i never really had much of an offseason this year because every time i turned around, Michael made it onto another list or was announced as a finalist for some prestigious baseball award. so i continually had to write new blogs from October to December, and even a few in January. not that i'm complaining. but i kept myself very busy with that, plus a new project i'm working on. stay tuned ;D
going into 2015, a big question on everyone's mind is what
will Michael Brantley do for an encore after his stellar standout 2014 season? prepared for the expectations that have now been bestowed upon him, Michael proactively made this a very productive offseason. he trained harder than ever before, working out more days a week/hours per day. he focused on specific facets of the game that he wanted to get better at. he also got more advice from his father, Mickey Brantley, about how to improve his overall game.
adding to his offseason calendar, his wife gave birth to his son, Michael Charles Brantley, III, shortly before players were required to report to camp. many more details about Michael's offseason routine and early spring activities, including coming to camp with lower back soreness, can be found in the Offseason Regimen & 2015 Preparations blog i wrote. give it a read if you haven't already.
as for me, well once again i stepped up my own personal Brantley documentation in my notebook. this season, i have added a new section to keep track of Michael's statistics such as batting averages at home versus away, with runners on base, and with bases loaded. i'm also documenting his multi-hit games, 3+ hit games, multi-RBI games, go-ahead hits, and go-ahead RBI. these are all numbers i recorded and calculated last year too, but i did so solely in either an Excel spreadsheet or a pre-blog topics Word document. now all of that info is going right into my notebook for much easier accumulation, as you can see here:
i bought my Gameday audio very early this year, so i was able to listen to almost all of the spring games. why almost all? well there was one game (March 20) that had absolutely no audio option, which was greatly disappointing. and there was one game (April 2) which only had away team broadcasting, and they stopped broadcasting after 6 innings because their team had to catch a plane. and OF COURSE, Michael hit his 1st home run of spring after that and i didn't get to hear anyone call it. i knew that was gonna happen! i jokingly predicted it! lol =(
in addition, there were times on the audio broadcasts when announcers had guests in the booth or were just talking so much about other things that they weren't always giving pitch counts. there were also times when the audio on my computer, for whatever reason, cut out or was having technical difficulties. the Gameday in spring is very unreliable as far as pitch counts go, so i sadly do not have all of Michael's pitch counts recorded. everyone knows by now that i like my details, so anything that did not get documented was through no fault of my own--i did not miss one at bat. =D
2014 is long gone. all those numbers are now history and in Michael's case, that's a sad thing. coming into this year, i knew it would be hard for him to improve much from last season because he set the bar so high. and it didn't help that Major League Baseball implemented some new pace-of-play rules that players would now have to adapt to. i wondered if/how they would affect Michael, particularly the part about hitters having to keep one foot inside the batter's box in between pitches. while Michael has never been one of those players who drags out his at bats, he does like to step away from the box sometimes and take big swings. from the few ABs i saw online and on TV, he was definitely stepping out at times. there are exceptions to the rule, but i'm not sure if he was totally following the rule anyway, so it will be interesting to see if he officially breaks the rule once the real games begin and if the consequences are actually enforced.
so as i said, last year was going to be hard for Michael to top, especially last spring when he bat .500 (25-for-50). and things did not start out very well for him this spring, which is certainly not how i wanted to see him follow up his MVP-like season. but it is not entirely fair to compare Michael's previous spring to this one because this year he was dealing with some issues, which i'm going to delve into at length (and which unfortunately is also going to make this blog a lot longer than i had originally hoped lol). nonetheless, Michael had a successful camp when it was all said and done, but the road to the end was a rough one.
Michael reported to Arizona on February 22. then it came out on February 23 that Michael had a sore lower back and wasn't participating in the full team workouts with everyone else for a few days. while it was later reported that Michael was fine, he still sat out the first 2 Cactus League games, and then went 0-for-3 in the first game he played (on March 5).
after his first 5 games, he was only batting .214 (3-for-14). that worried me. for someone who had trained the hardest he'd ever trained this offseason, to have this poor of a spring start was a concern. it really made me wonder if there was more to be made about this back issue than anyone was putting out there.
it didn't help that Michael was later stricken with the flu/stomach bug on March 15. the bug had been going around the clubhouse since the beginning of camp and i believe the culprit was Lonnie Chisenhall. his wife initially tweeted that she and their 2 sons, Cutter and Cannon, had the flu, and then Lonnie got it on February 23 when every player was already in Goodyear. i hoped that Michael would be able to avoid it, but clearly that was not the case.
