But if we have to wait for Smoak to slump to risk interrupting his groove, then his slump will be an indication that he shouldn't be moved to the 4 hole with "more pressure" anyway. It's a catch-22.
If a guy is hot you move him to take advantage of that hot streak.
If a guy is good, then you put him where he can do the most damage.
Smoak is both hot and good. "I'm afraid to move you because then if you have an 0-fer I'll get blamed for it" is bad roster management, IMO.
Lineup optimization may be over-rated generally, but when a team relies on everything working perfectly to score runs then optimization is the difference between wins and losses. We've had an incredible run the last week and a half, but to maintain it we're gonna have to get ahead of the luck factor.
There's a lot of season left and I'd hate for Smoak to be guaranteed to have nobody on base for his power shots in another hundred plate appearances this year.
~G
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