DOCSHOREBIRD At Mini Camp

[weams]

Parker Bridwell

[weams]

Henry Urrutia

[wildcard]

Henry looks good in stills. I wonder how he looks in person.

[Babypowder]

As a competitive weightlifter would you agree that what you see could also be a sign that he has slacked off some? I have never seen him carry extra weight like this. Of course he could be in some sort of bulking phrase but you would think he would have had a similar physique at other times in the past few years. Given the current concentration of athletes on being lean and athletic vs the bulking of the PED era.

I also know that he isn't a kid, but he is only 22. so, this seems to be unlikely to be an age thing. I know the Trout comparison, but I think Trout doesn't want to admit it but he just isn't as lean as he once was. That is a choice not a result of getting older.

I kind of expected many of these reactions, so perhaps instead of soft I should have said he looks a little soft in the middle as if he he put on some weight other than muscle. As someone who has also lifted and trained a lot in my lifetime, what I see looks more like a guy who obviously is muscular that has perhaps slacked off a bit vs someone in some wort of bulking phase.

This is a guy that for two years has basically looked exactly the same. Now he looks different. I guess we will see why.

It all depends on what you are training for. Perhaps he wanted to get bigger and stronger. Straight strength training isn't going to keep you lean and if you're trying to put on weight, it's not all going to be clean weight. There are plenty of guys who work very hard who aren't lean. I've trained with a bunch of them and I am one of them. No one would look at David Lough and I shirtless and say I was in better shape by looks alone, but back in my prime I'd bet everything I own I moved more weight than he does. Perhaps Dylan wanted to get bigger and more explosive. It isn't as if he's a speedy outfielder. Leaner is not always better, and generally speaking I think most guys are leaner at 20 than they are at 22. There are still some development years in there.

[baltfan]

It all depends on what you are training for. Perhaps he wanted to get bigger and stronger. Straight strength training isn't going to keep you lean and if you're trying to put on weight, it's not all going to be clean weight. There are plenty of guys who work very hard who aren't lean. I've trained with a bunch of them and I am one of them. No one would look at David Lough and I shirtless and say I was in better shape by looks alone, but back in my prime I'd bet everything I own I moved more weight than he does. Perhaps Dylan wanted to get bigger and more explosive. It isn't as if he's a speedy outfielder. Leaner is not always better, and generally speaking I think most guys are leaner at 20 than they are at 22. There are still some development years in there.

I hear you and even posited the possibility that he is intentionally carries more weight for some other reason. But it seems undeniable he is carrying more weight than in the past. Given that he has generally trained for performance vs looks (see the other picture with him engaged in the farmer's carry) it was fair to wonder if this was an athlete who gained a little weight because he wasn't working quite as hard anymore (it happens with the best of them). This is a guy who was famous for engaging in powerlifts and performance training, not a guy who was focused on looking good.

Further proof that this is unlikely him looking to get stronger is that it is the opposite of what he last said on the subject. In March he was saying he wasn't training his upper body work because he didn't want to get too tight and change his arm angle. http://http://www.fangraphs.com/blogs/qa-dylan-bundy-baltimore-orioles-pitcher/

You talked about your body type. Prior to this year, Dylan's was closer to a Lough type (though admittedly not as lean). Undoubtedly, the guy that looks like he is going to smoke everyone is seldom the guy that is actually the best athlete. Warren Sapp used to smoke guys that looked like they were in far better shape then him. Charles Barkley eventually leaned out and was a ridiculous athlete, though many would have looked better than him.

The difference here is that we know Dylan was a beast. We know how hard he has trained. We know what he looks like when he trains for what he has specifically trained for since he was a 14 year old kid with a punching bag. We know that he focused his training on developing baseball strength at Dynamic Sports Development. We know what he looked like with that type of training.

Sometimes those guys keep it together. They keep training just as hard. Sometimes, those guys get burned out, they lose focus. I understand that Buck says Dylan pushed too hard and was quoted on by Roch as saying that Dylan seems to have dialed it back a bit and that was a GOOD thing. (I am not saying these comments were a comment on his weight). I have not given up on the guy. But hard charging guys like him do occasionally burn out or lose their edge.

