In ABQ only he'll have to deal with the following: http://www.thinkbluela.com/index.php/2013/02/14/dodgers-to-use-humidor-at-albuquerque-in-2013/
Mother nature can only be tamed so much, I think the Rockies pitching staff being horrible also contributes. The Isotopes won’t be the first minor league team to use humidor baseballs. In 2012, the Rockies Triple-A affiliate in Colorado Springs, which is almost the exact same elevation as Albuquerque, began using humidor baseballs. By the end of the season nearly every Sky Sox pitcher had lowered their ERA by a full run.
Rosenthal is oversimplifying it. Anyways we need to worry about Kemp not flopping after surgery, Hanley getting back and not being mediocre at best like the past 2 seasons, Gonzo needs to hit somewhat close to how he used to, etc. We got a lot of things that can go wrong. It's fun having all these shiny new toys but they all are risky as hell. We threw this team together on the fly and there's a chance it will show.
How was Hanley mediocre as a hitter last year? Yes he hit 250 something overall and in the 270's with us and had 24 HR's and 92 RBI as a short stop. That HR and RBI total was more than any Dodger last year and this was a SS? Dee Gordon was the only one with more stolen bases. That's mediocre?
.320 on base and slugged like .440 something might be a better way to look at it. Can't field. We associate the name with who he used to be. He's only 29 and was better for us than Miami so there's reason or optimism and yes, 20+ HR from SS is sexy. But he can and should be much better than his bag of tricks the past couple years.
Though Rosendouche does oversimplify, the point is valid. GG have changed everyone's perception of LA. CC will never get traded unless we are willing to pick up half of his contract. That said, if Puig is legit, we could potentially get a nice package if CC can return to form. Same with Ethier. Ethier's contract is actually not all that horrid given other contracts as of late. However, if sent over 5 mil per for Ethier, we get premier talent back. We lose 30 mil but manage to get younger without drafting. The same thing has been done by other teams (on a much smaller scale). Philly was good at for a while. The Rangers even tried it. Florida did it three times. The difference is that we have a TON of former allstars. Hell, let's be honest, if Hanley comes back hitting, we could get more for him than we traded him for. Same for AGon. Why? Because we were willing to take on the money that came with CC.
And yes, we need Hanley back bad. I wasn't bashing into him. Replacing his production with Gordon or backups will be killer over time.
Puig tried to be part of a rally again with a single. Which is interesting since he came off the bench and is showing he can do that and that is a plus.
