Quote:
Originally Posted by duncan_idaho
Most are open to a replacement, but it is less of an issue than 2B is. Moustakas at least has shown high-level talent in the past, and has been trending upward since June 1. the .741 OPS he has posted in July is not all-star caliber, but it is positive movement.
As for the statement about playoff-caliber teams...
Look at what Detroit is trotting out behind the plate (Alex Avila).
Look at what the Giants trotted out last... 3 members of its postseason lineup posted sub-.700 OPS for the Giants in the regular season. One of those was Hunter Pence.
The Tigers of 2012 had .700 OPS guys in RF and at DH (Delmon Young and Brennan Boeschs/Quentin Berry/Ryan Raburn/etc).
The Moustakas of June/July is not the star we hoped he would be, but he is
.265/.316/.381. Still not good, but less concerning than what they're getting out of 2B, at least to me.
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I think most everyone expected Moose to become a .275 hitter with power and play near gold glove caliber 3rd base. That was basically what was projected. No, his power numbers aren't there and he still strikes out too much but it's easy to forget that he's still really young. Those jokers that started the season as the hitting coaches really screwed all these guys up, they've all been much better since they left other than Escobar.
If Moose is hitting .265 I don't think we're having this conversation, yet that's what he's hitting over the last two months.