The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the iniquities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he, who in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his brother’s keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who would attempt to poison and destroy my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee. – Samuel L. Jackson, Pulp Fiction (1994)
Yes, I realize that Jay Bruce has played but six games at the major league level. Yes, I realize that the only players with higher or equal slugging percentages over their first six career games are Mike Jacobs, Craig Wilson, Sam Horn, and Mitchell Page. Yes, I realize that he will not hit .591 for the entire season.
But hot damn, The Deal is off to quite the start, isn’t he?
I first thought about writing this post the other day, following Bruce’s hot start in the first two games of the year. Then I looked closer at the stats and thought to myself, “An 0-3 in his third game? No homeruns? Not as impressive as I thought.
Apparently, and I of course did not know this at the time, Jay Bruce can read minds, and my thoughts displeased him. He responded by hitting his first major league homerun a day or two later – not just any homerun, either, but a walkoff that beat the Braves in the tenth inning – and added another four-bagger on Sunday in a 6-2 Reds win.
This is why we nicknamed this kid The Deal (although at the rate he’s going, he might have three or four more by the time he’s done).
(Oh, and what’s the deal with that Pulp Fiction quote up top? Tell me it’s not fun to imagine Bruce saying that to the catcher every time he comes up to bat.)
2 for 3 tonight, with another homer…
He’s OK I guess.