so that kept him out of 2 games. it was then that i began to wonder if Michael would even get to play in enough games in the rest of ST to total a minimum of 50 at bats. would he get enough swings in for him to really feel ready and confident for the upcoming regular season? only batting .214 (3-for-14) in 5 games prior to catching the flu and then being forced to miss extra games was definitely not good for my anxiety.
after Michael kicked the flu, things still didn't pick up for him. on March 17, he went 0-for-2 with a walk. during one of Michael's ABs that day, Jim Rosenhaus was talking on the radio about how he spoke with Michael earlier, and Michael said he felt his spring was going great and he felt comfortable at the plate. but remember, he was 3-for-14 at the time, literally the worst out of the presumed starting 9 regular season lineup. that was great? i was confused.
then between March 19 and 23, he played 4 of the 5 games, including 2 back-to-backs, and went 6-for-12. that was much more like Michael and so it seemed as though he was finally hitting his stride and feeling fine. after 10 games, he was then batting .321 (9-for-28). not bad. however, it was a little unnerving that 8 of his 9 hits were simply singles...
in a controversial surprise on March 24, Michael was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated magazine alongside Corey Kluber, which i blogged about here. although he claimed to "somewhat" believe in jinxes, Michael let everyone know he was unaware of the SI Cleveland jinx. "i've never heard of it. i don't want to hear about it."
let me take a minute now to mention that Terry Francona has a certain way of handling his regular season starting lineup in spring. you will rarely see any of his regulars play on consecutive days in the first half of camp (and if they do, they won't play 2 days in the field), and you will NEVER see a player play a full 9 innings in spring. Tito focuses on making sure a player gets a couple at bats in a game, and enough at bats overall so that the player feels prepared for the season, but that does not involve overdoing it or approaching it as though it's the regular season.
that said, it was definitely that time in spring where Francona wanted his regular guys to play back-to-backs. so when Michael was not in the lineup on March 25 after getting his normal off day on March 24, i was suspicious and again feared his back may be bothering him.
then when the lineup for the March 26 game was released and Michael's name was not on it for the 3rd day in a row, i knew something was up. you don't get a 3rd straight day off for no reason. shortly after that lineup was posted online, Jordan Bastian broke the news that Francona said Michael was currently fighting some back tightness and would be sidelined for a few more days. this brought all my initial worries to the forefront, as well as added a new flurry of worries to my spinning mind.
later on, Paul Hoynes reported that Michael had actually played in 3 games with a tight back. that would mean he was playing with it on March 20, 22, and 23, when he combined to go 4-for-9 (.444) with 3 singles, 1 double, and 2 runs. he also had 1 swinging strikeout, 1 first at bat hit, 5 total bases, 1 man left on base, and 2 putouts in 16 innings in left field in those 3 games. i had just said that i thought this was the turning point where he was showing that he felt fine and getting back to his MVP form. so how he managed to get any hits with a problematic back was a mystery to me. moreover, he had an active 4-game hitting streak and 6-game on-base streak when he was "shelved" with the back issue.
Francona was quoted as saying, "if this was the middle of the season, he'd probably play with it." i know Michael very well, as i've watched his career blossom since he was a rookie, and i know that he will not hesitate to play at less than 100% during the year if he can because he wants to help the team SO much. in this case, because it was still pre-season, i felt it was imperative that he get his back issue under control as much as possible, because fighting back tightness for 162 games is not a battle he's going to come out on the winning end of.
so obviously none of this news made me feel better. and here are the barrage of thoughts, questions, and concerns that i was filled with at the time:
i had already been worried that Michael wouldn't get at least 40 ABs under his belt this spring, and now i didn't know if he would even play in any more games. and if either of those became true, would Francona and Michael himself feel like he'd played enough in spring to be able to just jump right into the regular season as an every day starter? was he going to get enough work in? enough ABs? enough innings in the field?
another thing that did nothing to calm the uneasiness in my gut was the fact that Michael re-irked his back while playing only 5-6 innings a game, 3-4 games a week. it was very fair to ponder, how is he going to do when he's gotta play 9 innings and every day?
how did this even happen? well, my theory is he worked too hard in the offseason and it messed him up. Michael admitted he wanted to get better, stronger, and faster and was itching to start the year really early. maybe he thought, after putting together such an amazing season in 2014, that he needed to keep that going and believed working out more would be the way to guarantee continued success. but had he known that that would result in an issue, he may have been reluctant and just stuck to what he'd been doing before, because that obviously worked well for him.
