I guess I donāt see it as pessimism? Iām saying that, objectively, half the lineup is made up of sub-average hitters and the rotation is two good starters, a promising rookie, and quad-A guys. Thatās what mediocre teams look like. Thatās reality, not pessimism.
For example - I have zero doubt that Alex Bregman is still good and will end up with a good season, because the data tell me that heās been the same guy so far in 2023 that heās always been. The results are likely to follow. On the other hand, the data tell us that Jose Abreu is not the same guy heās always been, and thus I expect him to have a poor season, in line with what the data suggest he is now. Thereās reason to believe that Yordan and Tucker will be even better than theyāve been. Thereās no reason to believe that Meyers or Maldanado or Dubon or Bielak will. None of these forecasts are optimistic or pessimistic; theyāre simply the most likely outcomes.