Here's how this phrase works in terms of this year's team: you say "the Giants starting rotation could be one of the best in the NL. Schmidt is healthy, Morris is a stud, Lowry was coming on at the end of last year, Matt Cain is a star in the making, and Jamey Wright has really good stats at the home ball park." And here's where the "yes, but..." comes in-- "yes, but Schmidt is fragile and couldn't find any sort of mojo last year, Morris hasn't quite recovered yet from his shoulder surgery, Lowry has never put it together for a full season, Cain is still a kid, and Jamey Wright is Jamey Wright."

Or, you could go this way: you say "Armando Benitez is finally healthy so the bullpen should be settled down this year." To which the response would be "yes, but Benitez got shelled in spring training, is starting the season on the DL, and even when he's healthy, he's still shaky." Or try this: "with the addition of Steve Finley, the Giants have a great bench and a great fourth outfielder to fill in whenever one of the old guys gets old." And the response? "yes, but Finley sucked last year and he's 41 so last year could be more like a trend than an aberration."

See how this works?