I logged into my old photobucket account the other day and saw this... I just said Wow... Times sure do change in 6 years...
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a53...es_desktop.jpg
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I logged into my old photobucket account the other day and saw this... I just said Wow... Times sure do change in 6 years...
http://i9.photobucket.com/albums/a53...es_desktop.jpg
They've both put on way too many lbs since then. I expect some weight to appear in a player's late 20s/early 30s but these guys put on 25-30 lbs before they were 25.
Kearns has really been a disappointment. I recall when they were coming up and we were enjoying Dunn, Adam said "just wait 'till Kearns gets here. He's better than me." I think he was. I don't know if it was that collision with Ray King or just a case of a guy peaking at age 24 but Kearns was supposed to be a perennial All Star.
I really don't understand what anyone is talking about regarding Dunn being overweight. I don't see it.
I keep reading it and hearing it on call-in shows from his detractors, but I don't see it.
They both had BRM haircuts. That is what went wrong, they let their hair grow.
2006
http://imagecache2.allposters.com/im...nn-Posters.jpg
2008
http://cache.boston.com/resize/bonza..._7305/300h.jpg
He's slimmer now.
Austin Kearns is reason enough not to annoit Jay Bruce the savior of the franchise just yet.
Let Bruce develop into it....don't appoint him it.
OT- i do like those helmets as opposed to the cool-flo ones they wear now. But again, I'm a geek.
I submit further evidence...Remember Brandon Larson?
We do have two openings in the outfield after this season...
Let's bring 'em back!
Kearns was a highly thought of prospect that's value to Cincy was inflated because of his local ties. He burst onto the scene but never made the proper adjsutments or his shoulder never regained the form after Ray King.
Dunn on the other hand looked like a HOF in his early career but after the 2002 AS break he never seemed to get back to that early level. Dunn's first half of 02 was unreal; .300 BA, .452 OBP, .544 Slugging. It seemed like the league made some adjustments that Dunn has failed to make.
My theory, and with some anecdotal evidence to support, is that coaches kept trying to "fix" Adam to get him to stop striking out so much. Every new hitting coach or manager that came in (and there were a lot of them) thought they could "fix" him. Dumbest decision ever.
I remember there being an article back in 2002 talking about Jim Bowden wanting Dunn to start pulling the ball more in order to hit for more power. I thought it was foolish at the time because Dunn was still hitting for power and was hitting up in the .310-.320 range with an OBP in the .460 area and an OPS over 1.000, yet Bowden wanted him to pull the ball more. That doesn't surprise me though considering how awful of a GM Bowden is/was. Dunn was never that same hitter after that. All those different hitting coaches didn't help matters either.
IIRC there was an article when both were still in the minors predicting future status of the top minor league players. Dunn was predicted as a future HOF and Kearns as a potental All Star and an everyday player in the bigs. It is interesting to look now 8 years later and see where each player stands.
Kearns is a fringe everyday outfielder. If he weren't playing for Jimbo he would have bounced around the league for the past year +.
Dunn on the other hand, if healthy, will put up HOF HR numbers. It will be interesting to see if Dunn hits 500, 550, 600 how people will fell about him.