I don't always believe in a Straw That Stirs The Drink phenomenon, but on a roster with a ton of young kids all being asked to do more immediately than they should have to? I absolutely believe it.
A-Gone wasn't the straw that stirred the Boston drink, and you could find a hunnerd examples of FA's who didn't affect their teams much.
But like you say. If the Straw that Stirs is not a factor for THIS team, it's not a factor for any team. You've got to believe that Jack Zduriencik has made exactly the same assessment.
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What do you make of Zduriencik's noises that he would deal Smoak? Is he really ruling Mike Carp out as a left fielder, under any conditions?
I certainly hope not. My kingdom for a corner OF who can bomb away.