6/30 MINORSTHURSDAY FINAL...GWINNETT NO HITTER!!! Cumberland catching Allard

Two more hits for Mr. Mooney in Danville.

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Nice game from Wooten. Even before tonight he held some interest for me. Reverse splits. Give him a chance as a starter.
 
There is a cliche about needing veterans to win both in te regular season aND the playoffs but I think it's the other way around. Younger players seem to play with more urgency and fire. I think people are expecting linear growth from the prospects but rarely does it work out that way. Heywood had his best season at the plate his first year. Francoeur was never better than his first few years. Erik Hinske won the rookie of the year award and was never better than a platoon/bench bat after that year. I now you remember the legend of Charles Thomas. I still think 2017 may be a bit ambitious but I won't be the least bit surprised if these young prospects come up and make a run at a playoff spot next year either.
 
There is a cliche about needing veterans to win both in te regular season aND the playoffs but I think it's the other way around. Younger players seem to play with more urgency and fire. I think people are expecting linear growth from the prospects but rarely does it work out that way. Heywood had his best season at the plate his first year. Francoeur was never better than his first few years. Erik Hinske won the rookie of the year award and was never better than a platoon/bench bat after that year. I now you remember the legend of Charles Thomas. I still think 2017 may be a bit ambitious but I won't be the least bit surprised if these young prospects come up and make a run at a playoff spot next year either.

I agree with you to a certain extent; certainly rookies have a larger desire to prove themselves and take over as faces of teams. However, I think having one or two veterans with a strong presence is a huge boon for a team, even if not exactly essential to victory. Having a David Wright, a Chipper Jones, a Derek Jeter to lead your squad, to set an example of how to be a professional, how to deal with slumps and losing streaks as well as winning streaks and overconfidence? I'd pay good money to have that. I do believe there's a diminishing returns value there, though. Having more than one or two probably wouldn't have any particularly large effect.
 
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