Did you ever hear the tragedy of Kitt Fisto?
He was a promising young squid thingy Jedi who was savagely run through by the Dark Lord of the Sith without uttering a single line of dialogue in the prequel trilogy.
Observe:
Kitt Gets Hammered.
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Q. Does he start or reieve?
A. Dipoto liked his "versatility," which was what Dipoto said about Phelps. Though Phelps' ability to start games is off the table this year.
Also the Gray rumors were held to be "nonsense" from the beginning, so you Kyle Lewis sighs can breathe a sigh of heavy relief. We seem to have 2-to-make-1 from Marc-O and Erasm-O. Dr. D could think of a whale of a lot worse.
I'm just going to list these links. Well worth your time for background on pitcher development / injury rehab.
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2017/6/13/15782420/kyle-boddy-drivelin...
https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2017/6/13/15783088/kyle-boddy-drivelin...
Hikaru Nakamura once said that the line between a great chess tournament and a horrible one is paper thin.
You might be asking yourself:
1. Who is Hikaru Nakamura?
2. Why is Mojo talking about him?
3. Aren't chess koans that apply in zenlike ways to the rest of life the exclusive domain of Doc?
Here are your answers:
1. Hikaru Nakamura is one of the top ten chess players in the world, and maybe the best speed chess player in the world.
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GUILLERMO HEREDIA
Most amusing for the Dungeon Master that just as he declared Heredia the Billy Beane Wandering Monster off the 1d8 behind his Mainframe screen ... that Heredia promptly tore the Boston delver party to shreds with his bare claws. And cleats. His sting attack into the short LF porch took out 70% of the Boston hit points in the first round and then --- > Heredia finished them with his gaze weapon in the 13th:
√ Gamel on 1B two out
√ Fister quickly worked an 0-2 or 1-2 count; you could hear the resignation in the booth
√ Heredia stared at the mound and ticked pitches away from the strike zone for 30-40 minutes
√ Finally he waited long, lonnnnggg ere he took a fliner the other way into right central. Somewhere Derek Jeter sobbed quietly for joy
Then the Sox' pitching coach came out to comfort Fister, who looked as needful of comfort as Mo' Dawg on a practice putting green with a half piece of chewing gum in his front teeth. Fister, impressively calm, tossed the ball to the backstop scoring Gamel ... and Heredia took third. I mean he took it epically. He jetted down to 2B, slowed to a glide around the bag and assessed the catcher with precision -- before hitting the turbojets into a 1B-to-3B critical hit on the Sox' master cleric.
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Sudden thought. Does this generation call them the BoSox? ... hm ...
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Q. Okay, the facts of the matter first. Let's start our coffee with "hard" data.
A. Those being:
√ 78 fastballs vs. only 10 foshball/cutters and 14 knuckle curves. That's probably the highest lightning-bolt ratio of Zeus' career.
√ Zeus' last 6 games against Houston and Boston: 43 IP, 0.39 ERA.
√ Boston #30 in the majors for first-pitch swings. #15 in the AL for hitting strikeouts. A remarkable combo when you're taking deep counts.
√ Paxton with 24 of 25 first-pitch fastballs. 24/25 !!
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Q. Did Servais say that was the FIRST center field homer of K-Swag's ENTIRE CAREER at Safeco?
A. He's a little guy compared to Boomstick. Seager is really good at pulling the ball in the air when he gets his pitch. It rather underlines the way Kyle Seager has cut a major league career like a Bansai tree, through intelligence and force of will.
Despite his somewhat-low BABIP this year, his stats are floating back up towards his career norms. He's slugging .440 on the year (in Safeco) and the SLG is .524 the last month. There are few predictions the Mainframe makes with a 95% coefficient of confidence, but Kyle Seager's reliability is definitely in that territory.
We're lucky to have him. He might not be Mariner Mt. Rushmore but he is next level from that. He's already got more career WAR than Jay Buhner.
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Q. Would Dr. D mortgage the future for Sonny Gray?
A. He thoroughly enjoyed Zoom's impassioned plea for the M's to steer far clear of this land mine. A convincing case-against it is, too.
Unfortunately for those with a physical aversion to getting train-robbed by a horseback Billy Beane wearing a kerchief over his face, "a source with knowledge of the team's thinking" -- that would be either Dipoto himself or the medium John Edward, we suppose -- said "he is going for it these next two years," going completely in.
As a general rule Dr. D is pleased to take back the best player in any deal. So were the Detroit Tigers, when they gave us four spare parts and lotto tickets for Doug Fister. I give 4, you give 1, all day long baby. Sonny Gray IS a difference-maker during 3 major league seasons counting this one. That's like half of a six-year club controls era. But that's not the over-arc'ing point here ...
..
Another way to look at the above. If you Sonny Gray were a Mariner right now, would you deal him AWAY this week for a top-100 prospect, a good young #3-4 outfielder and ? ... should the Mariners DO that with Nelson Cruz? I'm sure they could. Boomstick is an underpaid MLB star with maybe a couple years in him, you hope. Actually Cruz has only 2018 left on his deal and Gray has 2018-19.
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Referring not to any Denizen but to the cliche itself. :- ) The phrase "your future" mis-frames the debate in a way that inhibits clear thinking. Your #1 prospect is never your "future," no matter what org you are in. Suppose that one kid blows out a knee or something. Does the herald angel blow a trumpet and the curtain come down on space-time itself? That's what they said about Y2K computers. SHOW ME
But that's not the over-arc'ing point either ...
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Bat571 and Billy Zoom are impressively un-impressed by the Think Tank's tirade against the Tank deal. Winning a minors argument against G-Money (and Dr. D among others) is about as easy as taking down Johnny Cochrane in open court, but ... Bat571 sez
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If you look at his Brooks Baseball player card, it looks as though he was still sorting out his release point in '14. As he did, his velocity crept up. The Cardinals used him against the Dodgers and Giants in that post-season, so somebody saw something.
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Quoth DaddyO:
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Didn't watch today's game, but the MLB play log shows Motter, as a pinch runner after a Cruz leadoff single, got picked off with the team trailing 6-4 in the 9th inninig. That is BRAIN-DEAD! That is inexcusable. Tee ball? Sure. But Major League Baseball? His run meant ZERO. His remaining a "live" baserunner and avoiding outs meant EVERYTHING. There was nothing to be gained by taking a long lead off first. I can only assume he didn't pay attention. Did anyone watch it? Have any insight into what happened?
No wonder this team can't stay above .500. All I can say is, Motter was being "True To The Blue." That's the way the Mariners play baseball. Losing baseball.
Rant? Yeah. Blame me?
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Dr. D blames you NNNOT
