1. About Paxton, I actually was more impressed with him in this game than in any other I had seen him pitch. I loved his recovery and focus. he's a star right now.
2. Hart is weird. On his 1st homer the other day, I thought he was way out in front of that pitch and still managed to keep the head of the bat back and get just enough wood to get it out. Same thing on the 1st homer last night. I missed the 2nd shot, but it seems that was one he nutted. I wonder if his great skill set is to hold back on off-stuff, just enough to still hit it hard, all the while guessing fastball. I stll think he looks largely out of sync, but I wonder if that was always the way he looked?
I'll add a 3rd thing: Morrison will soon be out of a regular gig. He'll rest Hart and backup Smoak.
OK, a 4th thing. Romero was dang good in the OF, and I really like his approach at the bat.......he was trying to win the game with the bases jacked and ended up K'ing, but it is an understandable mindset. Going the other way would have worked, too....and I would bet that the Skip mentioned that to him. I would much rather we see him in RF than Saunders. If Smoak keeps it up from the RH side, and Hart is hear his old self, and Romero hits some homers (Those are all decently sized 'ifs", I know) but then we're loaded from both sides of the plate. This team is real, guys.
Comments
All caveats apply to projections based on one week of games.
But to my eye, not only does this team look like a contender, but it has the POTENTIAL to be one of the best teams we've ever fielded. We are very...VERY deep. We have enough star power to get crooked numbers and make pitchers work very hard...and enough youth to keep the team fresh all season. We have answers to all of our major challenges from previous seasons. We have a balance of defensive skill and offense. We have help coming down the pipeline when it's needed (e.g. Iwakuma, Walker, Pryor, Smith), we have prospects to spend in mid-season trades to make a serious run AND the financial flexibility to add payroll. We have our best players at crucial skill positions.
I actually think 85 wins is the FLOOR for this club unless we get a ton of injuries to our best players. Even with the normal wear and tear...this club has depth to fill in she guys go down at every. single. position. I think we're a 90-win team with upside toward 100-105 wins.