I will say it amazes me the orange-colored glasses here though. From the comments you would think there has been no change in his body and he is built like Lough when that picture is clearly to the contrary. I asked a trainer I know to take a look at the picture since people were acting like I was nuts. He said Bundy looked "fat". I think that is a bit harsh, but in his performance training world its logical. Most athletes are moving toward trying to be powerful, lean, and supple.

Tons of people in baseball are successful with far less fit bodies than Bundy's now. But part of what got him there was his body. He is 6 ft tall not 6'6". So, if there are signs that he isn't the same you have to wonder. Of course, it may be that his former way of training and his former body type, especially upper body, we're not conducive to a lengthy career.

Bundy will likely be just fine. I also bet he starts to look slimmer by Spring Training but this is the kind of stuff you talk about this time of the year.

[DrShorebird]

Dylan says he is stronger now, but not leaner.

[bobmc]

Dylan says he is stronger now, but not leaner.

Did you get to see Tillman and have any comments on his "body mass"?

[baltfan]

Dylan says he is stronger now, but not leaner.

Thanks for the clarification. Is he going to try to lean out or does he want to carry more weight going into the season?

[DrShorebird]

Did you get to see Tillman and have any comments on his "body mass"?

At the close of camp, we chatted with Buck in his office. He went over a report on the top of his desk. It was a list of the bodyweights of all players at camp. Some were asked to increase their bodyweight in the off-season, others were asked to decrease their bodyweight, some were given no bodyweight instructions. Buck said he was pleased with all. Of course bodyweight is not the same as body-fat. I took several glances at Chris' midsection during the camp and was not disturbed by what I saw. It's a long, hard season.

[DrShorebird]

Thanks for the clarification. Is he going to try to lean out or does he want to carry more weight going into the season?

I didn't ask, but I think the organization has asked him not to train too hard. He is in outstanding shape and it is a long season.

[Can_of_corn]

I will say it amazes me the orange-colored glasses here though. From the comments you would think there has been no change in his body and he is built like Lough when that picture is clearly to the contrary. I asked a trainer I know to take a look at the picture since people were acting like I was nuts. He said Bundy looked "fat". I think that is a bit harsh, but in his performance training world its logical. Most athletes are moving toward trying to be powerful, lean, and supple.

The issue, with me at least, is how you jumped to conclusions off of one picture, taken in far from ideal conditions for making any judgements on his condition.

[McLovin]

But where was Matt Hobgood? The original mound on the mound...

[baltfan]

The issue, with me at least, is how you jumped to conclusions off of one picture, taken in far from ideal conditions for making any judgements on his condition.

If you look at my post I only said that he looked soft (probably should have said in the middle) and he looked like he "had let it get away from him a bit". I then said, "I am not alarmed but it goes against his reputation for working hard."

There were then a ton of posts acting like he looked just as fit and lean as ever. Turns out he hasn't been working as hard (at the urging of the Orioles) and isn't as lean. A lot of people read what I said and saw what they wanted to see. I was quick to admit that there could be lots of alternative explanations including that this was planned, he wasn't able to lift as much because of his surgery, he had chosen to cut back, or he was bulking. But that didn't matter.

The replies were basically that you couldn't tell from one picture whether he was softer. I guess it turns out you can. And before anyone turns this into anything more than it is, I am sure that, after Lough, Bundy is likely still the most fit guy on the team. And he may be more fit than Lough as well, just not as lean. But when you see a guy as obsessed as Bundy has been and all of the sudden he appears lest obsessed, it is fair to wonder why..

I guess the reason I even cared is that I can't stand it when people try to pile on on these message boards. I am a big boy. I can take it and even laughed at some of the shots. But there is a way to express a difference of opinion without disdain. Sarcasm and ascerbacism at times are perfectly fine, but it can get a little out of hand.

Anyhow, off of a tiny soapbox.. Glad we have some clarification from a guy on the ground. Go Bundy! Go O's!

[weams]

But where was Matt Hobgood? The original mound on the mound...

Matt is not a prospect. But you know why.

[bobmc]

At the close of camp, we chatted with Buck in his office. He went over a report on the top of his desk. It was a list of the bodyweights of all players at camp. Some were asked to increase their bodyweight in the off-season, others were asked to decrease their bodyweight, some were given no bodyweight instructions. Buck said he was pleased with all. Of course bodyweight is not the same as body-fat. I took several glances at Chris' midsection during the camp and was not disturbed by what I saw. It's a long, hard season.

Thank you - much ado about nothing!