Sorry, have to disagree. I believe Travis to be poor defensively. Absolutely there is hope. Not enough time to tell if his hitting is real or not. We do know about Goins but no so much about Barney either. Barney has impressive history.
I agree with you. He is backup and not a starter. I would expect more from a starter. I think he is very capable of backing up Tulo. As backup, I am quite happy.
Why have we Forgotten how poor the hitting was down the stretch and in the playoffs last year. Trend seems to continue to this season as well. Way too many first ball strikes. Should hitting strategy (or coach) not be open to criticism ? Seems fairly quiet on this front.