home runs may draw ooohs and ahhhs, but RBI's separate the clutch players from the flashy ones. Time will tell if he is better than what he showed us as time went by. It all comes down to whether he is a marginal power hitter vs. a meaningful one. That's up to him. It's JUp to him.

 

[Phrazbit]

Well... he is now up to 5 homeruns, and hit a walkoff winner tonight. And Upton didnt get a ton of RBIs last year, but he did lead the team in runs scored.

Guy is 4 years deep in his career, has been an all-star twice and our front office is dragging him through the mud because he had a down year while he played with an injury.

Again, the only problem Upton had was the front office constantly throwing dirt on him which not only damaged his confidence but his trade value. The Dbacks traded an MVP quality player for a solid 3rd baseman and some low level prospects.

He didnt need a fresh start, all he needed was a vote of confidence from the franchise, just a "we're not trading him, he is a truly special player". Thats it... then follow through with that, instead of turning around two days later and idiotically trying to trade him to some team on his no-trade list, which served no other purpose than to destroy his trade value.

They could have and should have kept him.

 

[Dback Jon]

Well... he is now up to 5 homeruns, and hit a walkoff winner tonight. And Upton didnt get a ton of RBIs last year, but he did lead the team in runs scored.

Guy is 4 years deep in his career, has been an all-star twice and our front office is dragging him through the mud because he had a down year while he played with an injury.

Again, the only problem Upton had was the front office constantly throwing dirt on him which not only damaged his confidence but his trade value. The Dbacks traded an MVP quality player for a solid 3rd baseman and some low level prospects.

He didnt need a fresh start, all he needed was a vote of confidence from the franchise, just a "we're not trading him, he is a truly special player". Thats it... then follow through with that, instead of turning around two days later and idiotically trying to trade him to some team on his no-trade list, which served no other purpose than to destroy his trade value.

They could have and should have kept him.

I am happy for Jup, but you are giving him way too much of a free pass.

He was spoiled, selfish, and downright lazy. He threw temper tantrums like a 6 year old. He deserved and earned every bit of anger the Front Office piled on him. Your revisionist history is laughable.

Having his big brother keeping him in check will be the best thing for him.

 

[Phrazbit]

I am happy for Jup, but you are giving him way too much of a free pass.

He was spoiled, selfish, and downright lazy. He threw temper tantrums like a 6 year old. He deserved and earned every bit of anger the Front Office piled on him. Your revisionist history is laughable.

Having his big brother keeping him in check will be the best thing for him.

lol, what revisionist history? What you're telling is a complete fabrication. 6 year old temper tantrums? When...?

The guy has a down year at the plate (and still a solid year by league standards) and people attach some absurd personal attacks. Oh, he struggled to hit with the bases loaded... HE IS SPOILED AND SELFISH!!!

Whatever. Upton has taken the high road throughout this entire process while the franchise lumped trash on him over and over again. He isnt perfect, but he is a damn good player with superstar talent, and they sold him for pennies on the dollar after they idiotically destroyed his market.

 

[AZ Native]

I am happy for Jup, but you are giving him way too much of a free pass.

He was spoiled, selfish, and downright lazy. He threw temper tantrums like a 6 year old. He deserved and earned every bit of anger the Front Office piled on him. Your revisionist history is laughable.

Having his big brother keeping him in check will be the best thing for him.

Agreed!

 

[devilalum]

Anybody else notice how hard they're spinnin Prado in the broadcasts? I like Prado a lot but the way they go on and on is obviously PR spin.

Prado should be Profar but Texas has an even bigger bunch of idiots in their front office. They never did find an OFer and now there's talk that Profar is on the block.

 

[JS22]

Anybody else notice how hard they're spinnin Prado in the broadcasts? I like Prado a lot but the way they go on and on is obviously PR spin.

Prado should be Profar but Texas has an even bigger bunch of idiots in their front office. They never did find an OFer and now there's talk that Profar is on the block.

They are definitely in spin mode. I really like Prado and think he is going to be huge for this team. But the whole Upton situation was pretty ugly. And I place most of that on Towers. Not Hall. (Who I think has a good shot at the commissioner job in a few years.)

 

[AzStevenCal]

They are definitely in spin mode. I really like Prado and think he is going to be huge for this team. But the whole Upton situation was pretty ugly. And I place most of that on Towers. Not Hall. (Who I think has a good shot at the commissioner job in a few years.)

If they keep playing like this they won't need to spin anything. If they revert to last year's form, no amount of spin will quell the disappointment of trading away potential superstars for pennies on the dollar.

Steve

 

[devilalum]

If they keep playing like this they won't need to spin anything. If they revert to last year's form, no amount of spin will quell the disappointment of trading away potential superstars for pennies on the dollar.

Steve

I don't know if Upton and Young were at fault or not but the team really seemed to have some chemistry problems last year and they don't seem to be having those problems anymore.

 

[AzStevenCal]

I don't know if Upton and Young were at fault or not but the team really seemed to have some chemistry problems last year and they don't seem to be having those problems anymore.

Agreed.

Steve

 

[Azlen]

I think the truth probably lies somewhere between the great guy who had a down year due to injury and the petulant 6 year old. I do think that there were some personality/club house issues though and the trade wasn't solely due to him having a bad year last year. I definitely think that Gibson doesn't have a whole lot of patience for those players who don't do things the way he wants them to. Time will tell if that helps or hurts.

 

[DiamondBacks5117]

He is having an amazing start to the season in Atlanta.

 

[TJ]

I still hate the trade and believe we got hosed big time. Upton on this team is more valuable than Prado, Delgado, et al. I think Towers handled the whole Upton situation poorly by dangling him on the trading block for over a year, and when the Seattle deal fell through, we became beggars and lost all leverage.

I'm elated we're off to a 5-1 start, but if things start heading south and Upton keeps producing in Atlanta, Towers is going to have egg all over his face; and rightfully so.

 

[AZ Native]

Why? He did not produce here. Now he has a fresh start with his brother and he does not have to be the man. Good for him, but he had his 5-6 years here and it was not working. I think this will end up a win-win situation.

 

[TJ]

Why? He did not produce here. Now he has a fresh start with his brother and he does not have to be the man. Good for him, but he had his 5-6 years here and it was not working. I think this will end up a win-win situation.

He's a two-time all-star and is only 25 years of age. He may not be the Griffey Jr. we hoped we had gotten, but he's a damn good baseball player and is very young in baseball years.

If Upton was traded at 30 or 31, it's a different story all together.