Quote:
Originally Posted by Shkspr
I'm unconvinced that Bob Melvin's decision to bat Eric Byrnes 3rd should be taken as an assumption that a) Byrnes is the best hitter on the Diamondbacks or that b) they will be outscored this season. Chris Young will be better than Byrnes, Conor Jackson has a reasonable chance to improve, and Justin Upton could very easily follow his brother's career path a little sooner than anticipated. Eric Byrnes could be the fifth best hitter on the team...and STILL bat third.
Excuse me, sixth best hitter. Forgot about Micah Owings.
I think it's a moot point anyway - either Upton or Jackson will move ahead of Byrnes in the batting order by June.
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Most stats analysts picked the Dbacks to either win the west or the wild card last year, so the fact that they did that wasn't surprising, it was how they did it. With a young lineup that should take a step forward, a healthy Tracy, and adding Haren they shouldn't be in the same situation they were last year in terms of run differential.
Its a good team. Its a team with a young offensive foundation, but they were lucky that their growing pains weren't reflected in their record last season.