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...on a couple of days, but I don't see how he's any worse than Lopez out there, and he should have more range (Ackley's quick).  WAY faster on the bases, but even on hustling to make bouncing plays in the hole.  He's looking far more sure of himself even on just backing plays up or trusting his instincts.  I think he'll make it as a 2B.  He looks "right" out there.  Cool as a cucumber.
It was a short trip to the desert, but it was rewarding. :)  Ackley and Smoak are the Real Deal.  Now, I got there just in time for Smoak to finally heat up and start crushing the ball, but his power swing is a thing of beauty.  Ackley went fishing a couple of times and still hit triples, but most of the time his bat just stayed on his shoulder as balls were called.  Between the two of them and Cust we'll finally get some OBP back in this joint, and hopefully Figgins will follow suit.
If they say they want him to work on D and send him down...it'll be a smokescreen.  And that's a very good thing.
And I understand nobody cares about 2017 right now, but when you GET to 2016-2017 and you're talking about breaking up Smoak/Ackley/Pineda instead of gearing up for one more run at a title with them, it matters.
I want a dynasty, and to get one you preserve all the years you can on your core players, draft like Nostradamus, and pray for health.  Right now Felix, Smoak, Ackley and Pineda are core players.  We need a couple more (one should be coming in the draft).  If the latter 3 don't work out, then we have no dynasty, Zduriencik's lookin' for a job and we're doing this all over again.
Right now we're two levels deep.  First wave = Saunders/Smoak/Pineda/Lueke/Moore/Ackley.  There's no good reason other than his head for Moore to fail.  Saunders has a couple other reasons, and I think he will fail to be the power hitter we want right now.  Pineda and Lueke only have health standing in their way, IMO. And there isn't anything in the way of Smoak and Ackley.
Next wave is Franklin/Chavez/Tenbrink/Paxton/#2 draft pick (we'll call him Rendon)/Poythress/Choi.  I expect a coupla pitchers to show up in there as well, and you never know if Morla or the like will come through, but those are the guys I'd be drawing straws from to start with.
Third wave is being stocked in the low minors and won't matter until after we get through 2016, really.
Franklin is taking at-bats with AA right now, and was in the major league dugout yesterday when I was there.  Choi is batting in high-A, and wearing catcher's gear.  Tenbrink is playing 3rd base in camp right now at AAA.  Poythress was hitting with AAA, though I still think he's getting demoted to AA before assignments are given.
You want those guys to hit the bigs properly spaced from the arb years you're paying to Smoak, Ackley and Pineda.  If all your kids break in at the same time, then all their raises come due together and they send you rocketing to the poor house.
I don't want all of them to come due together.  I'd rather space Ackley out a year as far as arb raises go than have to give up Lueke in a couple of years because I need his money to pay Ackley.
Maybe we wouldn't do that.  I still remember the team that gave away Carlos Guillen for N O T H I N G rather than pay him one red cent to backup Aurilia.  Maybe that was because he was a bad influence on Freddy, as was intimated at the time.  Maybe we were just holding to the budget.
The fewer times I have to hear the word "budget" as we build this thing into a perennial contender, the better - but I think it starts by prepping the budget for those contending years NOW.
~G