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Yesterday, outfielder B.J. Upton signed a five-year, $75 million contract with the Atlanta Braves.

The elder Upton brother spent eight seasons with the Tampa Bay Rays. Upton hit a career high 28 homeruns in 2012 on the strength of a strong second half.

However, Upton is a notoriously streaky player and has had occasions where he has been known not to run out groundballs and has jogged after flyballs much to the ire of Rays manager Joe Maddon who had occasion to remove him from several games.

With this in mind, I’m not sure how well Upton is going to get along with Braves manager Fredi Gonzalez. Shortly before Gonzalez was dismissed as Florida Marlins manager in June 2010, he removed Ramirez from a game for not hustling in the field.

There’s no question that the 28-year old Upton has enormous talent and the best may yet to come for him. But it would not surprise me if there is an on-field clash between Upton and Gonzalez this season. 

About the Author

Aaron Goldstein writes from Boston, Massachusetts.

http://spectator.org/blog/2012/11/29/is-bj-upton-a-good-match-for-t

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