Happy Family Day, if your part of the world has that holiday. In Alberta we get today off because a former Premier's son was caught with cocaine so he gave us all a day off in February. A day off in February is sort of a mixed blessing, but we get to sit around and watch the Olympics today.
With pitchers and catchers heading to Florida, there isn't all that much for news. So let's give our guesses for what we think Jose Bautista will do this season. We took a look at his 2009 season here. He had big left/right splits, as always, he hit lefties great (.293/.382/.537) but righties not at all (.202/.320/.388). He also didn't hit much with RISP (.172/.315/.217) but then that might be a small sample size thing. His complete hitting line:
We all know what an amazing arm he has. 11 assists in 84 games is terrific and he looked to have decent range in the outfield. I don't really think he has the bat for a corner outfield spot but Cito disagrees and likes him in the lead off spot. He did finish the season well last year.
Bill James sees him hitting 241/.335/.409, 13 homers and 48 RBI in 417 PA.
CHONE has him .230/.326/.393, 15 HR and 51 RBI in 476 PA.
I don't know, I think the tough part is to guess how many plate appearances he's going to get. I think, with a career .681 OPS vs. RHP, he shouldn't bat against them. But my vote doesn't count.
So give us your predictions, the usual slash line, PA, homers, RBI and whatever else you would like to share.