Not Qualified To Comment » Coaches Tell Theriot to Hit Ball Harder, Theriot Listens

Coaches Tell Theriot to Hit Ball Harder, Theriot Listens

May 5, 2009 at 10:00 am | Chicago Cubs
By: Stormin' Norman Disciple

Ryan Theriot has been just obliterating the ball since May 1. He has 3 home runs in the last 4 games, tying his career-high for home runs in a season in a 4 day stretch. I’m not sure if this will keep up, it’s not like The Riot was one of those guys that seemed to have the power but just couldn’t put it together. Maybe I’m wrong though. After all the shit we give Theriot around here for his TOOTBLANs, it’s time he got a little love. Take a look at this game log from the last 3 days:

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It’s not like he had a bad April either, going .317/.374/.378. While that slugging percentage is a bit low, his job is to get on base and he is doing fantastic in that department. On top of that, his TOOTBLANs are way down, seeing as that he has stolen 6 bases in only 8 attempts.

Now the speculation that Theriot has done steroids this offseason is obviously out there. It is unfortunate that we live ryan-theriot-ripped in a world where someone cannot just play well for a stretch without coming under suspicion, but that is just the way the game is now.

Bob Brenly, however, would like to posit a different theory. As I was watching the Cubs broadcast last night, Brenly related a ridiculous tale speculating on Theriot’s recent surge. It went something like this:

I remember way back when Sandberg was with the Cubs. Jim Frey told Ryno “you should try to hit for more power, you’re not just a singles hitter.” And Ryno said ok. And do you know what happened? He started hitting all those home runs. This power surge by Theriot reminds me of that. Someone must have told Ryan to start hitting the ball harder, and it looks like he listened.

Now that’s not an exact transcript of Brenly’s comments, but its close. I choose to believe Bob’s folksy wisdom. Better that then having to deal with the dark cloud of steroids everytime anyone does anything good on the diamond.

h/t for the picture: Bleacher Nation via Cubs Brickyard