I'm sure this will get more sarcastic responses than anything else but one thing has been bugging me for a while. Last year Wash protected Elvis Andrus by stashing him at the bottom of the order for basically the entire season and most of the explanation centered around keeping pressure off the young kid. This year though it seems like Julio Borbon is in a similar situation but he's already been handed the top spot in lineup and much of our expectations for the season center around him being able to get on base often enough to jump start the offense.

While I'm not questioning whether or not Borbon is capable of filling the lead off role, I just don't understand why Wash went so far out of his way to protect Andrus last year but Borbon is basically being thrown to the wolves. Is it just because Borbon is older and has more experience because he played at the college level? Is he just a better offensive weapon so the pressure wouldn't be as great? Is it just inconsistency from Wash or do they just not have any other options?