Well that's just it - Stanton has a track record that would allow him to suck for all of ST and no one will worry/care in the least. Smoak doesn't have the luxury of being able to have a horrendous batting month in ST and still be guaranteed the starting job at first base.
I don't want a 1B who can't hit
Everyone knows he underperformed offensively in Seattle (that seems to be a thing there...) but was there anything encouraging in his peripherals during his years there??
Hutchison got the start
Starting lineup:
1. Jose Reyes (S) SS
2. Ramon Santiago (S) 2B
3. Jose Bautista ® RF
4. Justin Smoak (S) 1B
5. Kevin Pillar ® CF
6. Chris Dickerson (L) DH
7. Dwight Smith Jr. (L) LF
8. Josh Thole (L) C
9. Munenori Kawasaki (L) 3B
OK, deep breath
How certain are we that it is BAD news
Is there ANY chance the original leak assumed bad news when maybe it's not necessarily bad - a signing or a trade or something?????