Ben Nicholson-Smith

You love that.

You take that from him.

I think where I hold back from giving him an A to this point in the season is the defense, oddly enough, and late in that Friday game, they ended up getting the win on the very next play, so it was fine in the end, but

You know, he bobbled that ball, ends up being an error.

There have been a few times this season where defensively, he just hasn't quite looked like himself.

And so if he combines the defense that we know he can play with the offense exactly where it is, then that's where he has the chance to have an A, A plus rest of the season.

I don't think they really know.

My sense is, because this has come up a couple times as far as behind the scenes, what might be going on.

And my sense is that Ernie Clement has put pressure on himself at times this year and that that might be a part of it.

Hard to quantify, hard to say for sure.

Ultimately, he's moved through it, and he's still making most of the plays that he needs to, but there have just been those occasional moments where it hasn't happened.

So you wonder if there's just a little pressure he's putting on himself to live up to the expectations facing this whole team.

I mean, great start, right?

Hard to ask for much more than an opposite field home run.

And, you know, he looked pretty good at second base, trying that double play really early in the game, one of the first tests that came his way.

I think that's a good thing.

They could use it, as you guys know, as you guys have been talking about all season, to get some sort of right-handed bat there.

I mean, David Schneider just wasn't providing that.

Lenny Nsosa has not been providing that.

So if Charles McAdoo can give them, even if it's like a hot few weeks or something, then that would go a long way.