was this the SI jinx already at work here? had Michael not come to camp in February with back soreness, i would say yes. but clearly this was a pre-existing condition that occurred long before Sports Illustrated got involved, so the jinx technically does not apply here. yet the timing was oddly coincidental, i'll give you that.
speaking of, how far back does this back issue even go? maybe he first did something to it in January, continued working through it during the offseason, then spoke up about it once he reported to AZ. he did mention in January at TribeFest that he wanted to keep working as hard as he had been in his final month of the offseason before reporting to spring. so i don't think it's far-fetched to approximate that he first hurt himself between those time periods.
the Indians had 9 games left to play from March 27 - April 4. i assumed the soonest Michael would play again would be on March 30. okay, so even if he did come back and play the last few games, how would we know that his back issue was really gone? i previously convinced myself it was gone once, and look how wrong that was. really, would any amount of time off ensure his back was gonna be good to go for the long haul? there was basically no way to know if his back problem was going to pop up again at any point(s) in the season. and that verity was extremely nerve-wracking.
and that concludes my freak out lol with any luck, when the season's over, i can look back at this and laugh.
on March 27, Francona told reporters that Michael was doing much better. he told Michael that he didn't care if he missed a few games or a few at bats. he just wanted to get Michael healthy so he wasn't thinking about his back during the regular season. fortunately for Michael he's got that simple, signature smooth swing, because apparently that enables him to get ready faster than other players, therefore not requiring as many at bats as others. so no matter how many games Michael ended up sitting out in spring, he would not be "behind" and would still be ready for Opening Day. phew! that subsided at least one of my worries lol
not taking any chances with its star player, Michael got 5 full days off before returning to Cactus League game action. he went through a regular day on March 28 and returned to play on March 29, hitting a single in his first at bat like he hadn't missed a beat. that's my boy! lol he played in 3 straight games immediately when he came back, and 5 of the last 7, going 7-for-16. there was no further mention of any back issues after that, and i hope that is how it stays now all year.
moving to something much more light-hearted, a very sweet moment occurred for Michael on April 2, and it had nothing to do with the first spring home run he hit that i did not get the pleasure to hear being called. no, it was when Francona asked Michael to make a pitching change for him in the bottom of the 7th inning.
Zach McAllister's day was done after 6.1 innings and Francona wanted Michael's cousin, minor league Lynchburg Hillcats pitcher Justin Brantley, to pitch for the Tribe. Michael had just had his 4th at bat of the game (his 2-run home run) in the top half of the inning and was about to wrap up his day, when Tito made an executive decision. to make it a special day for the Brantley cousins, Tito wanted Michael to make the call to the bullpen, go to the mound, and give Justin the ball.
Michael recalled how it came about after the game with the media. "that was all Tito. he said, 'you know, i've got a great idea, Junior.' i was like 'what?' and he was like, 'you go do it.' i was like, 'me? no.' no, i didn't want to do it, but it's a dream come true to be able to just be out there with your cousin, a family member, a guy that works so hard. it gives me chills just thinking about it."
Francona said Michael was very nervous. "he asked about four times, 'now how do i do this?'" but he did just fine, raising his right hand like a pro as he went to the mound to signal Justin out of the bullpen.
Justin didn't even realize it was Michael on the mound until he got to the infield. "i started laughing. i hope someone got a picture of it. it was definitely a moment i'll never forget."
Michael had a hit in 11 of the 15 games he played and reached base safely in 12 games. he had 4 hitless games. Michael had 5 multi-hit games, no 3+ hit games, and 1 multi-RBI game. he also got 1 go-ahead hit and 1 go-ahead RBI in spring.
in spite of everything, Michael finished spring on a 9-game hitting streak and 11-game on-base streak. if i hadn't mentioned any back issue, my guess is you'd never have suspected it. the guy's just that good. during his hitting streak, he bat .464 (13-for-28) with 13 hits, 2 for extra bases, and 17 total bases. he had 11 singles, 1 double, 1 home run, 4 RBI, 6 runs, 1 hit by pitch, 2 GIDP, 3 strikeouts (looking), and 4 first at bat hits (all in a row) while leaving 6 men on base in 29 plate appearances and 28 at bats. in 48 innings in left field, he recorded 7 putouts.
