One of the things that ticks me off is that everyone here knew that either Lombo or Rendon was better than Espi.
But Espi still played for the first third of the season.
It was so obvious that he was crap. It may be the injuries. I don't know. But it was still crap.
+1. I would have started Lombo until the All-star break, just to give Rendon time to refine his hitting and 2B fielding. Maybe this is about like the panic call to Harper last season, but so be it.
I hope management has had a serious talk with Espinosa:
(1) Skip the cortizone. Get surgery on the shoulder and do what the doctors want to fix the broken bone in the wrist. There are no shortcuts.
(2) Rest
(3) Find an old-time hitting instructor. Learn the strike-zone. Swing at strikes and ignore balls. If you see a good pitch to hit, then hit...even if it's the first pitch in the at-bat. To quote Roy Sievers (and probably Ted Williams): you might not see another good pitch if you keep your bat on your shoulder and start every AB down no balls and one strike.
(4) Be ready to compete in February, because Lombo is better, and Rendon seems better than Lombo, and who knows what (Obiwan) Kenobi can do if they give him a chance?