We'll see. This team had potential, but a lot of things had to fall into place.
Starting the season, a lot of things failed to live up to expectations:
Familia turned out to be a run of the mill middle RP
Knebel is a mediocre closer
Rest of the bullpen was erratic at best
Suarez struggled out of the gate.
Nola couldn't get through the 6th
Schwarber struggled to hit, though horrible BABIP suggested it was as much luck as anything else
Realmuto looking like an over 30 catcher, Hoskins like a guy who can't adjust to pitchers
The motto of the defense: "Look Ma, no hands"
The last couple weeks some things have turned around:
Schwarber no longer snakebit
Stott taking advantage of injuries new manager to play everyday and find his groove
Brogdon found his velo, SD found his confidence in his repaired arm
Suarez is regaining his command, Nola got through 8 innings
Hoskins taking the ball the other way
Realmuto still looks old, Knebel still looks shaky
Not sure how much of the turnaround is real:
1) Long seems to be teaching the team to take the outside pitch the other way, Hoskins rolled over an outside breaking ball in the 1st into a DP, then adjusted, Stott was going the other way, Schwarber, others. This is starting to look like a trend, maybe it just took time.
2) the ball is jumping, so maybe they're were right about the humidor effect, deadens ball in cool weather, but not in warm weather, which bodes well for a team with power up and down the lineup
3) Suarez has been gradually getting sharper, I think Nola is still limited, but if he's more aggressive early, he can avoid running up pitch counts that get him trouble in the middle innings. Wheeler and Eflin are horses. Gibson is a ??? down the stretch, can Falter provide insurance?
4) Bohm and Stott are settling in, now if they could just get a solid platoon out of Moniak and Vierling? Herrera is just so erratic and his fielding has declined to where a hitting slump is a real problem
5) Brogdon and SD are their two best RPs, but can they handle the closer role if Knebel can't find his MIA curveball? Knebel finding his mojo could make this an above average pen as guys like Nelson get pushed back into middle relief.
Some bright spots, but to make a run at 90 wins, need Knebel back, Stott to be for real, CF to be resolved, and Realmuto and Hoskins to play up to their pay grade.