Michael bat .382 (13-for-34) with 4 RBI against right-handed pitching and .300 (3-for-10) with 1 RBI against left-handed pitching.
and even though this is not all that important during spring, Michael bat .455 (10-for-22) with 2 RBI in Tribe home games and .273 (6-for-22) with 3 RBI in Tribe road games. furthermore, he hit in 7 of 8 home games and safely got on base in all 8.
Michael hit .545 (6-for-11) with runners in scoring position with 5 RBI. he also hit .600 (3-for-5) with RISP and 0 outs, 1.000 (1-for-1) with RISP and 1 out, and .400 (2-for-5) with RISP and 2 outs.
with 2 outs in an inning, Michael bat .250 (5-for-20). he hit 1 double and 1 home run, and totaled 3 RBI as well.
additionally, he bat .444 (8-for-18) with 5 RBI with runners on base. he did not come to the plate in spring with the bases loaded.
for as well as Michael did with RISP and runners on, he didn't get many RBI this spring. in fact, 40% of his 5 total RBI came from the 1 home run that he hit in spring. a lot of it has to do with him mostly hitting singles and players only being able to move up one base. also, Michael had more at bats in spring with the bases empty. he bat .308 (8-for-26) when no one was on base.
in a trend that began last season, Michael is getting more of his outs via grounders than fly balls. this spring, Michael hit 13 groundouts (including 3 GIDP) versus 8 flyouts. he also had 2 pop outs and 5 strikeouts. normally one who falls victim to "loud outs," he did not have any line drive outs.
Michael's K rate in spring was 10.6%. that's definitely on the high side for him. he had more strikeouts this year in less at bats than in his last 2 springs. more disconcerting is how almost all of them were called strike 3s as opposed to swinging strikeouts. it could have been a case of merely not being familiar with certain pitchers, as the team faces many pitchers in spring whom they don't regularly see during the year. but i'd rather Michael swing at a pitch and miss than not take the bat off his shoulder. well actually, i'd rather not see him strike out in any way... he's known to be a low strikeout/high contact player, so i hope this is not some kind of foreshadowing of what's to come.
i finally saw consistency this spring in Michael's BOP. it was settled last season that he would be batting 3rd for the Tribe going forward. thank goodness. this is a spot i know he's going to thrive in. the RBI total may dip a bit, depending on whether Bourn, Kip/Ramirez in the 2 hole, and/or the 9th batter in the lineup can get themselves on base a lot, but i know Michael's still going to get his hits and get on base.
defensively, Michael was his usual self in left field. he didn't play any complete games so he only recorded a total of 14 putouts, but he still had a perfect 1.000 fielding percentage. as long as Bourn doesn't have any prolonged problems with his hamstrings, it would appear that Michael will only see time in left field this season, which should help his chances of finally winning a Gold Glove. Michael is already taking a 144-game errorless streak in the outfield into the new 2015 season, and i believe it's highly likely that he will re-set his current franchise record of 247 straight games in the outfield without an error.
no, Michael does not have the MLB lead in batting average this spring. however, out of all the regular Indians players with at least 40 at bats, he had the highest batting average and OBP. not to mention he was tied for the 3rd most hits (16) on the team. check this out. Michael had 16 hits in 44 ABs, while Bourn had 20 hits in 57 ABs, and Chisenhall had 18 hits in 55 ABs. so, almost as many hits as the team leaders in less chances. bravo Michael.
admittedly, it was hard for me to see a lot of the other Indians regulars do so well this spring, specifically in early March while Michael was struggling, and again when he was out injured and missing valuable playing time. i wanted to see Michael kill it, and it made me sad knowing that he too was not putting up the great numbers i know he's capable of. had Michael come to camp healthy, i'm confident he would have played more and done a lot more damage in games, like he's always been known to do during spring training. there's no question that if he had had close to the same number of ABs as guys like Bourn, Chisenhall, and Santana, Michael's numbers would have increased.
am i concerned that Michael only had 2 extra base hits this spring? i'm not concerned about the lack of home runs, but in all honesty, i would have liked to have seen him hit a few more doubles. maybe playing with the bad back had something to do with it, but i'm anticipating he can replicate his abundance of 2-baggers from 2014. i see no reason to go into panic mode about spring stats, however, because it's a proven fact that spring numbers are NOT direct indicators of how a player's season is going to pan out.
it's okay that Michael doesn't lead the Indians in any categories this year. i'm happy he at least got 40 at bats in and managed to finish spring on a good note, all things considered. let's just trust that the back issue is truly gone and won't be an on-going, all year hindrance. and let's also think good thoughts that Michael won't have to battle any type of soreness, tightness, or serious health issue during the regular season. because at the end of the day, this team is much better when Michael is in the lineup. #truth #facts
now let's break down the numbers. i am going to document his ST #s, the 3rd spot #s, and the left field #s.
