Nearly a year after his benching/not hustling controversy, B.J. Upton is probably going to be drawing a lot of criticisms from his latest statements about being dropped for his usual leadoff spot.
"It's almost like a kick in the face," Upton said.
"To go from being a leadoff guy and last year hitting (No.) 2, 3, maybe 4 ... it's just like I'm back where I started (as a 19-year-old rookie). I was in the 9-hole, the 8-hole and kind of worked my way up," Upton said. "I know I'm not a 9-hitter. I know I'm not a bottom-of-the-order type of guy." ----Tampabay.com
In the article Upton said he isn't "pouting" nor will he let this affect his play on the field. While he also said the drop from leadoff is not a motivation tool, he vows to get his production back up in hopes that his spot in the line ups moves with it.
"I'm not going to let this go on for too much longer," he said. "I'm in here every day working on what I need to work on trying to get it right. It's just not working. When it starts working, you know what's going to happen. I'll work my way back up again.----Tampabay.com
I hope he's right and I hope he starts doing it tomorrow.