Jayson Stark - Fumblings and Bumblings

In a breathtaking piece of ground-breaking journalism, Jayson Stark's Rumblings and Grumblings piece polled 10 scouts and baseball front office-types and discovered that:

• Jason Kendall will not hit .375 with 201 hits, 67 doubles and 94 RBIs this season
• Gabe Kapler will not hit .423 with 58 home runs and 160 RBIs

Huh. And I was counting on Gabe Kapler to pull a Ted Williams with Ryan Howard power this year.

Scrolling down a little, here's what an unnamed scout said about everyone's favorite free swinging shortstop turned centerfielder turned third baseman:

"I'm big on Bill Hall," said another scout. "He's such a good athlete. And he's learning what he can and can't do. His plate coverage and pitch recognition are getting better all the time. And he's playing surprisingly well at third base."

Pitch recognition getting better? Plate coverage? This scout must have just watched opening day. Goldy, FYI, opening day was the day that Bill Hall hit two home runs.