Paul Articulates - A patient moment

It is still early in the spring training season, but all of us are anxiously awaiting information out of camp that will answer important questions.  Who will make the team?  Who will be in the rotation?  What prospects are going to stay with the team, and which will be sent to Syracuse?

Of course it is too early to tell, and our logical brain tells us so.  But logic doesn’t always win, because a fan base that has not experienced a championship in 39 years cannot wait for proof – we want to jump to conclusions.  Brett Baty has a 1.346 OPS – start him at third!  Blade Tidwell threw 99 mph, put him in the rotation.  Starling Marte has a knee problem, trade him!!

I am glad that David Stearns is the POBO/GM and not the fan base.  Stearns drives a steady ship.  He takes nothing for granted, plans contingencies, and deepens rosters.  The most encouraging sign of the season is not Baty’s resurgence, but Stearns’ discipline.

Spring training is a time for evaluating players, and one can see from the mix of players in the game lineups that there is zero emphasis on winning pre-season ballgames.   It is all about how the players have improved prior weaknesses, how they have recovered from last year’s bumps and bruises (or worse), how they respond to the coaching.  

Even when the season begins, players’ April stats do not necessarily predict their full year output.  Look at what Francisco Lindor did last year.  He hit .210 with a .684 OPS.  By season end, he was hitting .273 with a .844 OPS and getting MVP votes.    On the other hand, DJ Stewart had a .901 OPS in April, but slowly fizzled and ended up in AAA to end the season.  The moral of this story is that you don’t know until you do.

We have great hope for this roster.  There are good arms, solid bats, and some very legitimate players that can challenge for the MVP award in any given season.  If all goes well and they stay healthy then it can be a tremendous season.  If injuries strike, well it can look like last year’s Atlanta Braves.  If the players gel together, it can look like last year’s OMG Mets.

The injuries to Sean Manaea (right oblique) and Frankie Montas (lat strain) are concerning, but they are not an indication of the training regimen going awry.  They did a little too much too soon, or they tried something different as an improvement but it caused unexpected stress on part of their body.  Neither is a season ending setback, and both will be back in time to log plenty of innings with the team.  Last year started this way, and it ended up being a blessing because some players were fresher in the end of the season because they spent some of the early part on the sidelines.

I can’t wait for the season to start.  I will try not to over-react to early results.  I will try to stay focused on the big picture.  But above all, I will enjoy the ride.  This should be an exciting year.