Bunting is another one of those things that looks easy and fundamentally isn't very difficult, but that doesn't necessarily translate to it actually being easy to do.
I'd imagine standing heavily in the box, bat forward, as a 90+ mph fastball is heading straight toward your fingers is a wee bit unsettling and probably something a lot of players don't like having to do. I get it. I didn't like having to do it against teenagers who threw a solid 20-30mph less.
I'd imagine it's one of those things that you practice if it's part of the necessary skillset for you to make the majors. You're a speedy glove-first slap hitter, you learn to bunt. You're a slow, big-power 1B, you don't. A guy like JBJ who has medium speed and medium power probably didn't put a whole lot into it and it shows in a situation like that.
I hope it's more of an isolated thing or maybe an early-season feeler than something Cora is going to try and consistently force.
I'd imagine standing heavily in the box, bat forward, as a 90+ mph fastball is heading straight toward your fingers is a wee bit unsettling and probably something a lot of players don't like having to do. I get it. I didn't like having to do it against teenagers who threw a solid 20-30mph less.
I'd imagine it's one of those things that you practice if it's part of the necessary skillset for you to make the majors. You're a speedy glove-first slap hitter, you learn to bunt. You're a slow, big-power 1B, you don't. A guy like JBJ who has medium speed and medium power probably didn't put a whole lot into it and it shows in a situation like that.
I hope it's more of an isolated thing or maybe an early-season feeler than something Cora is going to try and consistently force.