I'm curious to see those Wallace to Lowrie/Altuve to lee double plays on defense.

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The arms may or may not be bad news bear-ish, but the infield range is looking like it will be flat out terrible.

I mean on a given night.
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Yeah, but over the course of a whole season, I think it will at the very least be a push if not better on offense with the current lineup vs the half seasons we got from all the players last year.

The relief pitching will be a pleasant surprise this year

the pre all star versus post all star split for runs scored is 3.89/game per, 3.67 post. Add in Lowrie and Castro and subtract out Barmes and the various scrubs that we used as a #2 catcher and you pretty much get a push. Assuming of course that Castro is not terrible this year.

I'm not doubting that.

I love how people just ignore that our record was better *after* Bourn, Pence, and Kep were gone.

Haha, I love how you say "people" instead of "Marshall".

The pitching got better in the 2nd half while the hitting got worse.

I have to think that part of the pitching improvement was a byproduct of an improved defense. Replacing Sanchez with Barmes was a huge turnaround. Even though the jury is still out of Altuve's glove, it was better than Bill Hall's rough stint there. Shifting Lee from LF to 1B was also a boost.

yeah, but from a strictly runs scored standpoint. It is hard to tell why the record was better in the 2nd half. the batting got worse while the pitching got better, so it could almost be considered a push.

Maybe the competition was easier?

The record is the record, though.

Yeah, I'm one of the folks arguing the team will have a better record next year, but looking at the numbers it is hard to explain why we had a better record in the 2nd half.

Regression. Even horrific teams aren't likely to continue the pace we set in the first half of last season.

I'm pretty sure we did the same thing in 2010 after parting with Oswalt & Berkman if I'm not mistaken. The record improved, the pitching got better and the bats got worse

Over or Under
65 wins next season.... Over, they'll be in the hunt, maybe back page by All Star break, late half dazzle

Over Under
JD Matinez 20 Home runs.... Over, 25 hmrs.

Over Under
Jose Altuve .285 BA 5 Home runs.... All-Star selection, 8 hmrs.

Over Under
Carlos Lee 20 Home runs.... Over, 25 hmrs.

Over Under
Bud Norris 12wins... Era 3.50.....10 wins, 4.00era

Over Under
Jed Lowrie 100 Games started..... Over, if Nipsy Russell is unavailable