I think this opinion is overstated on this board. Yes, Hill and Rios left and have had some great years. Wells, Thames, Snider, Arencibia, League, and several others have not. Heck, even Doc deteriorated well before the Phillies expected him too.
I hope so too
This is probably the type of thing that the Nationals should have done with Strasburg in 2012. Delay a few starts. Pull him after 5 innings if team had a big lead. Etc...
I think the. 950 OPS debut was a tease and he will never be that good again
A .270 ish BA,. 320-.330 OBP and 20 HR with 10 SB is going to be about the best I'm willing to hope for. He might have a year or two better than that and some longish slumps.
I say he will be a lague average bat. Gold glove caliber defense. Could be perpetual 3-4 WAR.
Yeah I never thought they'd stay down too long. They're better than their record would suggest. (though the implosion of Buchholz is a legit serious concern)
Still surprised that Price didn't get tossed, though I agree that one didn't seem intentional. Once sides have been warned like that, and guys have already been hit, the umps are usually VERY quick with the trigger to knee-jerk toss a pitcher with any subsequent HBP. They don't usually seem to factor in game situation from what I've witnessed once a game gets to this point.