Brantley's Spring Training 2015 #s are as follows:
batting average: .364
OBP: .404
SLG: .455
OPS: .859
Michael played in 15 (of 33*) games in spring training. he started and played left in 15 games. he did not play in 17 games. he missed 7 games due to health issues, including 5 because of lower back tightness and 2 games due to the flu/stomach bug. the Indians were 7-7-1 in the games he played.
Michael bat 3rd in 15 games.
Michael played left field in 15 games. (0 complete, 15 started: 76 innings)
*on 1 day in spring, there was a split squad, where the team played 2 games at the same time in 2 separate ballparks. clearly Michael could not play in both games, so if you wanna get technical, he really only had an opportunity to play in 32 of the 33 spring games.
**in addition, on the final day of spring, Terry Francona opted to keep Michael and a few of his other Opening Day starters in Goodyear to face left-handed pitcher, TJ House, in a minor league game in preparation for their first game of the season against Houston Astros lefty Dallas Keuchel. i have no info on how he did in that game, but it doesn't matter because those stats don't count in his overall spring numbers.
in ST 2015, Michael had a total of 47 plate appearances and 44 at bats in 15 games. here is how he fared:
16 hits
2 extra base hits
14 singles
1 double
1 home run
5 RBI
6 runs
2 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 stolen base (2nd)
3 GIDP
5 strikeouts (4 looking, 1 swinging)
5 first at bat hits
20 total bases
12 left on base
14 putouts
76 innings, 15 games
ST 2015 batting average: .364 (16-44) (15 games)
now let's break down his numbers based on where he hit in the lineup.
when Michael bat 3rd in ST, he had a total of 47 plate appearances and 44 at bats in 15 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
16 hits
2 extra base hits
14 singles
1 double
1 home run
5 RBI
6 runs
2 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 stolen base (2nd)
3 GIDP
5 strikeouts (4 looking, 1 swinging)
5 first at bat hits
20 total bases
12 left on base
14 putouts
76 innings, 15 games
ST batting average in the 3rd spot: .364 (16-44) (15 games)
ST batting average in the 3rd spot while playing left: .364 (16-44) (15 games)
now let's break down his numbers specific to where he played in the outfield.
when Michael played left field in ST, he had a total of 47 plate appearances and 44 at bats in 15 games. breaking down the numbers are as follows:
16 hits
2 extra base hits
14 singles
1 double
1 home run
5 RBI
6 runs
2 walks
1 hit by pitch
1 stolen base (2nd)
3 GIDP
5 strikeouts (4 looking, 1 swinging)
5 first at bat hits
20 total bases
12 left on base
14 putouts
76 innings, 15 games
ST batting average while playing left: .364 (16-44) (15 games)
other ST #s while playing left: 14 putouts, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (76 innings, 15 games)
overall ST #s while playing the outfield: 14 putouts, 0 errors, 1.000 fielding percentage (76 innings, 15 games)
here are my game-by-game numbers and notes for Brantley's Spring Training 2015.
March 3: not in lineup.
March 4: not in lineup.
Game 1, March 5: 0-3. AVG: .000
[3rd/LF/GS4]
March 6: not in lineup.
Game 2, March 7: 2-3, single, stolen base, single. AVG: .333
[3rd/LF/GS6]
March 8: not in lineup.
Game 3, March 9: 0-3. AVG: .222
[3rd/LF/GS5]
March 10: not in lineup.
Game 4, March 11: 0-3. AVG: .167
[3rd/LF/GS4]
March 12: not in lineup.
Game 5, March 13 (split squad): 1-2, RBI single (first at bat), walk. AVG: .214
[3rd/LF/GS3]
March 14: not in lineup.
March 15: out with flu/stomach bug. started with Lonnie Chisenhall on February 23.
March 16: in camp, still unable to play.
