I really, really think that it has a lot to do with the fact that he isn't going to get worn out so quick this year. He started out the year tearing the cover off the ball last year, too. Then he wore down because of his ridiculous workout schedule (2 hrs extra batting practice before most games) and the huge increase in travel and such. They worked on his core a lot, apparently, this offseason. I'm very confident in him. Like you said, not to hit .500 but I'm confident he can post .290/.380 avg/obp with a decent slg.