The Annual Bewilderment

Per the DMN's Evan Grant:Come the regular season, Washington intends for Beltre to hit fourth with Cruz fifth. The reason: Washington simply doesn't believe Cruz, entering what should be his third full season in the majors, is ready for the job. "Wherever Beltre hits, whether it's fourth or fifth, I think he's still going to get the same pitches, a lot of offspeed stuff away and then fastballs in," Washington said. "He's a veteran and he can handle that. I just don't think [Cruz] is ready for it. One more year, I think he might be." [emphasis added]Washington doesn't explain in detail, but I believe he's implying (in part) that Cruz isn't ready to handle the increased proportion of breaking pitches that cleanup hitters allegedly face. Recall this statement from 2008:"The No. 4 guys gets off-speed stuff," Washington said on Monday. "Look back and Milton [Bradley] handled more off-speed stuff than fastballs. Hamilt...