Game 6, March 17: 0-2, walk (first at bat). AVG: .188
[3rd/LF/GS6]
Game 7, March 19: 2-3, single, RBI single. AVG: .263
[3rd/LF/GS4]
Game 8, March 20: 1-3, double. AVG: .273
[3rd/LF/GS5]
March 21: not in lineup.
Game 9, March 22: 1-3, single. AVG: .280
[3rd/LF/GS6]
Game 10, March 23: 2-3, single (first at bat), run, single, run. AVG: .321
[3rd/LF/GS5]
March 24: not in lineup.
March 25: not in lineup.
March 26: fighting lower back tightness, played in 3 games with tight back. expected to be sidelined a few days.
March 27: "doing much better" but lower back still tight. team not taking any chances, no return date in mind yet.
March 28: went through regular day, scheduled to return March 29.
Game 11, March 29: 1-3, single (first at bat). AVG: .323
[3rd/LF/GS6]
Game 12, March 30: 1-3, single (first at bat). AVG: .324
[3rd/LF/GS4]
Game 13, March 31: 2-3, RBI single (first at bat), run, hit by pitch, run, single. AVG: .351
[3rd/LF/GS6]
April 1: not in lineup.
Game 14, April 2: 2-4, single, run, 2-run home run, run. AVG: .366
[3rd/LF/GS6]
Game 15, April 3: 1-3, single. AVG: .364
[3rd/LF/GS6]
**Michael ends spring with a 9-game hitting streak and 11-game on-base streak**
April 4: not in lineup, but played in a minor league game against lefty TJ House in preparation for Opening Day. i did not have access to how he performed in that game, but those stats don't count in the overall spring numbers anyway.
My Predictions/Expectations for Brantley's 2015 Season:
note: i am making my predictions based off 2 things:
1. Michael's 2014 season/changed mental approach at the plate.
2. the assumption that Michael will be playing a healthy 2015 season. i don't think it's proper to make predictions thinking he could potentially be playing hurt as a result of the injury-plagued spring he had.
aside from a couple minor issues last year (mid-back tightness, mild concussion), Michael was blessed with good health. knowing that he came to camp with lower back soreness, which lingered some throughout his time in spring, scared me. but i don't think he would have played the last week of spring if he was still really hurt, so all i can do is postulate that he's okay now and be optimistic that he will have good health all season.
Michael sure did set the bar high in 2014 as far as batting average went. i believed he had a .300 season in him and he more than delivered. while i don't necessarily believe he will hit .327 again, i now expect a BA in the .305-.310 range. for the last 3 straight seasons, Michael led the team in overall batting average. and for the last 2 seasons, he led the team with his BA with RISP. his ability to hit in the clutch should no longer be questioned.
on to home runs. i used to hate discussing this category, but how things change in a year lol a player doesn't double his career high in one season if he hasn't developed some power, and it would strike me as odd if that power all of the sudden disappeared, especially while Michael is in the prime of his baseball career. that said, i think he will hit at least 18 homers, if not 20 again. and i wouldn't even rule out a few more to set yet another new career high.
as for RBI, Michael is all set up to get many of these once again, since he will be batting 3rd in the lineup. there's no reason not to think he won't get a minimum of 85. this is one of those statistics that's dependent on the performance of other players, but as long as there are guys on base when he comes up to bat, it's possible. i also don't think it's unrealistic to give him a maximum of 100 either.
other numbers i predict for Brantley in 2015:
doubles: 42
runs: 85 (i'm putting a lot of faith in the batters behind Michael for this--Santana, Moss, Gomes)
walks: 55
stolen bases: 24
total defensive errors/fielding percentage: 0/1.000% (show me that Gold Glove D!)
i'm not even going to make a prediction for triples because it's the most trivial category of them all, especially in Michael's case. he doesn't need to be the speedy triples man, and that's fine because he brings way more important talents to the table.
also, i won't be as bold to say outright that he will total 200 hits again, or have another 20-20 year, but if he does either or both, i can honestly now say it will not be a surprise.
MY biggest challenge this season is going to be NOT constantly comparing his 2015 to 2014. i can't get upset if Michael's monthly numbers are less than what they were last year. that doesn't matter. yes, i want him to get as many stats as he can, but i cannot dwell on it. i just want him to do the absolute best that he can.
so good luck this year, Michael! whether or not you win a Silver Slugger Award again, or a Gold Glove, or are an MVP finalist, it's okay. as long as you continue to play hard, give it all you got, and do your very best each and every day, then you will always be successful! with that said, go kick some ass in 2015! Go Brantley!
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