Andrew Abbott’s spring numbers are ugly enough to make any Cincinnati Reds fan do a double take. A 13.85 ERA. Twenty earned runs in 13 innings. Five home runs allowed. Opponents hitting .407. That is not the kind of stat line you casually wave away and pretend means absolutely nothing.
But this is also the time of year when people talk themselves into March panic because the box score looks cleaner than the context. And with Abbott, context matters a lot more than the ERA screaming from the page.
Let’s not ignore the struggles. They are very real.